Rothesay Harbour

on Jul 1, 2024

When steamboats first plied on the Clyde, Rothesay was a small town known for its mild climate and safe anchorage, the quality of its kippers, and its cotton spinning mill. Rothesay quay, and the modest harbour was not quite adequate to handle steamboats. The funding for repairs was raised by public subscription, half of which came from the Marquess of Bute, and a loan from the Government Commission. Planning began in 1822 and by the following year, construction was underway to provide the basic form of the harbour that exists today. By 1824, the stonework was largely completed, and a slip to allow cattle and carriages to be handled at the right angle of the new pier. The Town Council had no legal authority to impose charges for the use of the pier, and in 1831, a Harbour Trust was authorized by Parliament with revenue raising powers. About this time, a drawbridge between the old or...

A Rothesay Panorama

on Jun 19, 2024

With the advent of summer, my thoughts turn to Rothesay at the Fair. Two of my favorite old photographs of Rothesay are these panoramic views dating from just before the first world war. The photographic prints are too long to scan on my equipment and so they are stitched together. The detail is, however quite superb. The top view of the harbour was taken at 18 minutes past 1 on a sunny afternoon, and shows the Isle of Arran at the front of the pier. She has a cruise to the Kyles of Bute on her boards. The Clyde cargo steamer Bute 4 in the outer harbour receiving some paint on her hull. There is also a Caledonian Duchess at the west end of the pier, filled and ready to leave. Out at the buoys in the bay are Marchioness of Breadalbane and a North British steamer. The row of cabs stretches beyond the Albert Pier, and one of the horses is having a mid-day feed. At the corner of the...

Glimpses of Dumbarton

on Jun 1, 2024

The county town of Dumbarton has a long history dating back to the earliest inhabitants of Scotland. With its tall rocky volcanic plug rising at the mouth of the River Leven where it enters the Clyde, the town was a natural defensive point, leading to its name, “Fort of the Britons.” The town was made a Royal Burgh in 1222. Dumbarton became the earliest bridging point of the River Leven, a project that was first proposed in 1682 and completed in 1765, more than 80 years later. The early town itself stretched along the High Street that followed the west bank of the Leven to the Bridge; to the north was land that flooded at high tide, and to the south, approaching the Castle Rock, the ground was marshy and also susceptible to flooding. This article is based on a random collection of prints and postcards I have amassed over the years. There is no theme, and there is no pretense to be a...

The Rise of the M‘Kellar Fleet

on May 1, 2024

This article continues from the description of the steamboats on the Largs and Millport trade, and covers the decade of the 1840s. Part of the story is the subject of an entertaining chapter “An Exchange of Compliments,” in “Echoes of Old Clyde Paddle Wheels,” by Andrew McQueen. It is a story that bears retelling. The decade marked the ascension of the M‘Kellar family that had entered the Largs and Millport trade in 1833 with the Hero, and in 1839 had the Victor and the new Warrior as their steamers, competing with the Sir William Wallace and the Robert Burns belonging to Mr William Young and his associates. These steamers, products of the 1830s, were all of wood, and the 1840s also saw the supremacy of iron shipbuilding in the Clyde fleet. The year 1840, signaled a dramatic change in the conveyance of passengers and goods to the Ayrshire coast. In July, the Glasgow, Paisley,...

Clyde River Piers

on Apr 1, 2024

Lord of the Isles heading up the River Clyde with Dumbarton Rock in the distance With the exception of the Broomielaw and Bridge Wharf, photographs of pleasure steamers at the piers on the River Clyde are quite rare. In latter years, the usual stopping places were the piers at Partick, Govan, Renfrew, Bowling, and, for a brief period, Dumbarton. This article provides some background on the piers and the photographs I have of them. In the early years of steamboat traffic on the river, a journey might begin at a ferry point where the passengers would be rowed out to the passing steamboat by the ferryman. Common points on the river where there were ferries were at Govan; at the mouth of the Kelvin; at the “Water Neb,” the mouth of the Cart at Renfrew; at Dunglass point; and at the West Ferry crossing to Dumbarton. Boarding or disembarking a steamboat from or onto an open rowing ferry-boat...

