David Dale and his House

David Dale was the first owner of New Lanark; he was born on 6th January 1739.

He began his career as a weavers apprentice in paisley, making a name for himself at only 24 years old moving to Glasgow and set up to be a textile merchant.

This evolved into him becoming a burgher of Glasgow and a member of the Merchant Guild and Trades House, this ended in David becoming the first Glasgow agent for the Royal Bank.

He then found an interest in manufacturing and set up a Turkey-red dyeworks at Dalmarnock and cotton mills in Catrine, Blantyre and, of course, New Lanark.

Along with his money, Dale also brought his religious and philanthropic views to new Lanark, believing in welfare and education for his workers, which was not the norm at the time.

As a manager of the mills, David was seen as kind and provided good quality clean housing for his workers, which are also present on the site!

The working days in the mills were long, beginning at 6 am with the workers being given half an hour for their breakfast which consisted of porridge. The day finished at 7pm and the workers were given 1 hour for dinner which consisted of barley broth with ‘good fresh beef, cheese or, in season, herrings and potatoes.’ This was very good food for the standards of the day.

Children made up a large part of the work force, which was normal at the time, and in 1793, out of 1157 workers, 800 were children. But records show they were very well cared for.

Within their housing the workers slept in dormitories, there would be six sleeping apartments and children would share the beds 3 in each. You can see what this would have looked in in the ‘Mill workers house’ attraction.

With so many children working, Dale also felt an obligation to educate them. He introduced a structured system of education which was considered very progressive at the time. He established a school and by 1796, he employed 16 teachers and instructed 507 pupils in reading, writing and arithmetic. He did not only teach arithmetic and reading however, he also valued practical and recreational skills; two part-time teachers also taught sewing and church music which makes sense due to his religious background.

Dale could not run New Lanark forever however and by 1800 he was preparing for his retirement and started selling the mills with Robert Owen purchasing New Lanark in 1801

David Dale died on 17th March 1806 and his legacy lives on within New Lanark today.

The house:

Within the site, David Dales house is still standing. It was the largest detached house in the village and was build around 1790 with two wings on each side of the house added after 1798.

Sitting in the centre of the village, the house is a poignant reminder of dale himself at the heart of everything in New Lanark.

Robert Owen also had residence in the building from 1798 until 1808 and it is believed it is him who added the wings in order to enlarge the space for his growing family.

In 1903 it was reported the house has five rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom on the ground floor, and a further four bedrooms on the first floor and two more in the attic. The house also has a basement level.

The house is one of two residences David Dale kept and it is clear why some of the other managers also kept residence in the house sue to its size.

It was refurbished in the late 19th century and most of the internal detailing comes from this time.

The house also has two chimney pieces one being in the main living room and the other in the former kitchen.