Water frame
Topic: The Age of Industrialisation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The water frame was a spinning machine patented by Richard Arkwright in 1769. It used rollers and was driven by a water wheel, not by hand. It spun strong cotton yarn that could be used for the warp, the lengthwise threads of cloth. It was too big and needed too much power for a cottage, so it led to mills built beside rivers. This made it a key step towards the factory system.
Example
In 1771 Arkwright opened a mill at Cromford in Derbyshire. Water frames were run there by the flow of a river, with workers under one roof.
Don't confuse with
- Spinning Jenny: James Hargreaves' hand-turned machine (1764) was small enough to use at home. The water frame needed a mill.