The Mills 2

Cruelty often happened within the mills. The laws governing the working hours of children were eventually changed, but not before many generations of suffering. The working conditions in these mills were often very bad. They were cold, badly ventilated and dangerous. The machines were often dangerous in the hands of the semi-trained workforce. The cotton fibres, when inhaled, caused irritation within the lungs and eventually tuberculoses.

There were exceptions, as there always are, of the stereotypical mill environment. One such place was a mill that sat next to the river Clyde, New Lanark. The four mills of New Lanark and the housing could accommodate the 1,300 employees who worked there by the 1790s. This is the vision of one man and the work of two, David Dale and Robert Owen. David Dale and his partners, Arkwright and Dempster, selected the site for New Lanark, conscious of the fact that within Lanark there were some very useful human resources. Workmen and tradesmen existed with skills such as stocking manufacturing, linen weaving, stonemasonry and clockmaking. Unfortunately the site was reported to be a ‘mere morass situated in a hollow den of difficult access.’ The roads around the site were also unfavourable and the distance from Glasgow caused problems. The reason for Dale and his partners choice was simple, the raw water power provided by the River Clyde. It ensured a steady amount of water in all seasons that could be used to drive the machinery. Once the site was selected Dale campaigned to improve the standards of the roads. Then, in April, building began on the first mill, using locally quarried stone. The land upon which New Lanark was being constructed actually belonged to Lord Braxfield who feuded the land to Dale for £32 10s.