New Lanark, Scotland

New Lanark became a World Heritage site in 2001. New Lanark is at the eastern end of the Clyde Valley and is just outside the market town of Lanark. New Lanark was built around 1785 by the industrialist David Dale, who constructed a series of mills close to the River Clyde. The fast flowing river provided power for the mills. The village's cotton mills continued to operate for nearly two hundred years until they closed in 1968.

The village was then managed by Robert Owen, the son-in-law of David Dale, from 1800 to 1824. The village introduced new ideas to keep the workforce happy - childcare, education, healthcare and cooperative shopping. He built schools, good housing and the world's first co-operative food store.

The UNESCO inscription states "When Richard Arkwright’s new factory system for textile production was brought to New Lanark the need to provide housing and other facilities to the workers and managers was recognized. It was there that Robert Owen created a model for industrial communities that was to spread across the world in the 19th and 20th centuries. New Lanark saw the construction not only of well designed and equipped workers’ housing but also public buildings designed to improve their spiritual as well as their physical needs.The name of New Lanark is synonymous with that of Robert Owen and his social philosophy in matters such as progressive education, factory reform, humane working practices, international cooperation, and garden cities, which was to have a profound influence on social developments throughout the 19th century and beyond"

David Dale was a self-made entrepreneur from Glasgow who had an estate at Rosebank, Cambuslang, not far from the Falls of Clyde (waterfalls). He constructed a dam above New Lanark and water was drawn off the river to power the mill machinery. Dale sold the mills, lands and village in 1800 to a partnership that included Dale's son-in-law Robert Owen.

Some 2,500 people lived at New Lanark, and Owen found the workers living conditions unsatisfactory and resolved to improve them. He opened the first infants' school in Britain in 1816. Although the mills were very profitable, Owen's partners were unhappy about paying the cost of his welfare programmes. Owen bought out his partners in order to be able to continue with the reforms.

In 1825, The Walker family bought New Lanark. The Walkers managed the village until 1881, when it was sold to Birkmyre and Sommerville. They remained in control of the village until the mills closed in 1968.

When the mills closed the inhabitants drifted away from the village, and the buildings began to deteriorate. In 1975 the New Lanark Conservation Trust was founded to prevent demolition of the village. Most of the buildings have now been restored and the village has become a major tourist attraction. In addition around 250 peopel live in the village. The buildings in New Lanark are listed in Wikipedia:-

• Braxfield Row [built c1790] – a row of ten houses. There are nine four storey properties and one five storey property. All the houses are owner occupied.
• Long Row [built c1790] - a row of fourteen houses, all three storey. Ten of the houses are owner occupied and four are tenanted.
• Double Row [built c1795] – a row of five storey houses. The row is currently derelict.
• Mantilla Row [built c1795] – this row of three houses was demolished when it became structurally unsafe. New foundations and a retaining wall have been laid, but the row has not been rebuilt.
• Wee Row [built c1795] – a row of houses which has been converted to a youth hostel. The hostel is operated by the Scottish Youth Hostels Association.
• New Buildings [built 1798] – a four storey building containing the clock tower. The building has been converted to tenanted flats.
• Nursery Buildings [built 1809] – a three storey building which has been converted to tenanted flats. The buildings were once used to house the orphan children who worked in the mills.
• Caithness Row [built 1792] – a row of three storey houses which have been converted to tenanted flats. Caithness is a district in the Scottish Highlands. The row was named for a group of Highlanders who were recruited to work in the mills.
• Village Church [built in 1898] – now used for social purposes.
• Mill Number One [built in 1789] – this building became derelict and was rebuilt as the New Lanark Mill Hotel.
• Waterhouses – a row of one and two storey buildings which lie next to Mill Number One and have been converted to holiday flats.
• Mill Number Two [built in 1788] – this building is now used for tourist purposes.
• Mill Number Three [built in 1824] – this building is now used for tourist purposes. The building also contains a turbine which generates electric power for parts of the village.
• Mill Number Four – this building was destroyed by fire in 1883 and has not been rebuilt.
• Institute for the Formation of Character [built in 1816] – a four storey building which is now used for tourism and business purposes.
• Engine House [built in 1881] – this building is attached to the Institute for the Formation of Character and contains a restored steam engine.
• School [built in 1817] – a three storey building which is now used as a museum. This building housed the first school for working class children in Scotland.
• Mechanics Workshop [built in 1809] – a three storey building which once housed the crafstmen who built and maintained the mill machinery.
• Dyeworks [built in ?] – these buildings now contain shops and a visitor centre.
• Gasworks with octagonal tower [built at some time before 1851] - this building is used as a store.
• Owens House [built in 1790] – this building is now used as a museum.
• Dales House [built in 1790] – this building is now occupied by a firm of book publishers.
• Mill Lade - built to carry water from the River Clyde to power the mill machinery.
• Graveyard - the graveyard is on the hill above New Lanark, between the village and the visitors car park. Many of the first villagers are buried there.

New Lanark World Heritage Site

New Lanark arial view

New Lanark Mill Hotel

World Heritage Sites in Britain