Wednesday 18th August 1819
August 18 after breakfast we walked to Mr Owens manufactory which is very extensive. We then entered Lady Ross’s grounds to see the falls of the Clyde to a noble cataract surrounded by sublime scenery
these are on a much larger scale than any we have witnessed in Wales we took an early dinner at Lanark and then walked to Cartland Craig a singularly fine rock said to be rent asunder by an earthquake at the **** bottom runs the River Clyde on one side is Wallace’s cave after he is supposed to have concealed himself we then saw another fine waterfall and advanced through a fine country to Hamilton, where changing horses we arrived at 12 o’clock at Glasgow.
OBSERVATIONS & COMMENTS:
Robert Owen (1771 – 1858) was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropic social reformer, and one of the founders of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement.
1833: Robert Owen by William Henry Brooke in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, accession number NPG 943. This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or less. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_Owen_by_William_Henry_Brooke.jpg
Owen is best known for his efforts to improve the working conditions of his factory workers and his promotion of experimental socialistic communities. In the early 1800s Owen became wealthy as an investor and eventual manager of a large textile mill at New Lanark. With its water power provided by the falls of the River Clyde, the cotton-spinning operation became one of Britain's largest. In 1813 Owen authored and published A New View of Society, or Essays on the Principle of the Formation of the Human Character, the first of four essays that he wrote to explain the principles behind his reform-minded and socialistic philosophy. In July 1799 Owen and his partners bought the New Lanark mill from David Dale, and Owen became the New Lanark mill's manager in January 1800.
2005: Robert Owen's House, New Lanark by Gordon Brown. This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. The copyright on this image is owned by Gordon Brown and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_Owen%27s_House,_New_Lanark.jpg
Encouraged by his success in the management of cotton mills in Manchester, Owen hoped to conduct the New Lanark mill on higher principles than purely commercial ones. Many employers operated the “truck system” that paid workers in total or in part with tokens. The tokens had no monetary value outside the mill owner's "truck shop," where the owners could supply shoddy goods and charge top prices. In contrast to other employers, Owen created a store for his employees that offered goods at prices slightly above their wholesale cost. He passed on the savings from the bulk purchase of goods to his workers, and placed the sale of alcohol under strict supervision. These principles became the basis for the cooperative shops in Britain, which continue in an altered form to trade today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Owen
See yesterday’s Diary for a print demonstrating the industrial complexes of the day at New Lanark and their proximity to the River.
Below is an example of the Truck system of payment by order of Robert Owen and Benj Woolfield, National Equitable Labour Exchange, July 22nd 1833.
Truck system of payment by order of Robert Owen and Benj Woolfield, July 22nd 1833 This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Owen#/media/File:Truck_system_of_payment_by_order_of_Robert_Owen_and_Benj_Woolfield,_July_22nd_1833_(1294620).jpg
Lady Mary (Ross), wife of General Sir Charles Lockheart Ross and daughter of the 2nd Duke of Leinster, was commended by John Stoddart for permitting unrestricted access to the falls. A porter was based at the Bonnyton Lodge house who would escort visitors to the best viewing points and to the 'summer-house' as he calls it. Stoddart visited the mansion house of Bonnyton (Bonnington) in 1799 – 1800. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnington_Pavilion . Lady Ross also remodelled Balnagown Castle, updating it with Gothic extensions which were very much the fashion of that period.
2008: Balnagown Castle Former seat of the Earls of Ross, by Sylvia Duckworth. This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. The copyright on this image is owned by sylvia duckworth and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 licensehttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Balnagown_Castle_-_geograph.org.uk_-_653262.jpg
It has recently been restored by Mohammed Al Fayed http://www.balnagown.com/about/history/
The Falls of Clyde comprise the upper falls of Bonnington Linn, Corra Linn, Dundaff Linn, and the lower falls of Stonebyres Linn. Corra Linn is the highest, with a fall of 84 feet. Bonnington Linn (fall of 30 feet), Corra Linn and Dundaff Linn (fall of 10 feet) are above New Lanark.
2018: Bonnington Linn in full spate, panoramic view from the west bank of the Falls of Clyde by Dave Souza. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bonnington_Linn_in_spate,_from_west.jpg
1850: Corra Linn Falls of the Clyde, from Scotland Delineated by J Houston, Engraved J Needham & published by E. Gambart & Co 25 Berners St. Oxford St.. http://www.rareoldprints.com/p/22337
2018: Cora Linn, by R Pollack, the copyright holder, who released this work into the public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corra_linn.jpg
2005: Dundaff Linn or Waterfall at New Lanark, Scotland, in winter by R Pollack at English Wikipedia. R Pollack grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DundaffLinn.jpg
Stonebyres Linn is located several miles downstream from the reserve and New Lanark. The Woodsworth’s, Coleridge and Sir Walter Scott all visited the Falls. In 1802, William Wordsworth immortalised Corra Linn, the largest of the waterfalls, in verse. Corra Linn has also been painted by a number of artists, including J. M. W. Turner. The name comes from the Gaelic 'currach', a marshy place. A legend gives 'Cora' as a daughter of King Malcolm II, who leapt to her death here whilst trying to escape imagined danger. Near Corra Linn is the Pavilion, built by Sir John Carmichael of Bonnington, probably in 1708. The Pavilion had mirrors on its back wall, and when the doors were opened visitors had the illusion of standing beneath the falls. For a YouTube video explaining the Pavilion and the purpose of the mirrors see https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=VAkIZfwlGwY
2002: The Bonnington Pavilion or Hall of mirrors at Corra Linn, New Lanark, Falls of the clyde, Scotland, by Roger Grifith, copyright holder of this work, who released this work into the public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bonnington_pavilion_detail_2.JPG
The 15th-century Corra Castle is next to Corra Linn and can bee seen in the print, below.
