Greenock
Greenock
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Town and administrative centre | |
From top; left–right: View of Greenock from Auchmountain Road; view over Greenock and Cruise Terminal (right); Greenock Municipal Buildings; the Free France monument atop Lyle Hill; view from Lyle Hill | |
Location within Inverclyde | |
Area | 12.7 km2 (4.9 sq mi) [1] |
Population | 41,280 (mid-2020 est.)[2] |
• Density | 3,250/km2 (8,400/sq mi) |
OS grid reference | NS275764 |
• London | 360 mi (580 km) |
Council area | |
Lieutenancy area | |
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | GREENOCK |
Postcode district | PA15, PA16 |
Dialling code | 01475 |
Police | Scotland |
Fire | Scottish |
Ambulance | Scottish |
UK Parliament | |
Scottish Parliament | |
Greenock (
The
History
Name
Place-name scholar William J. Watson wrote that "Greenock is well known in Gaelic as Grianáig, dative of grianág, a sunny knoll".[3] The Scottish Gaelic place-name Grianaig is relatively common, with another (Greenock) near Callander in Menteith (formerly in Perthshire) and yet another at Muirkirk in Kyle, now in East Ayrshire.[4] R. M. Smith in (1921) described the alternative derivation from Common Brittonic *Graenag, a "gravelly" or "sandy place", as more appropriate, accurately describing the original foreshore.[5] Johnston (1934) notes that "some Gaels call the seaport Ghónait", and that a possible derivation may be greannach, meaning "rough, gravelly".[6]
The name of the town has had various spellings over time. It was printed in early Acts of Parliament as Grinok, Greenhok, Grinock, Greenhoke, Greinnock, and later as Greinok. Old Presbyterial records used Grenok, a common spelling until it was changed to Greenock around 1700.
The spelling Greenoak was found in two factory accounts dating back to 1717, and a legend developed of a green oak tree at the edge of the Clyde at William Street being used by fishermen to tie up their boats. No reliable source has been found referencing green oaks, however, and so this has been generally dismissed as imaginative Anglophone
Early history
Hugh de Grenock was created a Scottish
The
The Schaw, later Shaw and Shaw-Stewart, family retained a leading role in Greenock over the following centuries. In 1670, Sir John Shaw obtained a charter from King Charles II, combining the lands of Finnart and the barony of Wester Greenock, to create the barony of Greenock.[12]
Fishing villages, harbours and shipbuilding
The coast of Greenock formed a broad bay with three smaller indentations: the Bay of Quick was known as a safe anchorage as far back as 1164. To its east, a sandy bay ran eastwards from the Old Kirk and the West Burn as far as Wester Greenock castle. The fishing village of Greenock developed along this bay, and around 1635 Sir John Schaw had a jetty built into the bay which became known as Sir John's Bay. In that year he obtained a Charter raising Greenock to a Burgh of Barony with rights to a weekly market. Further east, Saint Laurence Bay curved round past the Crawfurd Barony of Easter Greenock to Garvel (or Gravel) Point. When a pier (or dyke) was built making the bay an important harbour, the fishing village of Cartsdyke gained the alternative name of Crawfurdsdyke. In 1642 it was made into the Burgh of Barony of Crawfurdsdyke, and part of the ill-fated
The fishing trade grew prosperous, with barrels of salted
In 1696 and 1700 Schaw and residents of the town made unsuccessful bids to the Scottish Parliament for grants for a Greenock harbour, then when the
The
Custom House and steamboats
In 1714 Greenock became a custom house port as a branch of Port Glasgow, and for a period this operated from rooms leased in Greenock. Receipts rose rapidly with the expansion of colonial trade, and in 1778 the custom house moved to newly-built premises at the West Quay of the harbour.[19]
By 1791 a new pier was constructed at the East Quay. In 1812 Europe's first steamboat service was introduced by PS Comet with frequent sailings between Glasgow, Greenock and Helensburgh, and as trade built up the pier became known as Steamboat Quay.
