Ardrossan Harbour - Foundation Stone - 1806

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Ardrossan Harbour - Foundation Stone - 1806

Post by Penny Tray »

The letter - HARBOUR OF ARDROSSAN - dated 4th of August 1806 - in the following Glasgow Herald link, describes what appears to have been a spectacular day, celebrated in both Ardrossan and Saltcoats, and later at Eglinton Castle in Kilwinning:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hk ... vant&hl=en
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Re: Ardrossan Harbour - Foundation Stone - 1806

Post by Hughie »

Nice find, Penny. Would have been interesting if that canal to Paisley and Glasgow had come about.
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Re: Ardrossan Harbour - Foundation Stone - 1806

Post by down south »

Fascinating reading, PT. I like the idea of Ardrossan becoming a " great commercial city "....! Interesting too to see mention that Saltcoats was already a popular bathing place .

I have heard of the canal scheme before; presumably Thomas Telford was pencilled in to undertake that too, but it all fell through. Good to have confirmation of that great engineer's role in building the harbour.

Wonder what way the canal was intended to go; probably following something like the route of the railway, so it could join up with the existing canal at Saltcoats .Though I do remember hearing rumours that Glasgow Street was originally laid out to be the start of the canal, and that was why it ended up so wide and straight.

Susan
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Re: Ardrossan Harbour - Foundation Stone - 1806

Post by sweet caroline »

Looks like they wanted to use it for the railway lines.

MT 6/4/109 Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway: Ardrossan Canal; amalgamation refused. Top File No: 1392 1847
MT 6/4/110 Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway: Ardrossan Canal; amalgamation refused. Top File No: 1393 1847

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Re: Ardrossan Harbour - Foundation Stone - 1806

Post by Penny Tray »

"The flags which were displayed upon the Old Castle, by the ships in the harbour at Saltcoats, on Mr. Brown's signal post, and the town of Sea Bank, also added much to the scene."

I wonder where and what Mr. Brown's Signal Post was? Maybe a railway signal box since there has always been one just below the Castle ruins in our life time.

And where on earth was the letter's author referring to as the town of "Sea Bank"?

I'm also intrigued by his description of the foundation stone -

"In this stone were deposited, one bottle containing coins of his present Majesty [George III]; another bottle containing a list of the names of subscribers to the undertaking, with copies of Acts of Parliament under which it is to be executed".....and an....."inscription on vellum".

"This insciption is likewise engraved upon a plate which covers the cavity in which the bottles are desposited."

Now, call me a cynic but I can't see them leaving such contents in the 'open' protected only by a metal plate!

Does this mean that the foundation stone which I've never been able to track down, maybe is or was inside a building, and maybe even on the floor of such a building as opposed to a wall?
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Re: Ardrossan Harbour - Foundation Stone - 1806

Post by chriso »

Penny Tray wrote:
And where on earth was the letter's author referring to as the town of "Sea Bank"
Perhaps it was referring to an area round about where the Sea bank Creamery used to be in Canal street, just across the road from the junction with Argyle road.
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Re: Ardrossan Harbour - Foundation Stone - 1806

Post by sweet caroline »

Penny Tray wrote:"The flags which were displayed upon the Old Castle, by the ships in the harbour at Saltcoats, on Mr. Brown's signal post, and the town of Sea Bank, also added much to the scene."

Could that not mean .When Mr Brown posted the signal to raise the flags


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Re: Ardrossan Harbour - Foundation Stone - 1806

Post by Penny Tray »

Chriso,

The Seabank Street area is a distinct possibility although I'm not sure that it can be seen from Ardrossan. Maybe in 1806, without the various obstructions which exist today, it could? Seamill was somewhere else that came to my mind. It would be visibile from the Castle Hill but whether or not you could see flags waving there is doubtful.

Caroline,

What you're suggesting is a possibility too although I'm still visualising a structure. I don't know why I originally suggested a railway one because the date even precedes Stephenson's Rocket. The author threw me off with his expression - "the crowding trains of people". I'm thinking now it would something to signal tide levels/wind strength etc to ships but I stand to be corrected.
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Re: Ardrossan Harbour - Foundation Stone - 1806

Post by Hughie »

down south wrote:Wonder what way the canal was intended to go; probably following something like the route of the railway, so it could join up with the existing canal at Saltcoats .Though I do remember hearing rumours that Glasgow Street was originally laid out to be the start of the canal, and that was why it ended up so wide and straight. Susan
Susan,
From what I remember being told at School, Glasgow Street was wide and straight to facilitate the Earl's plans for the future of the port of Ardrossan. The Saltcoats canal was merely a means of transporting coal from the Stevenston mines to the end of Canal Street where it was transported by carters to the ships waiting in Saltcoats Harbour.

The proposed Ardrossan canal to Paisley and Glasgow was I believe meant to take the route that the Caledonian Railway eventually took under the top of Glasgow Street in Ardrossan.
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Re: Ardrossan Harbour - Foundation Stone - 1806

Post by Hughie »

Penny Tray wrote:And where on earth was the letter's author referring to as the town of "Sea Bank"?
Could it be at that time there was a miners' village in that high ground (Saltcoats High Road area) above what was then Seabank House - where Auchenharvie Academy now is. I'm sure that could be seen from Ardrossan.
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Re: Ardrossan Harbour - Foundation Stone - 1806

Post by down south »

Could " Nelson's Tower " in the Seabank House grounds ( http://www.threetowners.net/forum/viewt ... 663#p96663 ) have existed at that date perhaps ?....a flag on that would probably have been visible from quite a distance.

Susan
Last edited by down south on Mon Apr 11, 2016 3:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ardrossan Harbour - Foundation Stone - 1806

Post by sweet caroline »

The Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal was a canal in the west of Scotland, running between Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone which later became a railway. Despite the name, the canal was never completed down to Ardrossan, the termini being Port Eglinton in Glasgow and Thorn Brae in Johnstone. Within months of opening, the canal was the scene of a major disaster.

Initially known as The Glasgow, Paisley & Ardrossan Canal, it was started in 1807 and opened in 1810. Silting of the River Clyde was becoming a problem for ships trying to get to Glasgow, and Ardrossan was identified as a suitable port for Glasgow. However, by the time the builders had reached Johnstone and built Ardrossan Harbour, the money had run out.

http://www.scotcities.com/railways/shields.htm

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