New Lanark

New Lanark is a village on the River Clyde, approximately 1.4 mi from Lanark, in Lanarkshire, and some 25 mi southeast of Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1785 and opened in 1786 by David Dale, who built cotton mills and housing for the mill workers. Dale built the mills there in a brief partnership with the English inventor and entrepreneur Richard Arkwright to take advantage of the water power provided by the only waterfalls on the River Clyde. Under the ownership of a partnership that included Dale's son-in-law, Robert Owen, a Welsh utopian socialist and philanthropist, New Lanark became a successful business and an early example of a planned settlement and so an important milestone in the historical development of urban planning.[1]

The New Lanark mills operated until 1968. After a period of decline, the New Lanark Conservation Trust (NLCT; now known as the New Lanark Trust, NLT) was founded in 1974, to prevent demolition of the village. By 2006 most of the buildings had been restored and the village has become a major tourist attraction. It is one of seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Scotland[2] and an Anchor Point of ERIH – the European Route of Industrial Heritage.

History

New Lanark today

It has been estimated that over 400,000 people visit the village each year. The importance of New Lanark has been recognised by UNESCO as one of Scotland's six World Heritage Sites, the others being Edinburgh Old and New Towns, Heart of Neolithic Orkney, St Kilda, the Antonine Wall and the Forth Bridge. The mills and town were listed in 2001 after an unsuccessful application for World Heritage listing in 1986.[11]

About 130 people live in New Lanark. Of the residential buildings, only Mantilla Row has not been restored. Some of the restoration work was undertaken by the NLA and the NLCT. Braxfield Row and most of Long Row were restored by private individuals who bought the houses as derelict shells and restored them as private houses. Seven houses in Double Row have been externally restored by the NLCT and are being sold for private ownership. In addition to the 21 owner-occupied properties in the village there are 45 rented properties which were let by the NLA, which was a registered housing association. The NLA also owned other buildings in the village. In 2009 the NLA was wound up as being financially and administratively unviable, and responsibility for the village's tenanted properties passed to the NLCT.

In 2009 Clydesdale Bank released a new series of Scottish banknotes, of which the 20-pound note features New Lanark on its reverse.

Considerable attention has been given to maintaining the historical authenticity of the village. No television aerials or satellite dishes are allowed in the village, and services such as telephone, television and electricity are delivered though buried cables. To provide a consistent appearance all external woodwork is painted white, and doors and windows follow a consistent design. Householders used to be banned from owning dogs, but this rule is no longer enforced.

Some features introduced by the NLT, such as commercial signage and a glass bridge connecting the Engine House and Mill Number Three, have been criticised. The retention of a 1924-pattern red telephone box in the village square has also been seen as inappropriate.

The mills, the hotel and most of the non-residential buildings in the village are owned and operated by the NLT through wholly owned companies.

Buildings

Braxfield Row, built c1790 – a tenement block converted to ten owner-occupied houses, nine are four-storey and one five-storey.

Long Row, built c1790 – a tenement block converted to 14 three-storey houses. Ten are owner occupied and four are tenanted.

Double Row, built c1795 – a tenement block of seven four-storey houses and one five-storey that were occupied from the 1790s to the 1970s. They originally contained back-to-back apartments. The side facing the river was also known as Water Row. Seven of the houses have been externally renovated to be sold as single occupancy homes. Number seven is known as the 'Museum Stair' and is designated a Scheduled Monument, due to the remarkable survival of original artefacts and materials such as fireplaces, sinks, 'set-in' beds, remnants of wallpaper and linoleum.

Mantilla Row, built c1795 – a tenement block demolished when it became structurally unsafe. New foundations and some walls have been laid, but the row has not been completely rebuilt.

Wee Row, built c1795 – a tenement block converted to a youth hostel in 1994. It was once operated by the Scottish Youth Hostels Association but is now managed by the New Lanark Mill Hotel. Closed and to be sold.

New Buildings, built 1798 – a four-storey building containing the bell tower. The bell, which once summoned the workers to the mills, is now sounded at midnight on the last day of the year. The building contains a museum and tenanted flats.

Nursery Buildings, built 1809 – a three-storey building that has been converted to tenanted flats. It was once used to house the orphan children who worked in the mills.

Caithness Row, built 1792 – a three-storey tenement block that has been converted to tenanted flats. Caithness is a district in the Scottish Highlands and the row was supposedly named after a group of Highlanders recruited to work in the mills.

Village Church, built 1898 – now used for social purposes and named the Community Hall. Has since fallen into disrepair and has become structurally unsafe.[14]

Mill Number One, built 1789 – originally built in 1785 and started spinning in March 1786. It burnt down on 9 October 1788 and was rebuilt in 1789. In 1802 the mill had three waterwheels driving 6556 spindles. In 1811 558 people, 408 of them female, worked in the mill. In 1945 it had its top two floors removed. The building became derelict and was renovated and rebuilt as the New Lanark Mill Hotel. The hotel opened in 1998.

Waterhouses, built c1799-1818 – a row of one- and two-storey buildings next to Mill Number One, converted into holiday flats.

Mill Number Two, built 1788 – in 1811 it had three waterwheels and employed 486 people, 283 of them women. It was widened in 1884–5 to accommodate ring frames. The extension is the only brick faced building in the village. It is now used for tourist purposes.

Mill Number Three, built 1790–92 – known as 'the jeanies house' and contained a large number of water powered jennies. It burned down in 1819 and was rebuilt circa 1826–33. In 1811 it employed 398 people, 286 of them women. It is now used for tourist purposes. It also contains a water turbine that generates electricity for parts of the village.

Mill Number Four, built circa 1791-3 – initially used as a storeroom and workshop. It also housed '275 children who have no parents' (Donnachie and G. Hewitt). It was destroyed by fire in 1883 and has not been rebuilt. In 1990 a waterwheel was brought from Hole Mill Farm, Fife, and installed on the site of the mill.

Institute for the Formation of Character, built 1816 – a four-storey building that is now used for tourism and business purposes.

Engine House, built 1881 – attached to the Institute for the Formation of Character and contains a restored steam engine.

School, built 1817 – a three-storey building that is now a museum. It housed the first school for working-class children in Scotland.

Mechanics Workshop, built 1809 – a three-storey building that once housed the craftsmen who built and maintained the mill machinery.

Dyeworks, built ? – originally a brass and iron foundry with its own waterwheel. It now contains shops and a visitor centre.

Gasworks with octagonal chimney, built by 1851 – used as a store.

Owens House, built 1790 – used as a museum.

Dales House, built 1790 – used as business premises.

Mill Lade – dug to carry water from the River Clyde to power the mill machinery.

Graveyard – on the hill above New Lanark, between the village and the visitors' car park. Many of the first villagers are buried there.

1 & 2 New Lanark Road (locally known as the twin houses) – two opposing two-storey gatehouses some distance from the village. These marked the entrance to New Lanark. They are now in private ownership.

official name	New Lanark
gaelic name	Lannraig Ùr
country	Scotland
static image name	New Lanark buildings 2009.jpg
static image caption	New Lanark Mill Hotel and Waterhouses by River Clyde
population	200
population ref	(approx.)
coordinates	°N, °W
post town	LANARK
postcode area	ML
postcode district	ML11
dial code	01555
constituency westminster	Hamilton and Clyde Valley
unitary scotland	South Lanarkshire
lieutenancy scotland	Lanarkshire
constituency scottish parliament	Clydesdale

History

Living conditions

New Lanark today

Historic maps

Buildings

Visiting New Lanark

See also

External links

References