Bobbins & Perks

Today Geoff and I visited Masson Mills at the Matlock end of the Derwent Valley. Masson Mills was built in 1783 by Sir Richard Arkwright. This and Cromford Mill were the world's first successful water-powered cotton spinning mills. This built on his "Spinning Jenny" innovation. We saw looms working with the "flying shuttle" which worked at 70 passes per minute. You could barely see it move. (apparently modern looms don't have shuttles at all, the thread is simply blown accross by air or water at up to 4000 passes per minute!)

This photo shows a selection of bobbins and perks (which hold the weft thread in the shuttle)