Arkwright House
Arkwright House, Stoneygate
Arkwright House, Stoneygate, privately owned, not currently in use. Perhaps the most culturally important building in Preston due to its link with the Father of Industry, Richard Arkwright.
The building was sold in February 2025. It is currently unoccupied and has deteriorated quite rapidly whilst it has been empty.
Arkwright House on Stoneygate is a Grade II* Listed Building that is listed on the National Heritage List for England.
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1279775
Arkwright House History
In 1768 this building was the home of Rev. Henry Ellis, the Headmaster of Preston Grammar School. It was also the lodging place of Richard Arkwright and John Kay. During their time here Arkwright and Kay developed the water frame spinning machine that revolutionised the cotton spinning process.
Sir Richard Arkwright (1732–1792)
Sir Richard Arkwright, often called the “father of the factory system,” was born in Preston in 1732, the youngest of thirteen children of a struggling tailor. His early years were spent in the town, where he learned to read and write, and later trained as a barber and wig-maker.
It was in Preston that Arkwright’s inventive streak began to show. By the 1760s he was experimenting with mechanical spinning, working with local craftsmen such as John Kay, a clockmaker. Their efforts produced the machine that became known as the water frame – first powered by horses, later by water. This device transformed cotton spinning from a small-scale domestic craft into an industry that could be organised on a factory scale.
Although Arkwright moved on to Nottingham and then Derbyshire to build his mills, his roots and his earliest experiments were in Preston. The town provided the skills, the contacts, and the determination that he carried into later success.
From these beginnings, Arkwright rose to become one of the most famous figures of the Industrial Revolution. He built great mills, amassed wealth and influence, and was knighted in 1786. Yet his story always begins in Preston – the place where the son of a tailor set out on a path that helped change the world.
