New Lanark

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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Lanark, New, a large manufacturing village in Lanark parish, Lanarkshire, on the right bank of the Clyde, 1 ¼ mile S by W of Lanark town. Standing on low ground by the river side, ¾ mile NNW of Corra Linn, it commands a view of that romantic fall and of its Dundaff miniature. On all sides it is surrounded by steep and beautifully wooded banks and hills; and it adjoins a series of charming walks, formed for the recreation of its inhabitants, and both containing and commanding a series of charming views. New Lanark was founded in 1783 by the philanthropic and enterprising David Dale to serve as a seat of cotton manufacture; and from 1799 till 1827 was the model scene of the social experiments of Mr Dale's son-in-law, Robert Owen. Well-built and handsome, it possesses eminent attractions as a seat of manufacture, and has a postoffice under Lanark, an educational institution, and four spinning-mills. The educational institution comprises class-rooms and a lecture hall, and affords a wider and higher range of instruction than is usually given in factory schools. The first mill was opened in 1785; the second, erected in 1788, and destroyed by fire before completion, was rebuilt in 1789; and the third and fourth were built at subsequent periods. Each mill, as originally constructed, was 160 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 7 stories high; and, at the time of the erection of the first, a tunnel, 300 feet long, for bringing water to it from the Clyde, was cut through solid rock, and gave a fall of 28 feet. The works were purchased in 1881 by the Lanark Spinning Co., who have doubled their former size, and introduced the latest improvements in machinery. Pop. (1831) 1901, (1861) 1396, (1871) 973, (1881) 706.—Ord. Sur., sh. 23, 1865. See A. J. Booth's Life of Robert Owen (Lond. 1869).

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Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer