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Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow sculpture
Port Glasgow has always punched well above its weight in the shipbuilding history books, having produced more than a quarter of the total tonnage of all ships built on the Clyde. The remaining yard on the Lower Clyde (Ferguson Marine) is still building ships in the town today.
The Port Glasgow yards played their part in the war efforts in both World Wars. Sir Stanley Spencer, a government designated War Artist, spent many months in the town over a seven year period during and after WWII and perhaps his works from that period influenced the new sculpture that we see today Link
.
The 10m high steel sculpture, by the Manchester born renowned public works sculptor John McKenna Link was intended to mark the western gateway to Port Glasgow, as a roundabout ornament on the A8 road at The Glen, but this proposal was changed due to road safety concerns. A new site at Coronation Park, on the site of the Wet Dock that was in-filled in the late 1960s, was agreed.
Late and well over budget, the sculpture is nonetheless a striking and fitting tribute to the generations of Portonians who have built great ships here since the 1700s, ships that travelled the globe and helped shape history.
The Port Glasgow yards played their part in the war efforts in both World Wars. Sir Stanley Spencer, a government designated War Artist, spent many months in the town over a seven year period during and after WWII and perhaps his works from that period influenced the new sculpture that we see today Link
.The 10m high steel sculpture, by the Manchester born renowned public works sculptor John McKenna Link
was intended to mark the western gateway to Port Glasgow, as a roundabout ornament on the A8 road at The Glen, but this proposal was changed due to road safety concerns. A new site at Coronation Park, on the site of the Wet Dock that was in-filled in the late 1960s, was agreed. Late and well over budget, the sculpture is nonetheless a striking and fitting tribute to the generations of Portonians who have built great ships here since the 1700s, ships that travelled the globe and helped shape history.
Created: Mon, 7 Mar 2022, Updated: Sat, 3 Jan 2026
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