Greenock

Greenock (Grianaig in Scottish Gaelic) is a large burgh and a burgh of barony in the unitary authority region of Inverclyde in western Scotland, forming part of a continuous urban area with Gourock to the west and Port Glasgow to the east. Its population was recorded as being 45,467 in the 2001 census, a decrease from about 78,000 in 1966. It lies on the south bank of the "Tail of the Bank" where the River Clyde expands into the Firth of Clyde, and is in what was the traditional county of Renfrewshire.

History

Greenock waterfront from Victoria Harbour to Ocean Terminal, the skyline dominated by Victoria Tower

The history of the town's name is uncertain. It is generally accepted, however, that the town is named after the Gaelic word for 'sun', grian, either as grian-aig (sunny bay) or grian-cnoc (sunny hill). The suggestion that the town's name comes from the words "Green Oak" appears to be unfounded, but the image has been taken as a logo for the towns main shopping centre which has been named The Oak Mall.

Greenock was founded as a fishing village sometime prior to 1592 when it split from the Inverkip parish. After the Act of Union 1707, Greenock's facilities made it the main port on the West Coast and it prospered due to trade with the Americas, importing sugar from the Caribbean. By the mid 19th century Greenock's importance and wealth was manifested in the construction of the Municipal Buildings, whose Italianate Victoria Tower, completed in 1886, stands 245 feet tall.

The Clyde seen over Greenock's west end

Further evidence can be seen in the large villas of Greenock's west end, one time home to the shipowners and investors. The three-quarter mile sweep of the Esplanade with its views across the Clyde to Kilcreggan almost convinces the visitor that no heavy industry could have been anywhere nearby.

Free French memorial overlooking Gourock.

Greenock suffered badly during the Second World War and its anchorage at the Tail of the Bank was a base for the Home Fleet as well as the main assembly point for Atlantic convoys. In April 1940 the French Destroyer Maillé Brézé blew up off Greenock with heavy loss of life following an accident involving her own torpedoes. Although this disaster occurred before the Free French Naval Forces were established, many people tend to regard the Cross of Lorraine on Lyle Hill as a memorial to the loss of the Maillé Brézé as well as to the later losses of the Free French naval vessels which sailed from the town.

The ornate Municipal Buildings features the Victoria Tower. The blank brick area known as "Cowan's Corner" marks where a property owner refused to sell his building, preventing completion of the facade. His building did not survive the Blitz. The Mid Kirk spire is to the left.

On the nights of 6 May and 7 May 1941 around 300 Luftwaffe aircraft attacked the town in the Greenock Blitz.

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 also appeared as an unexpected bonus with the development of the Clydeport Container Terminal as an Ocean Terminal for cruise ships crossing the Atlantic. Students who do not travel further afield for study often attend the James Watt College of Further and Higher Education.

Greenock reached its population peak in 1921 (81,123) and was once the sixth largest town in Scotland.

The town has a daily evening newspaper, The Greenock Telegraph[1], a rugby team, Greenock Wanderers rfc, a football team, Greenock Morton F.C. [2], and is also home to Greenock Cricket Club[3], winners of the SNCL Premier Division in 2002 and holders of the Coronel Scottish Cup. It has featured recently as the backdrop to two successful films: Sweet Sixteen [4] and Dear Frankie [5].

Employment

Historically, the town relied on shipbuilding, sugar refining and wool manufacturing for employment. Today electronics manufacture, the call centre business and shipping export are the most significant industries in Greenock.

Shipbuilding

In the early 17th century, the first pier was built in Greenock. Shipbuilding was already an important employer by this time. The first proper harbour was constructed in 1710 and the first well-known shipbuilders, Scott's, was established the following year. It was the oldest shipbuilding business in the world and gained numerous contracts with the Royal Navy from 1806, building ships such as the Prince of Wales.

Scott's was nationalised in 1969 and merged with Lithgow's (founded 1874, later the largest privately owned yard in the world) the same year becoming Scott Lithgow. Other yards included Cartsburn, Cartsdyke, and Klondyke - all of which closed during the 1970s and 1980s due to competition from South Korea and Japan.

The site of the Scott's yard is now occupied by a T-Mobile call centre.

Ship repair work continues at the Garvel dry dock.

Shipping

Sunday strollers on the mile-long Esplanade with Golden Princess ar Ocean Terminal.

Freight traffic is handled at the the container cranes of Greenock's Ocean Terminal, at Prince's Pier which was constructed for the Glasgow and South Western Railway. The same terminal is also a regular port of call for cruise liners visiting the west of Scotland.

Greenock's Great Harbour is one of the three main ports providing marine services support to the Royal Navy, in dual site operation with Faslane at HMNB Clyde on the Gare Loch. This formerly came under the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service, but is currently operated by Serco Denholm, who are preferred bidders for the next contract. This faciloity means that "Admiralty" boats and tugs are a common sight on the Clyde, and can often be seen from Greenock's attractive esplanade which is about a mile (1.6 km) long.

Sugar

The Sugar Warehouse dominates the James Watt Dock

Sugar refining began in Greenock in 1765.Online encyclopedia from Britannica 1911 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 famous of these (and successful in terms of being the only survivor until August 1997) 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 also expanded into London.

A covered arcade sheltered sugar unloading.

By the end of the 19th century, around 400 ships a year were transporting sugar from Caribbean holdings to Greenock for processing in the 14 sugar refineries. Tobacco from the Americas also arrived here.

The Sugar Warehouse from the main road.

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 grade A listed building as a fine example of early industrial architecture, with an unusual feature of a colonnade of cast iron columns forming a sheltered unloading area next to the quayside. This building has since lain empty, with various schemes being proposed for conversion and restoration. The photographs show the building still intact in February 2006, but a fire on the evening of 12 June 2006 caused severe damage to much of the building before being brought under control in the early hours of 13 June. The local council confirmed that parts of the building will have to be taken down to ensure public safety, but promised an investigation and emphasised the importance of this world heritage building.Inverclyde NowPicture Gallery

Electronics

Since IBM arrived in the town in 1951, electronics and light manufacturing have, until recently, been the mainstay of local employment. National Semiconductor has also run a silicon wafer manufacturing plant in the town since 1970.

However, with manufacturing moving to Eastern Europe and Asia, work has shifted to the service sector, especially call centres. T-Mobile and IBM both have major call centre operations in Greenock, while the Royal Bank of Scotland has a facility dealing with all the groups' UK mortgage calls.

IBM have in recent years curtailed their operations greatly in the area. Sanmina, another electronics company, took over much of the IBM installation. As of 2006, Sanmina have themselves announced major cuts, with 370 jobs being moved to Hungary. [6]

Famous residents

The old main Post Office has been converted to The James (or Jimmy) Watt pub, much used by students at the nearby James Watt College

Greenock's most famous son is the engineer James Watt. He is remembered in the name of the local college, at the library instituted in his memory and near the place of his birth in William Street, commemorated by a statue.

Other famous Greenockians include: the composers Hamish MacCunn and William Wallace, musician John McGeoch, poets Denis Devlin, W. S. Graham and Jean Adam, merchant Matthew Algie, actors Richard Wilson and Stella Gonet, comedian Charles 'Chic' Murray and pirate Captain Kidd were born in the town.

The novelist John Galt, noted for founding Guelph, Ontario in 1827, lived in the town and based some of his work, most notably Annals of the Parish (1821), on Greenock and surrounding towns. He is buried in the Inverkip Street Cemetery.

Mary Campbell, Robert Burns's Highland Mary, is buried in Greenock Cemetery where there is a monument to her memory. Greenock is also home to the world's oldest Burns club, The Mother Club, which was founded in 1801.

Its most infamous resident is Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the Libyan intelligence officer and former head of Libyan Arab Airlines, who was convicted on January 31, 2001 of murder after causing a bomb to be placed on board Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988 with the loss of 270 lives. Megrahi was moved in February 2005 from solitary confinement in Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow to Gateside Prison Greenock, where he is expected to serve the rest of his 27-year sentence.

Another famous local resident was recently covered in an article by The Daily Telegraph and is known as "The Catman". He is a man of around 60 who lives wild.

Areas of Greenock

Arran View, Bow Farm, Braeside, Branchton, Bridgend, Broomhill, Cartsburn, Cornhaddock,Fancy Farm, Fort Matilda,Gibshill, Greenock West, Grieve Hill, Hole Farm, Larkfield, Lyle Hill, Lynedoch Overton, Pennyfern, Strone, Strone Farm, and Whinhill.

External links

*The Greenock Telegraph
*Greenock Morton FC
*Greenock Cricket Club
*James Watt College
*Inverclyde Views
*Inverclyde Riverside
* Inverclyde Tourism & Community Website

Greenock: Encyclopedia BETA

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