General view from S of SW side of the Institute

Description General view from S of SW side of the Institute

Date 13/6/2002

Catalogue Number SC 754863

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of E 32406 CN

Scope and Content The Institute, New Lanark, South Lanarkshire, from south This shows the New Institution for the Formation of Character which was built between 1809 and 1816, with the foundations for Mill No 4 in the foreground. The covered bridge on the left connects the 1881 engine house to Mill No 3. It is a replica of the covering for the rope drive system which transferred the power generated by the steam engine in the engine house to the mill. The Institute has a piended roof and ashlar dressings around the windows and quoins (corner stones). The Institution cost £3,000 to build and was extremely important in allowing Robert Owen to develop his ideas on creating a harmonious society at New Lanark. He hoped that he could improve the morals of his adult workforce and make them aspire to a better standard of living. Originally the building was used as a school but it became the centre of the village as it was used as a religious meeting place, canteen, dance and concert hall. 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.

External Reference Original: E32406/CN

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/754863

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap