The Industrial Revolution is sometimes seen as a harbinger of restrictions on women's lives, with the result that middle- and upper-class women were relegated to the home. The history of the Strutt family shows the shortcomings of this stereotype. Elizabeth Strutt, a well-educated woman, was virtually a full partner with her husband, Jedediah, in their cloth factories. Perhaps influenced by their religious beliefs, the Strutts also provided, for the time period, humane conditions for their workers. Although Elizabeth died at forty-five, her children carried on the successful family business.

1. The following website presents a brief biography of Jedediah Strutt, but is more useful for its links and illustrations, included an engraving of the Strutt mills at Milford:
   http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/TEXstrutt.htm
2. Elizabeth and Jedediah's son William rebuilt the Strutts' Belper north mill after the original building burned down in 1803. Read about and view a photograph of this mill at
   http://www.ambervalley.gov.uk/tourism/historical/historical.asp
3. The Strutts helped launch the industrial cotton-spinning industry in Belper, England. Take a virtual tour of Belper, with an emphasis on this aspect of the town's history, at
   http://freespace.virgin.net/allen.r/belper1.htm
4. The following web site has a brief but informative discussion about the consideration the Strutts displayed for their workers; they attempted to make their factories fireproof, and they offered clean water, decent housing, and religious education as well.
   http://www.knight-gkla.supanet.com/the-strutts-in-belper.htm