The custom house needed larger premises and in May 1817 the foundation stone was laid at the quay for a Custom House building designed by William Burn, which was completed in 1818. Its gracious neoclassical architecture features a Grecian Doric portico looking out over the quay, which was renamed Custom House Quay.[19] In 1828 the Custom House was praised as "a grand National Structure" in "the highest style of elegance". By then there were scheduled steamboat sailings to Belfast, Derry, Liverpool, Inverness, Campbeltown, the Hebrides and "all the principal places in the Highlands".[20]
The Custom House underwent extensive refurbishment which was completed in 1989 and, until closure of the building in 2010, housed a customs and excise museum which was open to the public. In June 2008 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced that the building would close in 2011 as part of a rationalisation project with any jobs being transferred to offices in Glasgow, and despite a campaign to oppose these plans, the building closed in August 2010.
Riverside Inverclyde arranged further refurbishment works, and in 2013 announced that space had already been let to companies including PG Paper Company Ltd and Toshiba which had planning permission to form meeting rooms and an executive office in the building.[21][22] Greenock Telegraph estimated that £4.1 million has been spent over five-year period for the renovation works.[23]
Industry and railways
Greenock became a centre of industry, with water power being used to process imported goods. In 1827
Greenock Central railway station at Cathcart Street opened in 1841, for the first time providing a fast route from Glasgow to the coast linking up with Clyde steamer services. The provision of this new line meant there was no need to take the steamer all the way down river from Glasgow. In 1869 the Caledonian Railway was bypassed by the rival Greenock and Ayrshire Railway which opened a station on the waterfront at its Albert Harbour station (later renamed Princes Pier), served by a tunnel under Greenock's west end. To regain custom, the Caledonian Railway extended (what is now known as the Inverclyde Line) the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway west to Gourock; this line was built to run inland through deep cuttings and tunnels, with a tunnel under the whole length of Newton Street crossing under the other railway tunnel to emerge near Fort Matilda railway station. Spoil from the cuttings and tunnels was used to build an embankment out from the shore to a long timber wharf at Gourock railway station, providing space for railway sidings.[24] The railway bought Wester Greenock castle and its extension, the Mansion House, and demolished them before constructing the tunnel immediately west of Greenock Central station, running under the castle grounds which now form Well Park.[9]
Greenock's increasing importance and wealth was manifested in the construction of the
The Clyde Torpedo Factory opened in 1910, with 700 workers transferred from the
A church which became known as the Old West Kirk had been established in Greenock in 1591 under the patronage of John Schaw, the first built in Scotland since the Reformation. It was extended over the years, at an early stage the Schaw aisle provided pews for the Laird of the Barony, built as a gallery to the east of the nave of the church. Opposite it, above the front entrance, is the Crawfurdsburn or Choir Gallery. At the south end of the nave, the Sailor's Loft gallery was built in 1698 and features a 19th-century model frigate, which replaced earlier models. At the north end, the Farmer's Gallery is above the main seating area. A tower was added in the mid 19th century.
In 1926, to make way for expansion of the Harland & Wolff shipyard (the present-day location of Container Way), the Old West Kirk was relocated to a new site on the Esplanade where it still stands. The shipbuilders provided the Pirrie Hall to the south of the site: this was opened in February 1925, just after the old church closed for work to commence, and was used during the works to accommodate services, enabling the congregation to see progress on the rebuilt kirk. It then came into use as the church hall.
The church is notable for stained glass by artists such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Sir Edward Burne-Jones. The Church has a website.[29]
Second World War
Greenock suffered badly during the
On 10 October 1940, RAF Greenock was created as a maintenance base for RAF flying boats. The base was hit on 7 May 1941 during the Greenock Blitz.[31]
A large building housing a drapery business constructed on Cowan's property at the corner of the Municipal Buildings was badly damaged and was demolished, leaving the blank brick corner area still known as "Cowan's Corner". This was later landscaped and used as a garden.[32]
Post–war years
Greenock thrived in the post-war years but as the heavy industries declined in the 1970s and 1980s unemployment became a major problem, and it has only been in the last ten years with reinvestment and the redevelopment of large sections of the town that the local economy has started to revive. Tourism has appeared as an unexpected bonus with the development of the Clydeport
Greenock reached its population peak in 1921 (81,123) and was once the sixth largest town in Scotland.
Governance
Until 1974, Greenock was a
Greenock is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council, the local authority responsible for the wider Inverclyde area in which Greenock is located. The council is based in the Greenock Municipal Buildings.
Climate
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Greenock's climate is
Although there has been recent debate
Anecdotally Greenock has a reputation for receiving higher than average rainfall (the song The Green Oak Tree comments on this). Whilst the rainfall is indeed higher than the average recorded at Scottish weather stations, the greatest rainfall in Scotland occurs on the west (ocean) facing mountain slopes of
Greenock's latitude means long hours of daylight in midsummer with the opposite true in midwinter. On the summer solstice, usually observed on the 21 June, the sun rises at 04:31 and sets at 22:07. On the winter solstice, usually 21 December, the sun rises at 08:46 and sets at 15:44.
Education
The Highlanders academy was built in 1837, partly by subscription, and partly by grant from government, on a site given by the late Sir Michael Shaw Stewart.[12]
Greenock has the following primary schools as of 2023:
- Ardgowan Primary School, on Newton Street
- Lady Alice Primary School, on Gateside Avenue
- St Josephs R C Primary School, on Wren Road
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, on Patrick Street
- St Patricks Primary School, on Cornhaddock Street
- Whinhill Primary School, on Peat Road
- Aileymill Primary School, on Norfolk Road
- St Andrew's Primary School, on Chester Road
- All Saints Primary School, on Blairmore Road
- King's Oak Primary School, on East Crawford Street
Greenock has the following high schools as of 2023:
- Notre Dame High School, on Dunlop Street
- Inverclyde Academy, on Cumberland Road
Greenock has the following other educational establishments:
- Cedars School of Excellence
- Lomond View Academy
Health
The Greenock Infirmary, later the Royal Infirmary, was established in 1809, when a building was erected at an expense of £1815, on a site of land given by Sir John Shaw Stewart.[12] Today, the town is served by the Inverclyde Royal Hospital which is located in Greenock serving the population of Inverclyde, Largs, the Isle of Bute and the Cowal Peninsula.[36] The hospital was commissioned to replace the Greenock Royal Infirmary, the Eye Infirmary, Gateside Hospital, Duncan Macpherson Hospital and Broadstone Jubilee Hospital.[37] Construction work started at the end on August 1970[38] and the hospital was completed in 1979.[37]
In 2004 Inverclyde Royal Hospital faced proposals for a major downsizing with the loss of the accident and emergency department and the acute surgical ward in an effort to save costs. Many people criticised the plans complaining that the Inverclyde Royal Hospital was being seen as nothing more than a large health centre.[39] In February 2007, after undertaking a review, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde proposed retaining the accident and emergency department and core inpatient services, including the trauma and emergency medical departments at Inverclyde Royal Hospital and submitted this proposal to the Scottish Government for approval.[40]
Langhill Clinic situated behind Inverclyde Royal Hospital is now the main psychiatric hospital with an IPCU unit and Day hospital alongside the main psychiatric ward.
Economy
Economic history
Historically, the town relied on shipbuilding, sugar refining and wool manufacturing for employment, but none of these industries are today part of Greenock's economy. More recently the town relied heavily on electronics manufacture. However, this has given way mostly to: call centre business, insurance, banking and shipping export.
The Fleming and Reid merino wool mill employed 500 people – mostly women and produced wool garments spun and woven at the mill. This mill was at the corner of Drumfrochar Road and Mill Road.
As of October 2012 Greenock has an unemployment rate of 5.3%, above the Scottish average of 3.9% (figure is for the Scottish Parliament constituency and includes Gourock, Inverkip, Port Glasgow and Wemyss Bay).[41]
Shipbuilding
In the early 17th century, the first
In 1967 Scott's was merged with Lithgows (founded 1874, later the largest privately owned yard in the world) the same year becoming Scott Lithgow, which was later nationalised as part of British Shipbuilders in 1977. From 1800 to 1980 many thousands of people worked to design, build and repair ships. The reduction in shipbuilding in the 1970s and 1980s meant that none of these companies are still trading.
Greenock Shipbuilders included: Scotts, Browns, William Lithgows, Fergusons, Head the Boat Builder (lifeboats). Other marine engineering related companies included engine-makers – Kincaids, Scotts, Rankin and Blackmore (which included the Eagle Foundry) – ship repair (Lamonts) and Hasties for steering gear. Yacht builders included Adams and McLean (at Cardwell Bay). Other yards included Cartsburn, Cartsdyke, and Klondyke – all of which closed during the 1970s and 1980s due to competition from South Korea and Japan.
Part of the site of the Scott's yard, is now an
The Inchgreen Drydock was opened in 1964 as one of the largest in the world at 305 m long and 48 m wide. It was used to re-fit the
Shipping
Freight traffic is handled at the
Greenock was a regular port of call for Cunard Line and Canadian Pacific in the 1950s and 1960s. Ships on the Montreal to Liverpool transit would anchor at the Tail of the Bank off Greenock in the Firth of Clyde and steam paddlewheel ferries would service the liners. Cunard operated: the RMS Ivernia (1954), RMS Saxonia (1955), RMS Carinthia (1956) and RMS Sylvania (1957). These four ships were built at John Brown & Company shipyards, typically 22,000 tons, twin screw, 600 passengers. CP operated the Empress of Britain (1956), Empress of Canada and Empress of England.
Greenock's Great Harbour is one of the three main ports providing marine services support to the Royal Navy, in dual site operation with
Greenock's attractive esplanade provides a gently curving riverside walk just over a mile (1.6 km) long extending to the west from Ocean Terminal to the Royal West of Scotland Amateur Boat Club sailing, kayaking and rowing facilities, which originated as a rowing club built against the east wall of Fort Matilda in 1866, and was granted its present title in 1885. The present clubhouse dates from 1878, and was subsequently extended.[48]
Fort Matilda was adapted for various purposes, eventually becoming the Navy Buildings which housed a main
Sugar
Sugar refining began in Greenock in 1765.[49] John Walker began a sugar refinery in Greenock in 1850 followed by the prominent local cooper and shipowner Abram Lyle who, with four partners, purchased the Glebe Sugar Refinery in 1865. Another 12 refineries were active at one point. The most successful of these was Tate & Lyle. It was formed from a merger in 1921 between Abram Lyle, who had expanded into Plaistow, and Henry Tate, who had set up a sugar refinery in Liverpool and had expanded into London.
The James Watt Dock, opened in 1886, provided shipping and shipbuilding facilities including a large warehouse (known as the Sugar Shed) which was used for both imported raw sugar, and refined sugar ready for delivery.[50][51] By the end of the 19th century, around 400 ships a year were transporting sugar from Caribbean holdings to Greenock for processing. There were 14 sugar refineries, including The Westburn, Walkers, The Glebe, Lochore and Ferguson and Dempster, plus a sugar beet factory on Ingleston Street. Tobacco from the Americas also arrived here.
When Tate and Lyle finally closed its Greenock refinery in 1997 it brought to an end the town's 150-year-old connections with sugar manufacture. A newly built sugar warehouse continued shipping operations at Greenock's Ocean Terminal. The former sugar warehouse at the James Watt Dock was by then scheduled as a category A
In 2007, approval was given to proposals for a major regeneration project.[53] As of 2018, the building and adjacent area of the dock accommodated a marina.[50]
Electronics
Since IBM arrived in the town in 1951, electronics and light manufacturing have, until recently, been the mainstay of local employment. Texas Instruments (and before that National Semiconductor) ran a silicon wafer manufacturing plant in the town from 1970 until 2019, when the plant was transferred to Diodes Incorporated.[54]
However, with manufacturing moving to Eastern Europe and Asia, work has shifted to the
IBM closed their entire factory in Greenock which is in the process of being demolished.
Trade and commerce
Greenock's main shopping thoroughfare was Hamilton Street, which connected West Blackhall Street in the west to Clyde Square in the east. In 1975 it disappeared, along with several other central streets, as the area was
Transport
Greenock is Scotland's best served town in terms of railway stations. It boasts eight: Bogston, Cartsdyke, Greenock Central, Greenock West, Fort Matilda, Whinhill, Drumfrochar and Branchton. A ninth station, located at the former IBM complex, is currently mothballed pending redevelopment of the site. Only Glasgow has a much greater number of stations and Edinburgh possesses only two more. Greenock has a railway tunnel at 1.2 miles (1.9 km) in length. Located directly under Newton Street in the town, the tunnel allowed for the extension of the railway to Gourock.
Greenock is served by a number of local bus routes covering the majority of Greenock, Gourock and Port Glasgow. Long-distance services travel regularly to Glasgow, Largs and Dunoon. The majority of routes are run by McGill's Bus Services. The Largs to Glasgow corridor is served by two services, the 901, 906, which provide a bus along this route every 15 minutes for most of the day. The 531 service also offers travel from Greenock to Glasgow, serving the Slaemuir area of Port Glasgow before connecting with the X7 Service and continuing through Bridge of Weir, Houston and Linwood, then joining the motorway to Braehead before heading into Glasgow City Centre.
Greenock is located at the end of the
Culture
Greenock is home to the world's first
The Victorian landscape artist John Atkinson Grimshaw depicted a somewhat idealised Greenock in several of his paintings.
The
The Beacon Arts Centre opened in 2013 in a new building at Greenock's Custom House Quay. It provides a 500-seat theatre that hosts a regular programme of plays, concerts, musical events, comedians and other events and a Studio Theatre, as well as a multifunction Gallery Suite providing rehearsal and meeting rooms which combine for event or performance space, with views over the Clyde. On the ground floor a café & bar also haas wide views. The Beacon is owned by the Greenock Arts Guild, and replaced the former Arts Guild Theatre.[60]
Greenock hosted the National Mòd in 1904 and 1925.[61]
In television
The 1974 BBC Scotland adaptation of the Para Handy novels, entitled The Vital Spark, was filmed in Greenock. In 2012, Greenock became the setting for the BBC television drama Waterloo Road, after the series was relocated from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. The series was shot at Greenock Academy, a former secondary school in the west of the town.[62] The British TV series Annika uses the Beacon Arts Centre as the homicide unit's base.
In film
Greenock has featured as the backdrop to several films: the television films
In literature
Greenock is one of the settings for
Greenock features in Charles Nodier's 1832 romantic fairy-tale novel La fée aux miettes as the original home and final destination of the eponymous "Crumb Fairy," who, at the beginning of the story is trapped in France.[65] In Promenade from Dieppe to the Mountains of Scotland, his account of a 50-day journey to Scotland in 1821, Nodier described Greenock as “one of the ornaments of Renfrewshire”[66] ("la charmante ville de Greenok [sic], un des ornements de Renfrew"[67]).
The novel The Greenock Murders by Kieran James (2021) is set in Greenock, especially the Cartsdyke area of town around Grosvenor Road, and the pubs of Gourock including the Kempock bar and Monteith's (now closed).[68]
Media
The town has a daily evening newspaper, The Greenock Telegraph, dating from 1857.
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC Scotland and STV Central. Television signals are received from the Black Hill[69] TV transmitter or one of the local relay transmitters (Rosneath[70] and Ravenscraig [71]). An internet-based TV station – Inverclyde TV – is run by Creative Industries students at Greenock's West College Scotland.
Inverclyde FM on line is a community Internet radio station run by volunteers.[72]
The town is also served by nation-wide radio stations, BBC Radio Scotland, Clyde 1, Greatest Hits Radio Glasgow & The West, Heart Scotland, and Capital Scotland.
Notable people
The most famous Greenockian is the engineer James Watt.[73][74] He is remembered in several placenames in the town, in the library instituted in his memory, and by the original Watt Memorial School (later College) building on the site of his birthplace in William Street, which incorporates a commemorative statue. The Finnart Campus of the local college was until 2014 known as the James Watt College. Wetherspoons opened the James Watt pub after the building was converted from its previous use as the General Post Office.
The Lady Octavia park and sports centre are named after Lady Octavia Grosvenor, wife of the local MP Sir Michael Shaw-Stewart, who died in 1921.
Other Greenockians include the composers Hamish MacCunn and William Wallace, violinist Henri Temianka, mathematician William Spence,[78] poets Denis Devlin, W. S. Graham and Jean Adam, merchant Matthew Algie, actors Richard Wilson, David Ashton, Martin Compston and Stella Gonet, artists William Scott and Alison Watt, playwrights Bill Bryden,[79] Neil Paterson and Peter McDougall, comedian Charles 'Chic' Murray, opera singer Hugh Enes Blackmore, broadcaster Jimmy Mack, American football player Lawrence Tynes, children's theatre performer Ruairidh Forde, PGA Pro golfer Colin Robinson, Antarctic explorer Henry Robertson 'Birdie' Bowers and portrait painter Leonard Boden.
Two Greenockians, Alexander Bruce and Theophilus S. Marshall, were involved in the drafting of the laws for Australian Rules Football.
- FRSE(1891–1954) was born and raised in Greenock.
- Charles McQueen (1836–1906), engineer and gold-dredger.
- The novelist and children's writer Mary Alice Faid was born in Greenock in 1897.[80]
- Robert Wilson, the grandfather of Uncle Sam (Samuel Wilson) was born in Greenock.
- RuPaul's Drag Race (season 13), was born in Greenock.
- Angela Egan, The 2021 winner of Dancing on Ice was born in Greenock, and after learning to skate in Paisley, became one of the first coaches at Greenock's Waterfront Ice Rink when it opened.[81]
- M.R.D. Meek, mystery novelist, was from Greenock[82]
People with other connections
Pirate William Kidd claimed on death row that he was born in Greenock, but subsequent evidence has shown that he was born either in Belfast or Dundee.[83][84]
The novelist
Sports
Greenock Morton F.C. are the local senior football team who currently play in the Scottish Championship.[88] Founded in 1874 as Morton F.C., they play their home matches at Cappielow. At lower levels of the game, Greenock Juniors F.C. play in the West of Scotland Football League.
Greenock hosts a rugby union team, Greenock Wanderers RFC,[89] founded in 1873. It is one of the oldest clubs in Scotland.
Greenock also has 2 successful athletics clubs, Inverclyde AC and Glenpark Harriers
It is also the hometown of the
In 1972, the town was also the host of the first official international women's football match played in Britain. The game, between Scotland and England, resulted in a 3-2 win for England.[92]
Leisure facilities in Greenock are primarily provided by Inverclyde Leisure. There are several sports facilities in the town and surrounding area managed by Inverclyde Leisure:
- Waterfront Leisure Complex
- Greenock Sports Centre
- Lady Octavia Sports Centre
- Boglestone Community Centre and Fitness Gym
- Ravenscraig Sports Centre
- Battery Park Pavilion
- Gourock Fitness Gym
- Gourock Outdoor Swimming Pool
- Birkmyre Park Fitness Gym (Kilmacolm)
As of 2009, there are plans to build a new multi-purpose facility at Rankin Park.[93]
Notes
- ^ "Greenock (Inverclyde, Scotland, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ W. J. Watson, The History of the Celtic Place-Names of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1926), p. 201.
- ^ Watson, The History of the Celtic Place-Names of Scotland, p. 201.
- ^ Smith 1921, pp. 8–9
- ^ Johnston, J.B. (1934) Place-names of Scotland, John Murray, p. 197
- ^ Smith 1921, p. 9
- ^ Smith 1921, pp. 4–5
- ^ a b Sweet, Andy. "Greenock Castle (site of) - Castle in Greenock, Renfrewshire". Stravaiging around Scotland. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
- ^ Weir, Daniel (1829). History of the Town of Greenock. Greenock: Robertson & Atkinson, Glasgow; John Boyd, Edinburgh; Whittaker & Co., London. pp. 12–14.
- ^ Smith 1921, pp. 9, 86, 109
Monteith 2004, p. 3 - ^ a b c "A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Originally published by S Lewis, London, 1846". British History Online.
- ^ Smith 1921, pp. 6, 9, 64
Brown 1905, p. 4 - ^ Smith 1921, pp. 6, 55, 85
Monteith 2003, p. 3 - ^ Williams, Lisa (9 October 2016). "Remaking our histories: Scotland, Slavery and Empire". National Galleries Scotland. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- ^ Smith 1921, pp. 6, 55, 85, 87, 94
- ISBN 978-1-41655-274-1.
- ^ McDermott, S. (30 May 2018). "The Boys on the Ice". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- ^ a b Monteith 2004, p. 19
- ^ Wood 1828, pp. 172–175
- ^ "Regeneration Projects Attracting Interest". Inverclyde Now. 16 November 2013. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- ^ "PG Paper moves to Greenock's Custom House". HeraldScotland. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
- ^ "£4m Greenock Custom House project nears an end". Greenock Telegraph. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
- ^ Monteith 2004, pp. 40, 47, 84, 70, 94..
- ISBN 978-1-907200-02-1.
- ^ Smith 1921, pp. 148, 168–169
- ^ "Secret Scotland – Royal Naval Torpedo Factories".
- ^ I worked there 1957–59
- ^ "Welcome To The Old West Kirk, Greenock". Lyle Kirk. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
- ^ "Fs Maille Breze: Tail Of The Bank, Upper Firth Of Clyde | Canmore". canmore.org.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ "Greenock - Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust UK".
- ^ "Shop owner's fight to defend Cowan's Corner". Greenock Telegraph. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
- ^ "Climate & Weather Averages in Greenock, Scotland, United Kingdom". Timeanddate.com. Retrieved 9 October 2019.. Data for period 1985–2015.
- ^ "The Gulf Stream Myth". ocp.ldeo.columbia.edu.
- ^ "Northern Scotland: climate". Met Office. Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "Inverclyde Royal Hospital". NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Archived from the original on 27 November 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ a b "Inverclyde Royal Hospital, Greenock". Historic Hospitals. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
- ^ "Official start made to £7m. hospital". The Herald. 1 September 1970. p. 3. Archived from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
- ^ "Inverclyde Royal Hospital". Wemyss Bay. Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
- ^ "South Clyde Acute Hospital Consultation". NHSGGC. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
- ^ "nomis – official labour market statistics". Nomisweb.co.uk. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ^ a b "End of an era as cranes set to be flattened at Inchgreen". Greenock Telegraph. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ "History". Peel Ports. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ "Inchgreen Drydock". Cammell Laird. 10 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ "Revealed: billionaire scouts giant Greenock dry dock as potential shipyard". HeraldScotland. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ "Dry dock brought back to use after two decades". BBC News. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "Signing of Marine Services Contract". Serco Group plc. 14 December 2007. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ Royal West of Scotland Amateur Boat Club Jubilee 1926 CS63-1-1 Archived 21 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine, from "Local History Downloads". Inverclyde Council. 2016. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 548–549.
- ^ a b JWDAdministrator. "JWD History". James Watt Dock Marina, Greenock, Scotland. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
- ^ "Greenock, James Watt Dock". Canmore. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
- ^ "Picture Gallery". Archived from the original on 26 October 2006.
- ^ "£180 million Regeneration Project Approved". Inverclyde Council. 7 January 2010. Archived from the original on 19 September 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ^ Manners, David (4 February 2019). "Diodes buys Greenock fab". Electronics Weekly. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- ^ "Workers' disgust at Hungary move", Greenock Telegraph, 15 February 2006, archived from the original on 27 February 2012, retrieved 7 May 2010
- ^ "End of era as IBM leaves Inverclyde after over 70 years". www.thenational.scot. The National. 1 April 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- ^ "OAK MALL GREENOCK LIMITED [04384548]". Insolvent, Winding Up, Bankrupt & Administration Information. 21 November 2013.
- ^ Greenock from Old Photographs, 1984
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References
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- Monteith, Joy (2003), Old Port Glasgow, Catrine, Ayrshire: Stenlake Publishing, ISBN 978-1-84033-250-6
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Further reading
- Snoddy, TG (1937) Round About Greenock
- Weir, D (1827, r. 2004) History of the Town of Greenock