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...

David Napier on the Clyde

on Sep 10, 2019

In 1816, just four years after the Comet commenced her role as the pioneering steamboat on the Clyde, David Napier had a small steamboat built for himself. He named his little boat Marion, after his wife, and for just over a year she was well known on the Clyde, sailing to Greenock and Helensburgh. Her advantage was that she had a shallow draft and could sail at any state of the tide to provide a regular and reliable service. “The Marion steamboat will commence sailing to-morrow for Greenock and Helensburgh, and every lawful day at 8 o’clock morning) and on Saturday evening at 6 o’clock. Will leave Greenock for Glasgow at 2 o’clock every afternoon, and on Monday morning at 4 o’clock.  Those intending to go by the Marion will require to be on board by the hour fixed, or they will lose their passage.  From her draught of water she is enabled to sail at all times of the tide, and will...

Kilmun—David Napier on the Severn…and briefly on the Clyde

on Oct 21, 2015

The saga of David Napier’s rotatory steamer, Dumbarton, on the Clyde, and his frequent references to the success of a steamer on the rotatory principle on the Severn merits investigation. Napier had moved his business dealings to London in the middle of the 1830s but by 1850, he was living in Gloucester, though he maintained connections in London and Glenshellish near Loch Eck. He also owned and fued land in the vicinity of Kilmun where had built and still owned the pier. David Napier The first attempt to bring a steamboat to the upper reaches of the Severn in 1850 appears to have had limited success.  The Star was too long for the locks and the twisting navigable channel. The improved patent suggests that the Star might have had a rotary engine. “Passenger steamer on the Severn.—A steamer has arrived in the Severn from Glasgow. She is named the Star, and is intended to trade between...

Paisley Steamers

on Dec 24, 2014

On June 27, 1816, there was a notice in the Glasgow papers:— “We understand the Prince of Orange steamboat arrived at the quay of Paisley upon the evening of Tuesday last, and sailed next morning with passengers for Greenock and Gourock. This having been the first steamboat that had sailed up the Cart, a vast crowd assembled to witness her arrival at Paisley.” Steamboat sailings from Paisley are occasionally documented through the following years but it was in the 1830s that a regular service was introduced, leading to the first serious attempt to improve the Cart for navigation. David Napier brought out the little wooden paddle steamer Cupid in 1828. Her hull was constructed by John Wood’s yard and the 10 h.p. engine was built by Napier himself. Initially Cupid was placed on the Glasgow to Greenock and Kilmun station. However, at that time, railways were beginning to compete with the...

James Gallacher

on Dec 8, 2014

In the Post Office Directory for Glasgow for 1838-1839 there is an intriguing entry referring to a steamboat James Gallacher of 25 tons, listed as sailing to Dalmuir. Who was James Gallacher and why was there a steamboat carrying passengers to Dalmuir? To add to the intrigue, in “The Fouling and Corrosion of Iron Ships” (1867) by Charles F.T. Young, the James Gallacher is claimed to be none other than the Aglaia, built by David Napier in 1827 and reputed to be the first iron steamer. Young notes that Aglaia had an iron bottom, and wooden sides above water, and that her dimensions were; length, 62ft 8in; breadth, 13ft 0in; depth, 4ft 6in; gross tonnage, 49 and 36/94 tons. Is there really a connection between the Aglaia and the James Gallacher? In 1826 Napier had purchased the estate of Glenshellish at the north end of the Loch Eck and built Kilmun pier to which he ran his...