Puffers and the Crinan Canal

on Mar 1, 2024

The Crinan Canal has been featured previously on this site, in an article on the passenger and luggage boat Linnet, part of the Royal Route to the Highlands. This article presents some views of puffer traffic on the canal, a subject vital to the livelihood of the inhabitants of the western islands and highlands. The locks on the Crinan Canal can handle boats 88 feet in length by 20 feet in breadth, with a draft of just over 8 feet. The Canal itself is nominally 10 feet in depth. Vessels that transit the 9 miles and 15 locks of the Crinan Canal but did not have to negotiate the Forth and Clyde could therefore be 20 feet longer than the standard Clyde Puffer. However, in practice, most of the steam lighters originating on the Clyde, were of the standard type. Anzac, Pibroch, Moor, and Glen Rosa at Crinan This photograph shows four puffers waiting for the tide in Crinan basin around 1950....

Coals to Cowal

on Feb 1, 2024

One of my favourite old postcard views shows the Royal Marine Hotel in Hunter’s Quay. The Hotel was built in 1890 to the design of the Glasgow Architect, Thomas Lennox Watson, and replaced an earlier hotel that was destroyed by fire. It received its “Royal” designation because it was the home of the Royal Clyde Yacht Club for many years. The photograph from which the postcard was printed was taken by Messrs Poulton in the 1890s. Their negative stock was purchased by Messrs Ritchie of Edinburgh and released as postcards as part of their “Reliable Series.” Poulton collotype of the above view Of particular interest are the two old steam lighters, Effort and Advance, on the beach. Both are of the old style and steered by tiller, rather than having a wheel. The Effort looks the simpler and older of the two. Indeed, she was launched by Messrs William Swan & Son at Kelvindock on the Forth...

Old Largs

on Jan 4, 2024

Over the years I have acquired a fair number of old engravings, photographs and postcards of Largs. These mostly relate to the Edwardian era into the 1930s and in this article I will attempt to present an album of captioned pictures to give a sense of the town and some of the events that distinguish it. The account covers little beyond the second world war. Largs had two excellent photographers who produced postcards during the early and middle part of the 20th century; Hampton, and Simpson. Both feature strongly in what follows. Simpson also published copies of earlier photographic work by Poulton. Another important photographer was Fergus who, in addition to portraits, also included views of the town. I will start with some early views from engravings and phtographs taken from paintings, moving into the photographic era with more specific topics. In the early years, the main part of...

Dr James Stevenson

on Dec 1, 2023

I enjoy finding sources of the impact of the steamboats on the Clyde that others might overlook. One such is the “Salt-Water Gazette,” a literary and satirical publication that lasted a season in 1835. In one issue there is the tale of Mr. John Guy, porter at Helensburgh Quay, and his journey by steamboat to Glasgow. A contemporary view of Helensburgh Quay is shown above, courtesy of Helensburgh Library. After spending some time on deck, Mr Guy was beckoned “down into the little chamber, built by the proprietor, Doctor Stevenson, for the refreshment of pilgrims.” Here is the name of the steam-boat owner, and the implication is that he was widely known in his day by the traveling public. A little research reveals that Dr. James Stevenson was a Royal Navy surgeon and the 1841 Census has him living in Clyde Street, Helensburgh, aged 50 years with his wife Elizabeth 45 along with a maid...

Early days at Largs

on Nov 1, 2023

Even before the steam-boat age, the village of Largs was a popular summer destination for sea-bathers and pleasure seekers. Sheltered from the prevailing winds by the Isle of Cumbrae, the climate was mild. The good folk of Paisley found it particularly attractive, and the advent of the steamboat meant that a tedious journey under sail or uncomfortable progression by road could be avoided. The old part of the town was built up north of the Gogo burn and by the time that steamboats arrived, new building was beginning south of the burn, including the celebrated Curling Hall. The first steamboat advertised to call off Largs was the Glasgow. Built of wood towards the end 1813, by Messrs John Wood of Port Glasgow, she was 67 feet in length. Her first engines were furnished by Henry Bell and were constructed by Messrs Anderson & Campbell of Greenock, but were not a success when she...