2014

NS3174 : Pub sign at The Waterwheel

taken 10 years ago, near to Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, Scotland

Pub sign at The Waterwheel
Pub sign at The Waterwheel
A new marston's bar and restaurant beside the A8 Greenock Road. The pub sign features the paddle steamer Comet, which was the first commercially successful steamhip in Europe and which was built nearby in 1812.
Site of Scott Lithgow's Glen and Kingston shipyards

Scott Lithgow's Glen and Kingston yards stood between Anderson Street and the Greenock boundary.

The east end of the vast site is occupied by a Tesco superstore. The west end (west of the realigned A8 dual carriageway) is now a housing estate which is still being developed at the time of writing in September 2013.

The central part of the site, east and west of the Glen Burn, has been in a brownfield state for many years, but is now being developed, with a B & Q store and a drive-through Costa Coffee currently under construction. This construction work required temporary realignment of the Glen Burn.

At the time of writing, one of the main Glen Yard gateways and a section of the perimeter wall still stand at Belhaven Street (which is now an overgrown cul-de-sac), although the gate is a wire mesh construction and not the original bright red solid design that I recall from the 70s and 80s. A few bricked-up "clocking-in" gates also survive. A fading hand-written sign showing the way to "Scotts" can also be seen.

PS Comet Replica in Port Glasgow

The replica was built by local shipyard apprentices in 1961/2 to mark the 150th anniversary of the launch of the original PS Comet on 24th July 1812. On 2nd September 1962, she sailed under steam from Port Glasgow to Helensburgh (home of Henry Bell, owner of the original PS Comet) with a dozen local dignitaries on board.

On her return from Helensburgh she was removed from the water and kept in storage in a local shipyard. When the A8 road was realigned in the mid 1970s, the replica was placed in an ornamental pond in a car park opposite Port Glasgow Town hall.

The road was realigned again in 2007 and a new plinth was provided close to the original location. In 2010, she was removed to Ferguson's shipyard in the town for much needed remedial work and she was returned to her present location in pristine condition on 5th June 2011. Unfortunately it was not feasible to restore the engine as it would have entailed complete dismantling of the ship.

Comet was the first commercially successful steam ship in Europe. She was built by John Wood of Port Glasgow for Henry bell of Helensburgh and she plied her trade on the River Clyde between Greenock and Glasgow, occasionally venturing out via the Crinan Canal to Oban. Comet was wrecked at Craignish Point, near Oban, on 13 December 1820. One of her engines (by John Robertson of Neilston LinkExternal link ) can be seen in the Science Museum in London.

2020 update: The ship is in a very poor state of repair and the local newspaper, the Greenock Telegraph, reports that she has been "condemned" following a survey by a naval architect which was commissioned by Inverclyde Council.

2023 update: The ship was scrapped in April 2023. The engine and paddles were removed to storage and the wood was cut into small pieces and removed in vans to be dumped.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Thomas Nugent and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Business, Retail, Services Suburb, Urban fringe Primary Subject: Public House
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
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1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
TIP: Click the map for more Large scale mapping
Grid Square
NS3174, 865 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Thomas Nugent   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Sunday, 13 July, 2014   (more nearby)
Submitted
Tuesday, 15 July, 2014
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NS 314 749 [100m precision]
WGS84: 55:56.2730N 4:41.9746W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NS 314 749
View Direction
North-northeast (about 22 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Supplemental image
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