Rashielee Quay | |
---|---|
The Clyde near Rashieliee Quay | |
Location | |
Country | Scotland |
Location | Erskine |
Coordinates | 55°54′26″N4°26′51″W / 55.907275°N 4.4473863°W |
Details | |
Opened | 18th-19th century [1] |
Operated by | Until late 19th century [2] |
Owned by | John Henderson Esq |
Type of harbor | Private |
Statistics | |
Passenger traffic | No |
The old Rashielee Quay or Rashielie Quay (NS471709) was located on the old Lands of North Barr, situated on the south bank of the River Clyde in the Parish of Inchinnan, [3] between Bodinbo Island and Park Quay. It was built to facilitate the loading of boats and barges with whinstone excavated from the nearby Rashielee Quarries that was brought to the quay by a horse drawn wagonway.
In 1497 Rashielee, North Barr, Craigton and Barscube were obtained by charter from the Darnley's, Earls of Lennox by the Stewarts of Barscube. This family held the lands until around 1670 when most of the estate was sold by Thomas Stewart to a wealthy Glasgow merchant, Donald Mac Gilchrist, who built the old North Barr House in 1676. [4] They then passed to the Balfours, Lord Sempill in 1741, John Buchanan in 1798 and Lord Blantyre of Erskine House in 1812. [5] In 1843 Mr Maxwell of Dargevel was the proprietor of the property. [6]
In 1856 John Henderson was the owner of Rashielee Plantation [7] and Rashielee Quarry although Rashielee Farm and offices were held by a John Hamilton Esq. [8]
The word 'Rashie' is Scots for an area or field filled with rushes. [9]
The two long and narrow quarries utilised stone from two linear dikes (igneous intrusions) that run through area at least as far as the site of the old quay. Due to its hard wearing characteristics whinstone is widely used for pavements, road building, jetties, etc.
Construction of the training wall known as the 'Lang Dyke' below the Erskine Bridge started in 1773. All the whinstone had to be floated down to the site on barges at the slack tide and placed underwater. The dyke was added to in later years on the west end using whinstone from the Rashielee Quarries. [10]
The whinstone from the Rashielee quarries is from the same lava flows that formed the Renfrewshire Hills. [11] Circa 1810 its whinstone was used as stated for a westward extension of the Lang Dyke and also the anti-erosion surfacing of other training walls, etc. in the River Clyde such as the one near Bodinbo Island close to the southern side of the old Erskine Ferry. [11]
The quarries had been abandoned by 1881 when a drop in the population of the parish is recorded as being due to the unemployment caused by this closure. [5]
Some of the quarry faces are still visible from the pedestrian paths that now run through the landscaped site.
The quay was built to provide loading facilities for ships and punts collecting stone for use along the course of the River Clyde.
In 1857 track ran from both quarries towards the quay, dividing into several sidings and ending where a crane was located and a beacon together with several berths including a dock or basin. A building was located within the eastern quarry. [12] By 1895 the quarries were abandoned, the track lifted and the quay apparently abandoned although a crane is still marked.
Rashielee Cottages are shown at a location where a building had been present when the quarries were operational. [13]
In 1939 the quay is officially marked on the OS maps as disused. [14] The quay has been infilled and landscaped however much of the dressed stone from the old quay has been used in the landscaping.
Rashielee Light stands on a cast iron cylinder close to Park Quay. Once oil fueled, it was later converted to compressed gas and now powered by electricity. [15]
A WWII barrage balloon site was identified in the area however nothing now remains of the structure. Many barrage balloons existed in this part of the clyde to protect people, housing and industries against German aircraft. [16]
The River Clyde is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second-longest in Scotland. Traveling through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire. To the Romans, it was Clota, and in the early medieval Cumbric language, it was known as Clud or Clut, and was central to the Kingdom of Strathclyde.
Erskine is a town in the council area of Renfrewshire, and historic county of the same name, situated in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the southern bank of the River Clyde, providing the lowest crossing to the north bank of the river at the Erskine Bridge, connecting the town to Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire. Erskine is a commuter town at the western extent of the Greater Glasgow conurbation, bordering Bishopton to the west and Renfrew, Inchinnan, Paisley and Glasgow Airport to the south. Originally a small village settlement, the town has expanded since the 1960s as the site of development as an overspill town, boosting the population to over 15,000. In 2014, it was rated one of the most attractive postcode areas to live in Scotland.
Inchinnan is a small village in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The village is located on the main A8 road between Renfrew and Greenock, just south east of the town of Erskine.
Bishopton is a village in Renfrewshire, Scotland. It is located around 2 miles (3 km) west of Erskine.
West Renfrewshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1983 and again from 1997 until 2005. In 2005 the constituency was abolished and the area is now represented by Inverclyde, Paisley and Renfrewshire North and Paisley and Renfrewshire South.
The River Cart is a tributary of the River Clyde, Scotland, which it joins from the west roughly midway between the towns of Erskine and Renfrew and opposite the town of Clydebank.
