General view from S of SW side of New Buildings
E 32555 CN
Description General view from S of SW side of New Buildings
Date 13/6/2002
Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu
Catalogue Number E 32555 CN
Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images
Copies SC 755011
Scope and Content New Buildings, New Lanark, South Lanarkshire, from south This shows the 13-bayed New Buildings which were built between 1798 and 1810 with a six-bayed addition to the left. The projecting three central bays are surmounted with a pediment with an oculus window and a bellcote which was originally on Mill No 1 and moved in the mid-19th century. The gate piers in the foreground are at the top of the road which leads to the mills. The New Buildings were originally built as homes for workers but, as Owen wanted to improve the morals of his workforce, he added halls on the upper floor. Religious services and Sunday schools were held in these halls until 1898 when a church was constructed. By 1903 the building contained flats, halls and a surgery. The block was restored after 1978. 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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