New Lanark

Institute dancing class

New Lanark was founded in 1785, by Scots entrepreneur David Dale, as a new industrial settlement with water-powered cotton-spinning mills. By 1820, the population was around 2,500. Under the enlightened management of Dale's son-in-law, Robert Owen, New Lanark became famous as a model community. He pioneered social and educational reforms to improve life for his workers. Child labour was phased out and progressive schools were established to provide education and recreation.

Spinning mule

The cotton-mills closed in 1968; the village is in the care of an independent charity, New Lanark Conservation Trust. A resident community lives in the restored mill-workers’ housing. Many of the historic buildings are open to visitors. The Visitor Centre offers innovative audio-visual exhibitions incorporating archive photographs and oral history in the Institute, School, Mill-workers’ House, Owen’s House, Village Store, and Mill No. Three, where you can see working textile machinery. Renewable energy in the form of hydro-electricity still powers the public buildings. The dramatic riverside setting makes the New Lanark Mill Hotel, self-catering Waterhouses and Youth Hostel attractive accommodation options from which to explore the fascinating and well-documented history of New Lanark, and the way former generations of mill-workers lived and worked. New Lanark is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.