There has been a crossing point of the Clyde at Erskine for about as long as records have been kept. In fact there were two crossings, the West Ferry, closer to Dumbarton and the East Ferry, at Old Kilpatrick. The early ferries were rowed across and also provided a connection to the early steamboats passing on the river. Unfortunately there were accidents.

“Friday afternoon, at Erskine Ferry, a ferry-boat, containing three passengers and the boatman, was run down by the Helensburgh steam-boat. The passengers were immediately picked up, owing to the activity of the crew of the Helensburgh, but the boatman never rose. We understand that no blame whatever can be attached to the persons who managed the steam-boat, the unhappy accident being entirely attributable to the unskillful conduct of the poor man who has lost his life. He was from the Isle of Mull.—Edinburgh Observer”—The Globe, June 29, 1827.

The shorter crossing was the East Ferry and it was there that provision was made for a horse ferry. It is this ferry that is the subject of this article. By 1850, Lord Blantyre of the Erskine Estate had placed a hand-winched ferry named Erskine on the crossing and in 1857, replaced her with the first steamboat Urania. Unlike its predecessor which was built of wood, the vessel was built of iron by Scott, Macgill & Duncan of Bowling with a small steam engine acting on a single chain to haul it across the river. It had a capacity of four tons.

Erskine House, the home of Lord Blantyre at East Ferry around 1830 (Joseph Swan)

The Clyde from East Ferry

A distant view of Urania looking from Erskine to Old Kilpatrick

The passage of the Clyde Navigation Act of 1858 led to some improvements at Erskine, but this was the beginning of a prolonged legal wrangle between the Clyde Trustees and Lord Blantyre.

“The new works undertaken below this point (the Cart) have consisted in deepening and straightening the navigable channel; forming the river dykes and beacons; lighting and buoying the channel; constructing Bowling basin; widening and straightening the river near Erskine Ferry, and the consequent formation of the new ferry piers there.”—Glasgow Herald, February 22, 1859

“Accident at Erskine ferry.—Notwithstanding that there was such a spate in the river, damage was done to the quays and ships the Broomielaw. Down the river Erskine Ferry, however, an accident took place, though not of a serious nature. At 9 o’clock in the morning, while Lord Blantyre’s steam ferry-boat, the Urania, was crossing at that part of the river, from the heavy current which was then running, the working chain broke at the north end, and the boat swinging round, sank in the channel opposite the first beacon on the south bank, a short distance below the ferry. It is said that several horses were drowned, but that no human lives were lost.”—Glasgow Saturday Post, March 19, 1864

The initial issue was that the widening of the river meant that the level of the river had dropped and silting occurred around the piers and slipways on the north and south banks. Under the 1858 Act, it was the obligation of the Clyde Trustees to remedy the situation. Sir John Coode was brought in as an expert with the proposal to extend the north and south piers further into the river. The Trustees objected. However, Lord Blantyre insisted on the remedy. As the case moved through the courts, at the end of the 1870s, the ferry was withdrawn for a while.

“Erskine Ferry. Sir,—That the horse-boat Erskine Ferry is stopped is, I believe, the fault of Lord Blantyre. The Clyde Trustees, it understood, have long wished buy the ferry, but his Lordship is impracticable. As he claims the exclusive right of ferry, it were well he were taught that he is bound supply accommodation to the public; and there is surely much public spirit to be found in and about Glasgow as will combine try the case. What has come of the Right-of-Way Association? Is the right to pass over a ferry not an important right of way?—I am, &c., Inquirer.”— Glasgow Herald, July 8, 1879

“Erskine Ferry. Sir,—It is twelve months and more since I last wrote you on the subject of Erskine Ferry, and there seems to be no prospect of its being started again. I understand that it is the property of Lord Blantyre, and that he defies the Clyde Trust either to make him work it or to put a boat on themselves. It is a great pity that between the obstinacy of Lord Blantyre and the supineness of the Clyde Trust, the public, who are the real sufferers, should be put to such great inconvenience.—I am, &c., C.D.”—Glasgow Herald, May 5, 1881

In 1882, Sir John Coode admitted that his original report recommending extension of the piers into the river and giving a distance between the piers of just 599 ft would be “seriously prejudicial to the interest of the ferry and the navigation of the Clyde”. the original distance between the piers was 749 feet.

Facing defeat, the Clyde Trustees introduced a new Act to Parliament that incorporated a compulsory purchase of the Erskine Ferry. However, that part of the Act was struck down.

