Museum of Science and Industry

In 1769, Preston barber Richard Arkwright patented a machine that would take cotton spinning out of the home and into the factory. His water frame was the first textile machine to use water power rather than muscle power. This marked the start of the factory system, which later spread to other industries.

Already the trading centre for Lancashire's finished cotton goods, Manchester lacked good water power. James Watt's improved steam engine meant that mills could be build anywhere that had good coal supplies. Soon Manchester, with its towering mills and warehouses, became the prototype industrial city and the hub of the world cotton industry. It also led the world in the manufacture of textile machines and testing equipment.  

The Lancashire cotton industry reached its peak in 1913, later declining in the face of competition from mainland Europe, the United States and the Far East. Today smaller-scale production of specialist textiles has superseded mass production.