Detailed view from E of NE side of the School and main entrance

Description Detailed view from E of NE side of the School and main entrance

Date 12/6/2002

Catalogue Number SC 754885

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of E 32428 CN

Scope and Content The School, New Lanark, South Lanarkshire, from east This shows the north-east front of the School which was built in 1817 and has been strengthened with metal tie bars bolted onto metal plates just above the ground floor. The pediment which surmounts the projecting central three bays has a blind oculus (circular window). The cast-iron railings protect the ground-floor windows and allow more light into the basement. The School closed in 1884 and was used as a net factory before being converted back into an education centre in 2000. The School helped Robert Owen develop his ideas on creating a harmonious society at New Lanark but the high running costs caused friction with his business partners. It cost £2.70 per annum for each day pupil which was three or four times the national average. Owen justified the school to his partners by saying the well-being of people was just as important as the maintenance of machines. 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: E32428/CN

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/754885

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap