Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg
The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain
Images of the Cloth Manufacturing Industry

     Two almost simultaneous developmental directions took place that resulted in the replacement of the household spinning wheel. Richard Awkright (originally a barber and peruke maker) developed a device that could spin yarn that was initially was a "trapiche", powered by a single horse. Hence initially, power was rated at ONE HP (one horse power).
     Awkright then moved towards more power, by spinning yarn, powered by a water mill (water-frames). The next step taken by Awkright was coupling power derived from a steam engine. In addition, Awkright used vertically oriented spindles but modeled on the "flying-bobbin" of the Saxony or Liepzig flax spinning wheel, sometimes referred to as a "throstle". By 1824, Charles Danforth replaced the early Awkright throstle (flying bobbins) by a more advanced throstle.