The Battle of Garelochhead

on Aug 2, 2015

Broomielaw in 1850 (Sam Bough) The Emperor was advertised to return to Gareloch-head on Sunday, the 21st August 1853. The local landowner and owner of the pier, Sir James Colquhoun was determined to prevent the steamer from landing passengers and the resulting “battle of Gareloch-head” has become one of the most notorious events of the time. Most of the Scottish newspapers covered the event and several accounts are given here to sample the differing points of view. “On Sunday the pier at Garelochhead was barricaded to prevent the landing of the passengers by the Emperor steamer, and in addition a number of the inhabitants armed with sticks assembled with the evident intention of resisting any attempt which might be made. Those on board of the steamer laid hold of a quantity of potatoes and turnips which they plentifully distributed among those on shore, and after effecting a landing,...

The Sunday Steamer

on Aug 2, 2015

The rise in the Evangelical movement that led to the disruption of the Established Church in Scotland in 1843 had a marked influence in the political and social structure of the country for many years afterwards. The lot of the working man in the larger cities, and especially in Glasgow held little relief from endless toil and grim accommodation and well-intentioned efforts to improve these conditions were aimed at curtailing the availability of the great evil of alcohol and preserving the Sabbath, the one day in the week when no work was expected. The culmination of the efforts against alcohol was the Forbes-Mackenzie Act of 1853 that closed public houses at 11:00 p.m. on weekdays and all day on Sundays, though hotels were allowed to serve bona fide travelers on that day. The preservation of Sunday as a day in which no work was expected had a long history in the country. Sir Andrew...

The Princess Alice Disaster

on Jul 7, 2015

While not strictly a Clyde matter, the wreck of the Princess Alice on the Thames involved a steamer that was built on the Clyde and served on the Clyde before she was sold to owners on the Thames. The steamers Kyles and Bute were built for the Wemyss Bay Railway and Steamboat Co., by Caird & Co., in 1865. A third sister, the first to leave the ways in 1864, had been purchased by the Confederate States to run the blockade, named Hattie. The Kyles and Bute were almost 220 ft long and over 20 ft in breadth and had narrow deck saloons with alleyways around them. They were a great improvement on the other ship, the Largs, of the Wemyss Bay Company and indeed, with the exception of the new Iona and the Chancellor, there were few other saloon steamers on the Firth. Bute (McQueen) The Wemyss Bay Company provided service to Rothesay and Millport from Wemyss Bay in connection with their...

Toward Castle Murder

on May 26, 2015

In the waning months of the year 1828 Scotland was scandalised by the sordid revelations that accompanied the apprehension and trial of Burke and Hare for the notorious West Port murders in Edinburgh. In the midst of the trial a less well-celebrated murder came to the public’s attention. The suspect in this new case was also an Irishman. His downfall was the venue for his ultimate crime; on board the Toward Castle steam boat from which there was no escape. John Stuart was a 32 year-old unemployed blacksmith who had been living in the Newcastle area and decided to return to his native Ireland with his wife Catherine Stuart Wright. He made his way across the country and took passage in the Eclipse steam boat at the Broomielaw, bound for Belfast. Foul weather was encountered in the Kilbrannan Sound and the boat put in to Campbeltown to wait until the weather improved. There was some...

Kingston Dock

on May 23, 2015

As early as the 1830s, there were discussions of expanding the crowded Harbour of Glasgow to increase the quayage and accommodate more traffic. Plans for the construction of the first wet dock were put on a more solid foundation in January 1855 by J. F. Ure, the Clyde Trust’s Chief Engineer. The site chosen was the Windmill Croft, part of the Springfield Cotton and Printing Works. Construction of the wet dock began in the mid 1860s and opened at the end of 1867. The dock cost £155,000 and enclosed a surface of 5.5 acres with 13 ft depth at low water and provided 823.5 yards of quayage. The entrance was 60 ft across with swing-bridge. Todd’s Springfield Mill with the Croft beyond The eastern end of the dock is seen beyond the sheds of Windmillcroft Quay in this photograph taken from the tower of the Sailors Home around 1870. The view looks along West Street.  The early dredger,...

Victoria on the Clyde—1847

on Apr 19, 2015

In 1847, the Clyde and Western isles steamboat services were in flux. The Greenock Railway had opened six years earlier in 1841 and had challenged the dominance of steamboat companies in providing transportation in the Clyde area. After attempting to attract the steamboat companies to provide ongoing connections with the railway at Greenock, the Railway Company had begun to run its own connections. The principal services to Rothesay and Lochfyne were at this time in the hands of the Castle Steam Packet Company, and in 1845, Messrs. G. & J. Burns, who had hitherto been associated with the Glasgow and Belfast trade, acquired a controlling interest in the Company and its steamers. The following year, they added the steamers of the Greenock Railway and achieved a virtual monopoly of the Clyde connections with the Western Highlands and Islands. The West Highland services themselves were...