New Lanark and Wanlockhead Museum Trust are in the money

Thanks to the funding from NHMF, New Lanark Trust will 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.

James Pow, New Lanark Trust chairman, said: “This crucial grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund is a significant step in New Lanark Trust’s recovery from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Whilst the site fully re-opened to visitors in May 2022 the legacy of the pandemic, which limited income and reduced operations particularly around the maintenance of our world renowned heritage assets, needs to be addressed.

"With this significant funding award, the Trust will be able to accelerate much needed works to ensure the site continues to be conserved with integrity and provides a place where people who live, work and visit can enjoy and learn about the unique heritage the site has to share.”

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 the funding from NHMF, the Trust is hoping to see the level of visitors returning to the site if not exceeding it.

Four exceptional Scottish heritage assets were successful in securing funding this year, with another of those lucky recipients also being in Clydesdale.

Wanlockhead Museum Trust has been awarded £75,752 for essential repairs to the historic Miners' Library, Straitsteps Cottages and Goldscaur Cottage.

The properties are integral to the Museum of Lead Mining that represents the social and industrial history of this once important mining industry. Deemed of national importance, the village’s historic properties will now be safeguarded.

At 467m above sea level, Wanlockhead is the highest village in Scotland. The villages of Leadhills and Wanlockhead are known as ‘God’s Treasure House in Scotland’ because of the extraordinarily rich ore deposits beneath them, mainly gold and lead.

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

Dr Simon Thurley CBE, Chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, said: “We’re extremely proud to have provided a lifeline for some of Scotland’s incredible heritage sites and assets through the Covid-19 Response Fund – from historic ships and locomotives to museums – helping them to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.”

New Lanark Trust was established in 1974 with the aim of rescuing the former cotton mill village of New Lanark from demolition.

The Museum of Lead Mining was established in 1974 and will be 50 next year. It tells the story of a hard life in an isolated place which brought the best out of the stoic locals.