General view of the foundations and water-wheel pit of Mill No.4, which was destroyed by a fire in 1883. The Institute can be seen to the left, and part of the School to the right

Description General view of the foundations and water-wheel pit of Mill No.4, which was destroyed by a fire in 1883. The Institute can be seen to the left, and part of the School to the right

Date 12/6/2002

Catalogue Number SC 754871

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of E 32414 CN

Scope and Content Foundations, Mill No 4, New Lanark, South Lanarkshire, from west This shows the foundations of Mill No 4 with the New Institution for the Formation of Character on the left and the School on the right. The mill was built between 1791 and 1793 and was completely destroyed by fire in 1883. The waterwheel is not original but was salvaged in 1990 from Hole Mill Farm, Fife. Mill No 4 was originally a home for 275 orphaned children with a storeroom and workshop. By 1813 all these activities had been moved to purpose-built buildings and the structure was converted into a mule-spinning mill. Mule-spinning machines combined the moving carriage of a 'spinning jenny' and the drafting rollers of Arkwright's water frame, and could spin yarn into different sizes. 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: E32414/CN

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/754871

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap