The New Dock at Greenock, 1886

Text from James Watt Dock Marina website with thanks.

James Watt Dock commenced construction on 1st August 1878 and was completed in 1886. It was conceived to allow Greenock to compete with Glasgow with the aim of attracting transatlantic shipping traffic and establishing Greenock as, “one of the greatest and best equipped British seaports”.

At the time of development James Watt Dock was believed to be the only dock on the Clyde where vessels of large tonnage could be kept afloat at all states of tide. However, the development of the dock was not cheap. The original budget was estimated at £242,885 5s 3d however, the actual outlay by 1886 was £634,343 8s 3d (or £850,000 including the price of the land).

The justification for such an undertaking (and substantial debt) was the great and rapidly increasing volume of trade passing up the Clyde to Glasgow. It was thought at the time that such a facility would allow Greenock to benefit from the larger ships which were being used for trade and passenger traffic that were constrained in their draft to navigate the upper reaches of the Clyde at anything below high tide.

For a period of time this belief held true and allowed Greenock to enter a period of unexampled expansion. In conjunction with staple industries (such as sugar refining and ship building), the boom in trade fuelled significant development leading to the growth of the town.

Other docks making up the Greenock harbours include; West Harbour, East India Harbour, Victoria Harbour, Albert Harbour, Princes Pier, West Quay, Customhouse Quay, Garvel Graving Dock and Great Harbour. Some of these harbours and docks no longer operate as functioning harbours and indeed some have been in-filled to expand waterfront development.