This panel details Robert Owen’s early life and career beginnings. It focuses on his upbringing in Newtown, his first jobs in local drapers' shops, and his apprenticeship in Stamford with a respected Scottish draper, James McGuffog. It highlights how Owen's early work experiences, exposure to business, and religious influences shaped his thinking. Ultimately, it shows how these foundations led to his belief that education and environment are key to improving society.

This exhibition panel is from the ‘Robert Owen Utopian Legacy Exhibition’, originally held at Newtown Library in May of 2025, on the life and legacy of Robert Owen (1771-1858) the philanthropic Welsh Business & Social Entrepreneur and pioneer of infant education and the co-operative movement.