Robert Owen and New Lanark Contribution from S Black

Recently I was fortunate to be able to visit New Lanark in the Clyde Valley where the fast flowing river once provided power.  It was here that Robert Owen, a Welshman from Newtown, a social pioneer and life-long campaigner for greater equality in society was able was able to put into practice his ground breaking ideas.

Highly intelligent and deeply interested in all matters philosophical and scientific, and as a result he became a manager at a cotten mill in Manchester at the age of 20.  Here because of his enlightened management and full understanding of all the processes he was able to produce the finest quality yarn.

He became the owner of a mill at New Lanark and soon realised that his financial partners had little enthusiasm for his revolutionary ideas.  Business prospered after he replaced them with six new men some of whom were members of the Society of Friends and who were prepared to take a 5% return on their investment.

He moved quickly securing decent housing for his employees, building schools and churches and his famous Institute for the formation of character.  At  this his workforce could pursue intellectual interests in the evening in addition to dancing and music from their band.  The village shop he set up offerred food at reasonable prices with any profit made being ploughed back into numerous facilities, including the sickness fund.

The visitor could easily spend a full day visiting the numerous buildings and facilities set up by Owen .  Begining at the visitor centre reception one is taken on a suspended chair viewing the various activities of a mill with a commentary by a mill girl of the 1820’s, Annie McLeod, who describes her life in New Lanark.  A roof garden above allows one to view every part of the Mill.

Robert owen will always be remembered for setting up a nursery for children  thereby freeing up the mums to work.  He would not allow children under 10 to work in his mill, but provided a wide curriculum for them at school.  Although he had no religion himself, regarding it as a source of conflict and division, he was none the less regarded as a strong advocate of religious tolerance. There were 19 rules for the community,some of which were draconian by today’s teachings but were generally accepted as guaranteering a better and happier ambience.

Robert Owen’s legacy lives on today in the Cooperative Movement of 1844, and in places such as Saltaire, Bournville,Port Sunlight and the Garden cities and more recently in the Kibbutz settlements in Israel.  It is interesting to know that many of his ideas have now filterd through to present dey administrations.  Owen’s way was the middle way between exploitive capital and inefficient Goverments..