Richard Arkwright.

Arkwright House, Stoneygate, Preston.

Arkwright was originally trained as a barber. In 1762 he set up his own wig-making business in Preston.

Arkwright then became interested in cotton spinning. He began working on a new spinning machine with John Kay, a clockmaker from Warrington. They worked on the machine in a house on Stoneygate. This house is now called Arkwright House. Soon they came up with the spinning frame.

Photograph of the room inside Arkwright house, where Kay and Arkwright worked on the Water Frame.

Arkwright then left Preston. He built a cotton factory in Cromford, Derbyshire in 1771. This was the first water powered spinning factory. Richard Arkwright was knighted for his achievements.

When he died in 1792 Sir Richard Arkwright had a personal fortune believed to be £500,000.