General view from SE along SW side of Wee Row, with SE gable end in foreground (right), and 9-24 Double Row in background (left)

Description General view from SE along SW side of Wee Row, with SE gable end in foreground (right), and 9-24 Double Row in background (left)

Date 12/6/2002

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number E 32464 CN

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 754921

Scope and Content Nos 1-8 Double Row, New Lanark, South Lanarkshire, from south-east This shows Nos 1-8 Double Row which was built in the late 18th century, with Nos 9-24 in the background. The south front (left) of Nos 1-8 is four-storeyed but because the building is built on a slope, the north front is only three-storeyed. There are no chimneypots on the chimney-stack which suggests that the fireplaces in the rooms are no longer used for coal fires. Mill workers and their families mainly lived in single-roomed flats in these tenements although larger families may have been allowed more space. There was no running water or toilets and often people would sleep on beds on wheels (hurley beds) that were kept under the built-in box-beds. Although cramped by modern standards these buildings were forward thinking for their time and Robert Owen ensured that there were regular inspections to check cleanliness. In 1994 Nos 1-8 Double Row was restored and converted into a youth hostel. New Lanark was founded c.1785 by David Dale (1739-1806), a Glasgow merchant, and Richard Arkwright (1732-92), inventor of a water-frame for cotton spinning. Powered by water flowing from the Falls of Clyde the first cotton mill opened in 1786 and by 1799 the complex was the largest of its kind in Scotland. Robert Owen (1771-1858), who was married to David Dale's daughter, was one of a group who bought the mills in 1800. He transformed them into a model industrial community with good working conditions, houses, a non-profit store, a school and an institute for workers. Owen's partners bought the mills in 1828 and operated them until 1881 when another partnership took over. The Gourock Ropework Company ran the site until 1968 which is now mainly under the care of the New Lanark Conservation Trust (founded 1974-5). New Lanark was designated a World Heritage Site in 2001. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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