Derby Silk Mill, formerly known as Derby Industrial Museum, is a museum of industry and history in Derby

Derby

Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...

, England. The museum is housed in Lombe's Mill

Lombe's Mill

Lombe's Mill England was the first successful silk throwing mill in England. It was built in an island on the River Derwent in Derby. It was built after John Lombe visited Piedmont in 1717, and returned to England with details of the Italian silk throwing machines- the filatoio, and the torcitoio.,...

, a historic former silk mill which marks the southern end of the Derwent Valley Mills

Derwent Valley Mills

Derwent Valley Mills is a World Heritage Site along the River Derwent in Derbyshire, England, designated in December 2001. It is administered by the Derwent Valley Mills Partnership. The modern factory, or 'mill', system was born here in the 18th century to accommodate the new technology for...

 World Heritage Site. Between 1717 and 1721 George Sorocold

George Sorocold

George Sorocold was an engineer in Derby, England in the eighteenth century.- Biography :He was born in Derby some time around 1668, the son of James Sorocold who had moved to the town from Lancashire...

 built Britain’s first mill for the Lombe

John Lombe

John Lombe was a silk spinner in the 18th century Derby, England.-Biography:Lombe was born in Norwich in approximately 1693, the son of a worsted weaver...

 brothers, beside the River Derwent

River Derwent, Derbyshire

The Derwent is a river in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is 66 miles long and is a tributary of the River Trent which it joins south of Derby. For half its course, the river flows through the Peak District....

. This mill was built to house machines for "doubling" or twisting silk

Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

 into thread.

John Lombe copied the design for the machines used for spinning large quantities of silk, during a period spent in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, working within the Italian Silk Industry.