Old Kilpatrick, is a village in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It has an estimated population of 4,820. It belonged to the parish of Old Kilpatrick which itself was only a few thousand people strong.
Langbank is a village on the south bank of the River Clyde in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The name is thought to come from ‘long bank’. It is 9.3 miles/15 km northwest from Paisley (Renfrewshire) and 3.4 miles/5.5 km east from Port Glasgow (Inverclyde) on the A8.
Strathgryffe or Gryffe Valley (Gaelic: Srath Ghriobhaidh is a strath centred on the River Gryffe in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The River Gryffe passes through the council areas of Inverclyde and Renfrewshire, rising in Kilmacolm and joining the Black Cart Water between Houston and Inchinnan.
Renfrew is a town 6 miles (10 km) west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former royal house, Renfrew gained royal burgh status in 1397.
Erskine Ferry sailed across the River Clyde from Erskine to Old Kilpatrick. The ferry was also referred to as East Ferry of Erskine as there was another ferry to Dumbarton a few miles down river, known as West Ferry. It is reputed to be the oldest ferry crossing of the Clyde. The crossing was part of the A740 route from Paisley to Old Kilpatrick. It was established in 1777 and replaced by the Erskine Bridge in 1971.
Saint Conval (Conwall) was an Irish-born missionary who, when pondering his vocation, was carried by the stone he stood on across the Irish Sea to Inchinnan in Scotland. He was active in the Kingdom of Strathclyde in the area of East Renfrewshire, where there were “Conval wells” in Barrhead and Thornliebank. He is believed to have founded churches at Inchinnan, Pollokshaws and Fereneze. His bones were preserved in an impressive sarcophagus at the Inchinnan church.
Donald's Quay was once the location of the northern terminus of the Erskine Ferry then run by Lord Blantyre of Erskine House that provided foot passengers with a crossing of the River Clyde, giving direct access between Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire. At some point in the early 19th century the northern terminus of the Erskine Ferry moved to a site closer to Old Kilpatrick and opposite the Ferry House at Erskine, before closure in 1971 when the Erskine Bridge was completed. Donald's Quay once had an approximately 170-foot-long (52-metre) stone pier that was used by coal boats that transferred their loads into canal barges on the Forth & Clyde Canal at Ferrydyke Wharf and thereby avoided paying fees at the Bowling Basin. The quay was demolished during the construction of the Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway in 1896.
Bodinbo Island is an islet in the estuarine waters of the River Clyde close to the old ferry slipway at Erskine. Before the dyke or training wall was built the rocky Bodinbo Island was a prominent feature in the river hereabouts and a hazard to shipping, especially sailing craft in the dark, during foggy weather, flood conditions and in high winds. On Ordnance Survey maps the name has been transliterated to Bottombow Island and Boden Boo is the spelling variant used for the nearby woodland plantation.
St Patrick's Rock or St Patrick's Stone is located in the River Clyde (NS461724) close to the Erskine Bridge and the old Erskine Ferry on the Renfrewshire side of the river. It is reputedly the location from which the 16 year old Saint Patrick was kidnapped by Irish pirates whilst he was fishing. The rock is covered at high tide and it is also the location of a navigation light known as St Patrick's Light.
The disused Park Quay or Fulton's Quay is located on the old Lands of Park, situated on the south bank of the River Clyde in the Parish of Inchinnan, close to Newshot Island and the old Rashielee Quay. A slipway is also part of the infrastructure, giving access to the dock at low tide, both once served by roads running through the Park Estate from the south. It was recorded as Fulton's Quay in 1830, the name of a previous owner of the Park Estate who may have built it prior to 1801. A fixed light was installed at Park Quay in 1869.
Milton Island or Green Inch was an island in the Clyde's estuarine waters close to the old ford across the river at Dumbuck near Dumbarton. The island was once part of the tidal ford supposedly built by the Romans. Industrial activity has changed the river currents and the island has become substantially reduced in size and split into islets.
Newshot Island or Newshot Isle was an island of circa 50 acres or 20 hectares lying in the estuarine waters of the River Clyde close to Park Quay in the Parish of Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Scotland. Due to silting, etc. it has become part of the southern, Renfrewshire side, of the river bank and is used for grazing cattle and as a nature reserve.
King's Inch and the much smaller Sand Inch were islands lying in the estuarine waters of the River Clyde close to Renfrew in Renfrewshire, Scotland. Due to dredging and a change of the course of the main current of the River Clyde, silting, etc. it has become part of the southern, Renfrewshire side, of the river bank and is now built over.
White Inch was an island lying in the estuarine waters of the River Clyde close to Glasgow in the Parish of Govan, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Due to the deliberate disposal of dredged material from the Clyde it became physically part of the northern, Lanarkshire side, of the river bank from the 1830s and is now entirely built over. The name lives on in the Whiteinch district of Glasgow, street names, etc. and probably relates to white coloured sand deposits.