Early Loch Lomond Steam-boats

on Jul 22, 2021

In 1816, just four years after the Comet commenced her role as the pioneering steamboat on the Clyde, the engineer, David Napier, had a small steamboat built by Archibald MacLachlan of Dumbarton, and Napier himself provided the machinery. Napier named his little boat Marion, after his wife, and for just over a year she was well known on the Clyde. The Greenock Directory of 1817 gives a list of the river steamers that were plying at the time and an idea of the type of service they provided to the towns around the Firth: “Marion, Captain Smith, sails every lawful day to and from Glasgow to Greenock.” “On May 26, 1817.—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...

Gourock Railway Pier

on Jun 18, 2021

In 1865, the Caledonian Railway Company purchased the harbour and pier at Gourock. The move anticipated the changes taking place as their main rival, the Glasgow and South Western Railway company sought access to the coast at Albert Harbour in Greenock through the proposed Greenock and Ayrshire Railway, that also provided a route to Greenock from Glasgow. The Greenock Railway, taken over by the Caledonian in 1851, had long enjoyed a monopoly of access to the coast and had built up connecting services to the coast towns and resorts with the private steamboat owners. This monopoly was threatened, not only by the Glasgow and South Western Railway, but also by the North British Railway, on the cusp of the opening of the Helensburgh line providing access to the coast on the north bank of the Clyde, and the Wemyss Bay Railway, offering services provided by the Caledonian itself. The...

Mambeg Pier

on Jun 4, 2021

In the Glasgow Herald of October 2, 1857, an advert announced: “Feuing on the Roseneath Estate.—The new pier at Mambeg, on the Gareloch, is now open to the public. The ground on either side affords some very desirable sites for villas. For particulars, apply to James Dalgleish, Esq., W. S. Edinburgh; or Smith & Wharrie, Surveyors, 54 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow. Duncan Campbell at Mambeg Farm, will give all local information.” The pier was about equidistant from Garelochhead and the hamlet of Rahane where there was a ferry across the loch to Shandon, but the proximity of the pier was not well populated. A number of villas were built and advertised for summer lets but the pier remained in a fairly isolated spot. Despite limited local trade, the pier was popular with excursionist parties such a Sunday-school trips with ready access to suitable fields for picnics and games. The beauty...

Garelochhead Pier

on Jun 3, 2021

The steamboat pier at the head of the Gareloch was erected in 1845 by Sir James Colquhoun to serve the village of Garelochhead, then described as an “increasing clump of cottages.” The population of the district had been in decline for some years as farms and small-holdings had been combined and farming had become more efficient with a focus on livestock in adjoining Glen Fruin. However, the beauty of the surroundings and the new fashion of sea-bathing was bringing visitors to the area in summer and the proximity to Glasgow and the Clyde attracted new residents. Around 1838, a Church had been built in the village that lay six miles from the Parish Church of Row. About the same time, a Hotel was opened, a popular spot since the adjoining parish of Roseneath was “dry.” Garelochhead before the pier around 1840. The church, built in 1838 is visible. Steamboat communication had begun early,...

Shandon Pier

on May 24, 2021

The Gareloch, as its name implies, is a short loch, merely six or seven miles in length from the narrows to Garelochhead. Before the age of steam, there were two important ferries, from Roseneath to Row point at the mouth of the loch, and between Rahane and Shandon about halfway up the loch towards Garelochhead. In 1833, Robert Napier, the engineer and shipbuilder, purchased a house at West Shandon, next to the ferry, and in the 1840s, expanded the house and its policies. At the time, the ferry at Shandon was a calling point for the steamers on the Gareloch. Feuing on the east bank of the Gareloch expanded from Row and the village of Shandon, at the southern end of the West Shandon estate, developed in popularity although the absence of a pier restricted its appeal. Robert Napier died in 1876 and West Shandon was sold. The new owners had plans to turn the lavish mansion into a...

William M‘Kim — Renton photographer

on May 14, 2021

William M‘Kim was born in 1883 in the village of Renton in the Vale of Leven where his father was postmaster. He was apprenticed as a draughtsman. Early in his life he and his younger brother David, developed an interest in photography that led to the production of postcards, mainly of scenes around his native village. “The Renton” as it is known was a thriving centre for the bleaching and dyeing industry. Renton from the lower slopes of the Carman hill, looking to Dumbarton and showing the chimneys of Dalquhurn works around 1908. The railway station is on the extreme right. Renton from the west looking down King Street to Renton Cross around 1908. In the foreground are the houses of Back Street and beyond those of the Main Street. Across the River Leven are the policies of the Strathleven estate. Renton Main Street with the tramline to Loch Lomond. Renton from further north on the...