Richard Arkwright Junior
Encyclopedia
Richard Arkwright
Sir Richard Arkwright , was an Englishman who, although the patents were eventually overturned, is often credited for inventing the spinning frame — later renamed the water frame following the transition to water power. He also patented a carding engine that could convert raw cotton into yarn...
of Cromford
Cromford
Cromford is a village, two miles to the south of Matlock in the Derbyshire Dales district in Derbyshire, England. It is principally known for its historical connection with Richard Arkwright, and the Cromford Mill which he built here in 1771...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, was the financier (creditor) of Samuel Oldknow
Samuel Oldknow
thumb|Samuel OldknowSamuel Oldknow was an English cotton manufacturer.Samuel Oldknow Jnr, the eldest son of Samuel Oldknow Sr and Margaret Foster, was born 5 October 1756 in Anderton, near Chorley, Lancashire, and died 18 September 1828 at Mellor Lodge, Derbyshire. He had an elder sister named...
of Marple and Mellor and a personal friend. His son Captain Arkwright married Francis Kemble, daughter of the famous theatre manager Stephen Kemble
Stephen Kemble
George Stephen Kemble was a successful theatre manager, British actor, writer, and a member of the famous Kemble family....
.
Biography
Richard Arkwright junior was born in BoltonBolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
. His mother, Patience Holt, died when he was only a few months and his father, Richard Arkwright
Richard Arkwright
Sir Richard Arkwright , was an Englishman who, although the patents were eventually overturned, is often credited for inventing the spinning frame — later renamed the water frame following the transition to water power. He also patented a carding engine that could convert raw cotton into yarn...
, raised him on his own until he was six, and married Margaret Biggensin, with whom he had a daughter, Susan. The couple divorced a few years later, but Richard Arkwright senior tried to follow the education of his children.
Sir Richard had earlier patented the water frame
Water frame
The water frame is the name given to the spinning frame, when water power is used to drive it. Both are credited to Richard Arkwright who patented the technology in 1768. It was based on an invention by Thomas Highs and the patent was later overturned...
, a roller-spinning machine powered by water, that turned textile spinning into a factory industry and in so doing he founded the factory system of manufacture.
Richard Arkwright junior followed in his illustrious father’s footsteps and he developed the factory system
Factory system
The factory system was a method of manufacturing first adopted in England at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 1750s and later spread abroad. Fundamentally, each worker created a separate part of the total assembly of a product, thus increasing the efficiency of factories. Workers,...
even further. He was an outstanding organiser of labour and machinery processing, ambitious, forceful and persevering.
The wealth of Arkwright, much higher than that of his father, was not only due to the textile industry. After his father died, much of the legacy was bequeathed to his daughter born of his second marriage, her grandchildren and various charities, while the rest, including a number of factories , was bequeathed to son Richard. He decided to invest in real estate and banks, and began to sell some factories to invest in government securities and real estate. This saved him from bankruptcy when a major economic depression descended upon Great Britain, after the death of Napoleon.
In 1804 he became a partner in the bank of John Toplis, and when the latter died his death in 1829, he took full possession of the company and financed local lords, contractors and governmental plans : like his father, he financed important works in the public transportation sector and railways, including the Cromford Canal
Cromford Canal
The Cromford Canal ran 14.5 miles from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 locks....
. At his death he was at the head of a fortune amounting to over three million pounds, which made him the richest British man from the bourgeoisie.
Arkwright was the High Sheriff of Derbyshire
High Sheriff of Derbyshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1568.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...
in 1801.
The Portrait
Joseph Wright of Derby
Joseph Wright , styled Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution"....
painted portraits of the father and his son, the latter along with the rest of the family. These two works illustrate the difference in wealth between the two generations. The father is sitting on an ordinary chair, behind his invention, the source of his new social status, whereas the other painting represents Richard junior, with his wife Mary and daughter Anne, all dressed in expensive clothes to the latest fashion with a view of the park of the family estate.
The painting of Richard junior and his family, painted in 1790, was intended as a pendant to Wright's portrait of Sir Richard, and was thought the best of the four paintings which hung in the Arkwrights family estate dining room at Willersley Castle
Willersley Castle
Willersley Castle is a late 18th century country mansion situated above the River Derwent at Cromford, Derbyshire which is now a Grade II* listed building....
. This painting was on loan and in the collection of Derby Museum and Art Gallery
Derby Museum and Art Gallery
Derby Museum and Art Gallery was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. The collection includes a whole gallery displaying the paintings of Joseph Wright of Derby; there is also a large...
, where it was exhibited next to the one representing his father. The painting was sold at Sotheby’s on 29 November 2001.
In 2003, the painting was to be moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
but the Derby Museum launched a petition to keep it in its homecountry.It is a cornerstone to the society. The Arkwright Society ,who was also concerned about the departure of the painting, took an active part in this campaign and the picture eventually remained in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.