There's a mule on the loose—in a cotton mill!

You won't find this one in the stables. The spinning mule, invented in 1779 by Samuel Crompton, supercharged textile production by spinning cotton thread, not only creating finer and stronger thread but outspinning 200 hand-spinners with just one mule. The mule was used primarily in Manchester cotton mills.

A hybrid of earlier machines, it combined a spinning wheel and water frame, using rollers and spindles to spin yarn—perfect for the muslin gowns that graced fashionable assembly room.

By the early 1800s, these mules were powered by steam, not just water, and filled factory floors from Manchester to Bolton. While they made cloth cheaper and more available, they also fueled the rise of the factory system… and brought with it a dark undercurrent of child labor and lost cottage industry.

Are you up for a research challenge? See if you can answer these questions:

• How did the spinning mule differ from the spinning jenny?

• What fabric became wildly popular thanks to mule-spun yarn?

• How did this invention change home life for rural families?

For further reading, check out these gems:

Strutt’s North Mill Belper: Spinning A Revolution

https://www.belpernorthmill.org.uk/collections/our-favourite-things/the-spinning-mule/

British library: Textile Manufacturing During the Industrial Revolution https://www.britishlibrary.cn/en/articles/the-industrial-revolution/

Emma Griffin: A People’s History of the Industrial Revolution

https://a.co/d/chteqan 

Science Museum: Spinning Mule

https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co8405253/spinning-mule

Historic UK: The Industrial Revolution Timeline

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Timeline-Industrial-Revolution/

BBC Bitesize: The Textile Industry and The Industrial Revolution https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zys7xbk