Historic New Lanark: The Dale & Owen Industrial Community since 1785

by Ian Donnachie, George R. Hewitt

New Lanark, the former cotton spinning village, is known as the pioneer of technological and social change in the Industrial Revolution. This book traces the community's history from its conception as a centre of mass production in 1785 to its present day standing as a World Heritage Site.

Beginning with New Lanark's early development under its creator, the banker and textile entrepreneur, David Dale (1739 - 1806), the text looks at the social conditions of the mainly migrant workforce recruited to the village, and especially at the use of child labour from the cities. Detailing Robert Owen's social and educational experiments at New Lanark (1813 - 1825), it describes how the community became a showpiece around the world for his New System" of society. After Owen's departure for New Harmony in Indiana, the book charts the relative decline of the mills under a succession of owners."

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 13, 1993

About the author

Ian Donnachie is Emeritus Professor in History. An economist-turned-historian, he worked as a researcher at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, before moving to what is now Napier University, Edinburgh. He then joined The Open University. He has also taught at Deakin University, Victoria and the University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Reviews

[Adeptus Fringilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a worthwhile book about the history of New Lanark. It's well written in seperate chapters. I would have liked to read more about the actual work that they have carried out there, but maybe that's for another book.
New Lanark seems to me under appreciated by tourists and the public. In my opinion, it is probably one of the 3 main places every tourist should visit.