Visit Scotland | Alba
Article published 02/08/2023

Lifeline funding by the National Heritage Memorial Fund

A press release from National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) has announced that New Lanark has been given a lifeline of £2.3 million by the NHMF as part of their COVID-19 Response Fund.

The restored 18th-century cotton mill village on the banks of the River Clyde, is one of Scotland’s six designated UNESCO World Heritage sites. New Lanark Trust will now be able to undertake maintenance of a number of Category A listed buildings on the site, which had been delayed because of the pandemic. The grant will also enable specific work on the roofs of the school house, nursery and new buildings and long row to take place.

Visitors can also stay on site in the 38 bedroom four star hotel. The site is a fantastic resource for schools to explore, and hosts a diverse collection of archive material.

Prior to the pandemic New Lanark averaged 320,000 visitors per annum making it the leading paid visitor attraction in South Lanarkshire. With the help of this funding from NHMF, New Lanark Trust hope to see the level of visitors returning to the site, with ambition to also grow visitor numbers.

Read the full release on the New Lanark Website

History of New Lanark

New Lanark was founded as a cotton-spinning village in 1785 by David Dale, who built cotton mills and housing for the mill workers. Dale built the mills there to take advantage of the water power provided by the only waterfalls on the River Clyde.

By the early 1800s, New Lanark was the biggest cotton mill in Scotland and formed one of the largest factory sites in the world. More than 2,000 people lived and/or worked in the village.

The mill continued to manufacture cotton, wool and textiles products for nearly 200 years, until 1968. 

Today, the site is an active village community where people still live and work. Located on the edge of the banks of the magnificent and powerful River Clyde and surrounded by numerous paths, it attracts both local walkers and those from further afield. It houses a visitor centre which tells the story of the mill village and integrates a number of buildings including Robert Owen’s House, Millworker’s House, a historic classroom and a mill showcasing textile machinery in action.

Restoration back on track

  • Tall Ship Glenlee

    £1.8 million to address the repairs backlog that arose due to the pandemic to the 125-year old ship. Of the many hundreds of ships built on the River Clyde, the Glenlee is one of only five Clyde built sailing ships still afloat today and is the last remaining three-masted Clyde-built sailing ship still afloat in the UK.

  • Scottish Railway Preservation Society

    £144,290 to complete the restoration of the 4-4-0 LNER Class D49 No.246 "Morayshire", which is on long-term loan from National Museums Scotland, and to enable the locomotive to run on the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway.

    The restoration was being undertaken in other parts of the UK when the pandemic hit, putting the locomotive at risk of not being reassembled, funding will now ensure Morayshire is fully restored and returned to operation.

  • Wanlockhead Museum Trust

    £75,752 for essential repairs to the historic Miners' Library, Straitsteps Cottages and Goldscaur Cottage which are integral to the Museum of Lead Mining that represents the social and industrial history of this once important mining industry, ensuring that their collection of national importance will be safeguarded.

    The pandemic forced the museum to close and put their fundraising campaign on hold, with resulting deterioration to the buildings putting the historic structures and collections they contain at risk.

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