The Industrial Museum at Ratingen, the other Cromford Mill
The Industrial Museum at Ratingen, the other Cromford Mill – Online Talk
Tickets on sale now!
Join us for a fascinating tour of Cromford Mill, except not the one in Derbyshire.
This Cromford Mill sits on Cromforder Allee in Ratingen, Germany, and has connections with the Derbyshire mill going back to 1783. Johann Gottfried Brugelmann set up this Mill, considered the first recognised factory on continental Europe, using Arkwright’s machinery and working practices.
Cynthia Beisswenger, one of the guides at Ratingen, will take you on a tour of the site, now a Textile Museum, starting with an introduction to Brugelmann, his home, the Herrenhaus, before moving into the factory itself which now houses the rest of the museum. The museum has a range of replica working Arkwright machines and Cynthia will show these running and explain their function. This is a unique opportunity to see working Arkwright machines and imagine how they would have been used in the mills in Derbyshire. Cynthia will finish by introducing Brugelmann’s daughter-in-law, Sophie, and the important part she played in the success of the factory.
Cynthia Beisswenger was born in Birmingham but her father came from Long Eaton – just down the road from Cromford – hence the longstanding interest in Cromford’s history and development. She studied French and German and for most of her working life she was a technical translator working in large companies in Belgium and Ratingen, Germany. She has been a member of the Forderverein in Ratingen since the museum was opened in 1996.
Since retiring, Cynthia does guided tours for Cromford Ratingen in English and German. She also normally translates the temporary exhibition texts for English-speaking visitors. Occasionally, Cynthia also translates for the LVR-Industriemuseum, the group of industrial museums to which Cromford belongs. She has been a member of the Arkwright Society for many years and, along with her husband, has walked the whole length of the Derwent Valley Way to see as many mill locations as possible. Cotton has also led her to silk and she is now also helping with EU Horizon 2020 project – Mingei at the Haus der Seidenkultur (Silk Museum) in Krefeld.
The online talk will be run by the Arkwright Society.
Venue: online
Time: 6.45pm for 7pm start
Cost: £5.50 (inc booking fee)