In foggy weather, a ship missed the channel and struck staging at one of the piers. Lord Blantyre then insisted that lights should be placed on the river to protect the ferry. The Trustees indicated that the channel was well enough lit and lights would have little remedy in foggy weather. The outcome, in 1884, was that a bell was provided.

Further collisions caused damage to the piers and Lord Blantyre went to court to have the Clyde Trustees repair the damage under the conditions of the 1858 Act. He was successful in the Court of Sessions but an Appeal to the House of Lords reversed the decision in 1893.

The West Ferry was discontinued in 1891, leaving the East Ferry as the most downstream crossing of the Clyde.

Urania around 1900

Litigation continued and eventually ownership passed to the Clyde Trustees in 1904 but the lease of the ferryman extended to 1907 when the transfer took place.

“Erskine Ferry Transfer.—The Clyde Trustees have now formally taken over Erskine Ferry and commenced to work it by their own staff. They have owned the ferry since July. 1904, but the lease of the tenant has only just expired, so that up till now they have been in the position of landlord. Now they are landlord and tenant. The boat is to run from 5 a.m. till 7 p.m. on week-days, and from 7 a.m. till 10 p.m. on Sundays. The passenger fare is a penny, while that for vehicles varies from 3d. for an empty two-wheeled cart (with horse and driver) to 2s. for a van with three or four horses.”—Paisley Gazette, May 18, 1907

By this time, the ferry was an important destination for cyclists—hence the extended Sunday hours—and the ferry-house with its license a lucrative addition

“Erskine Ferry.—Without the matter being the individual intention of anyone, a popular summer rendezvous for Saturday afternoon or the long evenings during the week has become an experimental subject for teetotal study. This state of affairs is brought about by the Licensing Appeal Court this week, who did not approve of Lord Blantyre’s successor introducing the Glasgow Public-House Trust to Erskine Ferry, and who yet were unable to renew the license to the old tenant, because that gentleman, by the action of the landlord, is houseless. Our Licensing Courts are apparently not timid of landed proprietors—they plainly showed Mr. Baird that they did not support him in turning out a paying tenant to admit a better-paying company, and they gave the Laird of Johnstone a pretty broad hint about the license held by him at Quarrelton. But the unintentional experiment at Erskine Ferry will prove most interesting: will the place boom now as a special haven for Good Templar outings and Sunday school trips, or will it dwindle into obscurity because of the absence of pedestrians and cyclists who do not relish a walk or spin without an opportunity, if so desired, of a bottle of beer at the end of it? As Dr. Munro says about the annexation problem—the issue lies on the lap of the gods!”—Paisley Gazette, May 25, 1907

The Clyde Trustees introduced a new ferry to replace the ancient Urania. Named Erskine, the steel chain-drive ferry was built by Messrs John Reid at Whiteinch in 1903 but was run by Lord Blantyre until 1907. She was similar to the Renfrew Ferry built in 1897 and continued in service until 1935. She could accommodate just 7 cars and was sold in 1936 to serve at Kessock Ferry but sank off Campbeltown before she arrived at the destination.

Approach to the Erskine Ferry on the Old Kilpatrick side. The bridge over the Forth and Clyde canal was replaced in 1934.

The Erskine Ferry of 1903 at Old Kilpatrick with the Erskine Ferry-house in the background.

 

Erskine Ferry around 1910

Erskine Ferry of 1903 at Erskine with the shipyard of Messrs Napier, Shanks & Bell in the background at the Old Kilpatrick side.

Erskine Ferry in the early 1930s.

The Erskine of 1936 was a product of the yard of Messrs Fleming & Ferguson, Paisley and was a double-ended double-chain steam ferry capable of carrying 12 cars. She was similar to the Renfrew Ferry constructed a year previously but her passenger accommodation was more spartan.

Erskine Ferry of 1936 around 1952

Erskine Ferry in 1961 (Valentine)

Erskine Ferry in 1961 (Valentine)

Erskine Ferry in 1961 (Valentine)

Erskine Ferry from the south pier in the 1950s.

In 1962, the Renfrew Ferry that had been replaced by a diesel-electric ferry in 1952 was recondition by Messrs James Lamont & Co. Ltd, Port Glasgow, to serve at Erskine. Her engines and boilers were placed on one side of the hull and the other side extended to provide better passenger accommodation. Floats to provide stability were also added. The new ferry could accommodate 20 cars. She was renamed Erskine in 1962 and served until the opening of the Erskine Bridge on July 2, 1971.

Erskine Ferry after 1962 (Dixon)