Established in 1785 by Glasgow industrialist David Dale in partnership with Richard Arkwright, New Lanark was a model textile mill built to take advantage the water power generated by the Falls of Clyde. The mill consisted of a large factory with adjoining tenements to house the workforce. While Dale had philanthropic intentions, providing guaranteed work and housing for the local poor as well as a boarding house for young children, the mill experienced high levels of crime and extreme poverty.
In 1800, Dale put New Lanark up for sale and it was purchased by his son-in-law, the Welsh industrialist Robert Owen. Owen took a great interest in social reform and following experiments at mills near Manchester, set about reforming New Lanark as a model town. He was a follower of the utilitarian ideas of Jeremy Bentham but soon developed his own socialist philosophy, publishing his New View of Society in 1813.
Owen believed that a person’s character was not ingrained but was affected by causes beyond their control. This meant that those who had resorted to crime or had developed alcoholism were not predestined to do so, but had been driven to it by outside influences, such as poverty. If the causes could be avoided, then social and moral improvement could be achieved.
To this end, Owen established his Institution for the Formation of Character at New Lanark, delivering this address to his workers on New Years’ Day, 1 January 1816. In it, he details his philosophy and his intentions for the institution. The speech also explains the ‘New Era’ that he hoped his ideas of mutual respect for all in society would encourage – listing the eight precepts upon which his philosophy was founded.
The institution was to serve as a free school for all members of the New Lanark community. Children up to the age of six would be cared for while their mothers worked at the mill. They were allowed to play indoors in poor weather and outside during fine weather. From the ages of six to ten, boys and girls would then be taught reading, writing, arithmetic, sewing and knitting. They would also receive instruction in dancing and music. Additionally, boys were to be given some military training. After ten, the children would join their parents in the factory but were allowed to take part in evening classes to continue their learning if they wished, with drawing and mathematics being added to the curriculum. Rooms were also kept warm and opened to adults on weekdays during the winter months “to enable them to read, write, account, sew, or play at any amusing game (not however for money), converse or walk about”. Further educational opportunities were also offered to adults outside work hours.
In 1810, Owen had instituted an eight-hour day at the mill with the slogan ‘eight hours labour, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest’. If useful activities and education could be offered to workers during recreational periods, he believed that they would be happy and more efficient during work hours. He also sought to encourage free thought and freedom of religion within the community “to shew the infinite beneficial consequences that will result to mankind from its adoption”. Corporal punishment was forbidden, replaced with a ‘silent monitor’ system where workers were kept under supervision and their behaviour constantly monitored to see if it was appropriate. In the mill, coloured blocks were also placed above each worker’s post to show to all their behavioural record and productivity, Owen believing that the embarrassment experienced from having poor performance or behaviour displayed to everyone would encourage workers to always strive to improve.
The reforms made New Lanark internationally famous, and Owen started to welcome tourists who came to see the community. Owen believed that all people, no matter their background, could achieve success if given opportunities to develop. While achieving little progress in persuading others to adopt his methods, Owen spent his life advocating for workers’ rights, supporting reformist legislation such as the Cotton Mills and Factory Act of 1819. As the nineteenth century progressed, such ideas became an important tenet of the growing labour movement in Britain.