Introduction
Richard Arkwright (1732-1792), the son of a Lancashire tailor, was knighted in 1786 in recognition of his role as one of the architects of the Industrial Revolution - not for the inventions once credited to him, but for developing the idea of factories.
SIR Richard Arkwright was a leading figure in the industrial revolution of the 18th century, whose textile machines and mills established the basis of the factory system.
Arkwright started out as a barber, but after the tragic loss of his first wife in 1755, he discovered a flair for business that brought him fame, fortune, and quite a few enemies. He found penniless inventors and invested in their ingenious machines for spinning cotton, which he then put to work in mills all over England and Scotland. Arkwright’s brazen attempt to patent these inventions as his own, in the hope of strangling competition at birth, was - fortunately - struck down by the courts.
But Arkwright’s real innovation was not any machine. It was the factory system itself. The small towns he built around his mills, for whole families drafted in from the surrounding countryside, were soon copied by others, changing British society, industry and economics forever.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 His. Quite. Start.
2 Down. First. Lead.
3 Discover. Find. Machine.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Verb and Noun Find in Think and Speak
Many words can serve as noun or verb depending on context: see if you can prove this with the examples below. Nouns go well with words such as the/a, or his/her; verbs go well after I/you/he etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Attempt. 2 Change. 3 Hope. 4 Court. 5 Start. 6 Work. 7 Machine. 8 Lead. 9 Copy.
Variations: 1.if possible, use your noun in the plural, e.g. cat → cats. 2.use your verb in a past form, e.g. go → went. 3.use your noun in a sentence with one of these words: any, enough, fewer, less, no, some.
Subject and Object Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in two sentences, first as the subject of a verb, and then as the object of a verb. It doesn’t have to be the same verb: some verbs can’t be paired with an object (e.g. arrive, happen), so watch out for these.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Family. 2. Birth. 3. Loss. 4. Attempt. 5. Figure. 6. Economics. 7. Copy. 8. System. 9. Business.
Variations: 1.use your noun in the plural (e.g. cat → cats), if possible. 2.give one of your sentences a future aspect (e.g. will, going to). 3.write sentences using negatives such as not, neither, nobody and never.
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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