A gatehouse lodge built circa 1795 in Belper, Derbyshire, UK, at the start of the industrial revolution in the silk and cotton industries. The links with Rhode Island, USA, are explained.

This is the site of Gerry (Gerald) and Linda Knight, the previous occupants of East Lodge, a grade II building which dates from the late 18th century, the beginning of the industrial revolution in the UK. It was a gate-house to an estate of George Benson, one of Jedediah Strutt's sons. Strutt was one of the key industrialists who automated the production of silk and advanced cotton hosiery in fireproof buildings using water power from a novel weir system. Richard Arkwright and Strutt were two of the industrialists who worked in the area of Belper, Derbyshire, UK, part of the Derwent Valley World Heritage site. Strutt helped to provide work for the child worker's parents by developing the very old local industry of nail making. The links with Samuel Slater, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the industrial development in the USA and poetry are explained. Linda, an accomplished gardener, artist and poet has included some of her work on linked pages. Views of East Lodge's award winning garden are on "Links with Pawtucket"

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