In the late 1970s, when I returned to my alma mater in Glasgow to work, one of life’s little pleasures was to indulge myself in reading Scottish literature, trying to catch up on what I had missed by largely excluding the Literary Arts from my formal education. Coming from the Vale, I had already been disappointed with a smattering of Smollett; Scott, once the characters were formed, I found too predictable; Hogg, I enjoyed, though, perhaps persevered is a better description; Galt’s “Annals of the Parish,” and “Ayrshire Legatees,” were more to my taste. With my interests in the early development of steam on the Clyde, I was intrigued that Galt had written an account of trips by the Glasgow merchant Thomas Duffle down the Clyde in the Waterloo that formed the basis for “The Steamboat,” serialized in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine in 1821, and published as a novel the following year....

This is another extract from one of the short-lived magazines that a certain class of Glaswegians, and denizens of the West of Scotland in general, enjoyed in pre-Victorian times. It comes from “The Day” of 1832, and the author of the piece is the journalist John Donald Carrick, contributor to, and editor of, “Whistlebinkie,” and another favourite of mine, “The Laird of Logan.” Carrick died in 1837. What interested me in this family’s correspondence was the “extravagant” use of the mail on the one instance and, how this could be subverted by using the “Ticket” arrangement with the steam-boat. The remainder of the letters is a bit of gossip. Letters from the coast; or the Bam family at sea-bathing quarters. No. I. Miss Lucretia Virginia Bam to Miss Betsey. Rothesay, 11th June. Dear Bet,—I am afraid by this time you will be thinking I have forgot the promise I made you of sending you an...

In Part 1, the origins and development of the Castle steamers over the first decade were traced. By the end of 1826, the four steamers, Rothsay Castle, Inverary Castle, Toward Castle, and Dunoon Castle, while owned as separate companies, acted in consort to control the routes from Glasgow to Rothesay, thence to Loch Fyne, Inveraray, and Arran. The tourist traffic to the western highlands and islands in summer was particularly remunerative, but it was the reliable, year-round service with both goods and passengers that endeared the steamers to the residents of Cowal, Rothesay and Lochfyneside. The steamers were strongly built with deep draughts, that in the late 1830s still required them to sail with an eye on the tide to sail up and down the narrow River Clyde. With their tall black funnels with a white band, the steamers inspired confidence. The winter schedule of the Castle steamers...

Sixty years ago, as a student in Glasgow, I spent many hours in second-hand bookstores looking for “bargains”. I remember one shop in Cowcaddens run by a woman, a right Glasgow character if there was one, occasionally aided by her brother. The hours of the shop were erratic and its stock was so disorganized that it was more by good luck than any methodical purpose that something of interest might be found. I spent so much time there that on occasion I would fetch “twenty Embassy” and “a quarter-bottle of Bell’s” for the good lady in charge. I never did find much of interest in that bookshop, but it instilled in me a strong fascination for collecting printed material on Glasgow and its culture that had remained with me over the intervening years. One consequence is that I have delved into the short-lived art and cultural magazines that abounded in Glasgow and the West of Scotland during...

The early years of the application of steam-power to coastal navigation on the river and firth of Clyde remain an intriguing area of study. A good deal has been uncovered by careful research, but the lack of surviving documentation has meant that an understanding of much important information relies on scant newspaper accounts and advertisements, and anecdotes drawn from memories of a dim and distant past. The subject of this essay is the “Castle Company,” one of the most successful of the early steamboat concerns; one that reorganized on at least two occasions; one that had rivals on several fronts that attempted to topple its prominence; and one that eventually succumbed to a take-over by Messrs G. & J. Burns in June 1846, though it effectively carried on for a few years afterwards. Surprisingly little has been written about this important company, and as far as I am aware, there...

ABOUT CLYDE STEAMERS AND CLYDE SKIPPERS. Fifty years random reminiscences of passenger steamboat traffic on the River and Firth of Clyde.—by Senex Afloat.—With an introductory chapter embodying some earlier details of interest.—Glasgow: Gillespie Brothers, Ltd., 253 Argyle Street.—1886 Dedication—In recognition of that life-long enterprise so well known to his fellow-citizens, and his position as owner and moving power of the foremost fleet of passenger steamers in the British Islands, to David MacBrayne, Esq., of the “West Highland Line”: this little brochure is (by permission) respectfully inscribed. Preparatory Note—Anything like a formal “Preface” to the following “Reminiscences” would I feel be uncalled for. Out of proportion to the subject matter it introduced, it would necessarily be out of place. It may well be as well, however, to advise anyone proposing perusal of these pages...

The Guardships of the Royal Navy, lying off the Tail-of-the-Bank and Greenock, were a constant reminder of Britannia’s role in ruling the waves. These Guardships, found in most ports and important estuaries, were generally part of the reserve fleet, but maintained with a crew, and able to join the Home Fleet on a few hours’ notice. They participated in exercises and gunnery practice, and underwent a regular schedule of refitting and maintenance. The ships that served on the Clyde became the object of interest of the local populace, and their comings and goings were followed in the newspapers. In the early 1870s, H.M.S. Aurora was the Guardship. She was a wooden screw frigate, and was replaced about 1875 by the Ironclad, HMS Iron Duke. Boys from the C.T.S. Cumberland on H.M.S Aurora The ironclads, H.M.S Hercules, H.M.S Warrior, and H.M.S. Shannon, followed, into the early 1880s. H.M.S...