Who was Robert Owen, and how did he make New Lanark famous?
Is it true that he changed the lives of the workers at New Lanark? Read on and find out more. Robert Owen was born in 1771 in Wales. In 1799 he married Caroline Dale, whose father owned the New Lanark Mills. On New Year’s Day, 1800, he became the manager of the mills. He decided that he was going to try an experiment at New Lanark. He was going to introduce changes that would improve the lives of those living and working in the village. He hoped that they would become good, happy citizens. Here are some of the things that Owen did during his management at New Lanark: • Abolished the practice of employing young orphans in the mills, and gradually moved away from child labour by offering education as an alternative to work. • Reduced the length of the working day but still managed to increase production from the mills. • Drew up a list of rules and regulations for the villagers. These were to ensure that the houses and streets were kept clean and safe, and to encourage people to get on w
