Water Power

WATER POWER, the FALLS of CLYDE and the NATURE RESERVE

POWER

The New Lanark mills were built beside the River Clyde at Lanark to harness the power of the river and couple that power to drive the machinery of that day.
Machines such Arkwright’s Water Frame and later Crompton’s Mule revolutionised the textiles industry and were especially suitable for the production of cotton. Large factories, such as at New Lanark, were built near existing rivers or large streams to house these machines and the workforce which used them.

David Dale and Richard Arkwright developed the mills and set up a power system which involved damming the river, building a weir and excavating a long mill lade, complete with a series of sluice gates and water wheels. All this was designed to make great use of the natural energy of the Clyde which, through a series of waterfalls, falls a total of 43 metres at the site.

Arkwright agreed to train Dale’s workers to both build and to maintain the machines and other types of machine such as the mule and the water wheels.

In the 1880’s, long after Dale and his eminent successor, Robert Owen, had died the water wheels were replaced by water turbines which were far more efficient. A ground plan of the mills in the mid 19th. century indicates that there were 3 wheels in the basements of both Mills 1 and 2. These 6 wheels were replaced by a single turbine engine situated between the two buildings, while a second turbine was installed in the wheelhouse of mill 3.

An Engine House was added in 1881 to house a steam engine.