What is Cotton mill?
A '''cotton mill''' is a building with [[Spinning frame|spinning]] or [[weaving]] machinery to make [[yarn]] or cloth from cotton. Cotton mills were among the early factories in the [[Industrial Revolution]]. Some of the earliest mills were driven by animals. Most early mills were built by rivers and streams using [[Water wheel|water wheels]] for power. [[Boulton & Watt|Boulton and Watt]] started making powerful [[Steam engine|steam engines]] in1781. This led to the growth of larger, steam-powered mills in mill towns, like Manchester and Salford which had more than 50 mills by 1802.<ref>{{Citation|last=Thompson|first=F. M. L.|title=The Cambridge Social History of Britain, 1750–1950: Regions and Communities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1x-OEg8f1ykC|pages=27–28|year=1993|editor-last=Thompson|editor-first=F. M. L.|contribution=Town and city|contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1x-OEg8f1ykC&pg=PA27|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-43816-0|access-date=2013-12-07}}</ref> [[File:Ancoats_Redhill_Street-_4556.JPG|thumb|Former spinning mills in Ancoats, [[Manchester]]]] The new jobs in the mills pulled people in from country areas and made the towns and cities grow. At first they often employed children. That was stopped by the [[Factory Acts]]. Many of the first mills were in Lancashire but they spread to the rest of the world. In 1860, there were 2650 cotton mills in Lancashire, employing 440,000 people. In the twentieth century the mills changed to electric power. Many of them closed and those which are still working are mostly [[Automation|automated]], with many fewer workers. Many of the large buildings are still standing. == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Industries]]