On Rothesay Pier

on Aug 1, 2024

In the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, the sea-front at Rothesay presented an imposing vista, with the pier, the well laid-out promenade, and the handsome row of hotels. Visitors had a wide range of accommodation; from rented villas, to the hotels and the numerous boarding houses around the bay, to cheaper rented flats and rented rooms in the town. A previous post looked at the development of Rothesay Harbour and the ways of dating photographs of the town. This, and the following short articles will view the town, mainly from the point of view of the visitor. I recall reading in Cameron Sommerville’s marvelous little book, “Colour on the Clyde,” the description of the visitor’s day, from the point of view of the heyday steamers in the late Victorian and Edwardian years. The early morning steamers were mainly those leaving for the railway piers, with those with business on the...

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...