1830: Corra Linn and Corra castle from Swan's Pictureque Views of the River Clyde. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnington_Pavilion#/media/File:Corra_linn_swan.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falls_of_Clyde_(waterfalls)
Cartland Craigs is a woodland on the outskirts of Lanark. It is a national nature reserve and is one of six areas which together form the Clyde Valley Woodlands (the other five being Cleghorn Glen, Falls of Clyde, Chatelherault, Nethan Gorge and Mauldslie Woods). The reserve is maintained by Scottish Natural Heritage. Cartland Craigs is adjacent to Cleghorn Glen and is the smaller of the two https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartland_Craigs NO reference has been found of the Rock mentioned by Lucy, but John Crae (See below**) has made the point that although Lucy writes: Cartland Craig a singularly fine rock said to be rent asunder by an earthquake at the bottom runs the River Clyde “The Clyde does not flow below Cartland Crags. The Cartland Bridge crosses the Water of Mouse so possibly your text should read 'at this the Water of Mouse met the river Clyde'.”
Wallace’s Cave at Cora Linn is one of several in Scotland. The Cora Linn viewpoint at New Lanark is the closest that people can get nowadays to the actual cave. http://www.lanarktrust.co.uk/launch-of-the-new-wallace-trail-in-the-footsteps-of-william-wallace/
From Canmore, the National Record of the Historic Environment, at https://canmore.org.uk/site/46596/corra-linn-wallaces-cave
Hamilton: During the Wars of Scottish Independence the Hamilton family initially supported the English and Walter Fitz Gilbert (the head of the Hamilton family) was governor of Bothwell Castle on behalf of the English. However, he changed loyalty to Robert the Bruce following the Battle of Bannockburn, and ceded Bothwell to him. For this act, he was rewarded with a portion of land which had been forfeited by the Comyns at Dalserf and later the Barony and lands of Cadzow, which in time would become the town of Hamilton. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton,_South_Lanarkshire
2012: Pedestrianised area of Hamilton by Ross Watson. This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. The copyright on this image is owned by Ross Watson and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pedestrianised_area_of_Hamilton_-_geograph.org.uk_-_3080407.jpg
Glasgow was reputed to have been founded by the Christian missionary Saint Mungo in the 6th century. He established a church on the Molendinar Burn, where the present Glasgow Cathedral stands. Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement on the River Clyde to become the largest seaport in Scotland. Expanding from the medieval bishopric and royal burgh, and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow in the 15th century, it became a major centre of the Scottish Enlightenment in the 18th century. From the 18th century onwards, the city also grew as one of Great Britain's main hubs of transatlantic trade with North America and the West Indies.
The Print below from 1825 provides an idea of how Glasgow might have appeared when Lucy visited the city. ** See note below - Port Glasgow was quite distinct (and distant) from the city of Glasgow -
1825: The Town of Port-Glasgow, from Clark's Views in Scotland, drawn and engraved by John Heaviside Clark, published by Smith & Elder, 65 Cornhill, London. http://www.rareoldprints.com/p/16049
With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the population and economy of Glasgow and the surrounding region expanded rapidly to become one of the world's pre-eminent centres of chemicals, textiles and engineering; most notably in the shipbuilding and marine engineering industry, which produced many innovative and famous vessels. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow
** Thanks to John Crae, for putting us right and for his correcting the setting of Cartland Crags: He writes: Two points 1/ The Clyde does not flow below Cartland Crags. The Cartland Bridge crosses the Water of Mouse so possibly your text should read 'at this the Water of Mouse met the river Clyde'. 2/ Your picture in the note about Glasgow in 1825 shows Port Glasgow not Glasgow. These are two different and separate places. The town of Port Glasgow being about 30 miles further west and used by the City of Glasgow as a deep water port for transshipping loads from ocean-going vessels which at that time could not get upriver to Glasgow which was too shallow east of Renfrew.
Can you help us?
Transcription problems: As untrained transcribers we sometimes experience problems interpreting some of Lucy’s writing. We have a problem deciphering a section today:
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at the **** bottom runs the River Clyde We think that Lucy has just repeated the word “the”
Old Regency Prints, Pictures an Coaching maps: Do you have access to any prints or pictures showing what town and country would have looked like when Lucy travelled through? Any illustrations of what she would have seen in 1819 will enliven our research.
New Pictures: Do you have any modern pictures of the streets, buildings, gardens and views that would enable us to see the changes that two centuries have wrought?