164-667: Cutty Sark is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Leven , Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line , she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, at the end of a long period of design development for this type of vessel, which ended as steamships took over their routes. She was named after the short shirt of the fictional witch in Robert Burns ' poem Tam o' Shanter , first published in 1791. After
328-688: A big increase in the number of steamers, which were in high demand. The rate of freight to London that was given to steamers was nearly twice that paid to the sailing ships. Additionally, the insurance premium for a cargo of tea in a steamer was substantially less than for a sailing vessel. So successful were the steamers using the Suez Canal that, in 1871, 45 were built in Clyde shipyards alone for Far Eastern trade. The numbers of tea clippers sailing to China each year steadily reduced, with many ships being sold and moving to general cargo work. Costs were kept to
492-466: A broadly similar shape is the coefficient of underdeck tonnage, as used by David MacGregor in comparing tea clippers. This could be calculated from the measurements taken to determine the registered tonnage, so can be applied to more vessels. An extreme clipper has a hull of great fineness, as judged either by the prismatic coefficient, the coefficient of underdeck tonnage, or some other technical assessment of hull shape. This term has been misapplied in
656-476: A cadet ship and was transferred to permanent dry dock at Greenwich , London, for public display. Cutty Sark is listed by National Historic Ships as part of the National Historic Fleet (the nautical equivalent of a Grade 1 Listed Building ). She is one of only three remaining intact composite construction (wooden hull on an iron frame) ships from the nineteenth century, the others being
820-634: A cargo of wine, spirits and beer bound for Shanghai . The return journey, carrying 1,305,812 pounds (592,306 kg) of tea from Shanghai, began 25 June, arriving 13 October in London via the Cape of Good Hope . Cutty Sark sailed in eight "tea seasons", from London to China and back. Cutty Sark ' s launch coincided with the opening of the Suez Canal to shipping in 1869. Her first trip encountered significant competition with steamships. The route from
984-499: A cleaner hull, she could sail faster. She was built for me. I superintended the building and fitting of her, and I never sailed a finer ship. At ten or twelve knots she did not disturb the water at all. Although she was a very sharp ship, just like a yacht, her spread of canvas was enormous, ... She was the fastest ship of her day, a grand ship, a ship that will last forever. —Captain George Moodie One day we sighted
1148-417: A clipper being faster than a brig. A clipper is a sailing vessel designed for speed, a priority that takes precedence over cargo-carrying capacity or building or operating costs. It is not restricted to any one rig (while many were fully rigged ships, others were barques, brigs, or schooners), nor was the term restricted to any one hull type. Howard Chapelle lists three basic hull types for clippers. The first
1312-505: A concept which is explained by comparing a rectangular cuboid with the underwater shape of a vessel's hull. The more material one has to carve off the cuboid to achieve the hull shape, the sharper the hull. Ideally, a maritime historian would be able to look at either the block coefficient of fineness or the prismatic coefficient of various clippers, but measured drawings or accurate half models may not exist to calculate either of these figures. An alternative measure of sharpness for hulls of
1476-547: A customer requiring the highest standards. Payment would be made in seven instalments as the ship progressed, but with a penalty of £5 for every day the ship was late. The ship was to be built to Lloyd's A1 standard and her construction was supervised on behalf of Willis by Captain George Moodie, who would command her when completed. Construction delays occurred when the Lloyd's inspectors required additional strengthening in
1640-516: A fast passage for a tea clipper was getting across the China Sea against the monsoon winds that prevailed when the first tea crop of the season was ready. These difficult sailing conditions (light and/or contrary winds) dictated the design of tea clippers. The US clippers were designed for the strong winds encountered on their route around Cape Horn. Donald McKay's Sovereign of the Seas reported
1804-506: A historic survivor, the ship was opened to the public and visitors would be rowed out to inspect her. Dowman died in 1936 and the ship was given by Catharine Dowman, his widow, along with £5,000 for maintenance, to the Incorporated Thames Nautical Training College, HMS Worcester at Greenhithe . She was towed to Greenhithe by tug. The ship was crewed by cadets, 15-year-old Robert Wyld steering
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#17327753831561968-469: A large sail area and a fast hull; by the standards of any other type of sailing ship, a clipper was greatly over-canvassed. The last defining feature of a clipper, in the view of maritime historian David MacGregor, was a captain who had the courage, skill, and determination to get the fastest speed possible out of her. In assessing the hull of a clipper, different maritime historians use different criteria to measure "sharpness", "fine lines" or "fineness",
2132-634: A large total sail area. "Clipper" does not refer to a specific sailplan ; clippers may be schooners , brigs , brigantines , etc., as well as full-rigged ships . Clippers were mostly constructed in British and American shipyards , although France, Brazil, the Netherlands, and other nations also produced some. Clippers sailed all over the world, primarily on the trade routes between the United Kingdom and China, in transatlantic trade, and on
2296-487: A lead of some 400 nautical miles (460 mi; 740 km), but then lost her rudder in a heavy gale after passing through the Sunda Strait . John Willis's brother was on board the ship and ordered Moodie to put into Cape Town for repairs. Moodie refused, and instead the ship's carpenter Henry Henderson constructed a new rudder from spare timbers and iron. This took six days, working in gales and heavy seas which meant
2460-511: A leading business hub and one of eight 'super cities' spearheading the UK's economy, marking it as the only city in Scotland so designated. In 2018, Aberdeen was found to be the best city in the UK to start a business in a study released by card payment firm Paymentsense. The Aberdeen area has seen human settlement for at least 8,000 years. The city began as two separate burghs : Old Aberdeen at
2624-419: A lighter wind. The ship was named after Cutty-sark , the nickname of the witch Nannie Dee in Robert Burns 's 1791 poem Tam o' Shanter . The ship's figurehead , the original of which has been attributed to carver Fredrick Hellyer of Blackwall, is a stark white carving of a bare-breasted Nannie Dee with long black hair holding a grey horse's tail in her hand. In the poem she wore a linen sark ( Scots :
2788-497: A longer distance, gave steamships not only a more predictable voyage time, but a substantially quicker one. Less obviously, steamship design had taken a large step forward in 1866 with Agamemnon , using higher boiler pressure and a compound engine, so obtaining a large improvement in fuel efficiency. Ships of this type could compete with clippers before the Suez Canal opened. When the tea clippers arrived in China in 1870, they found
2952-745: A memorial to the consecration of the first bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America , which took place nearby. In 1804, St Peter's Church , the first permanent Roman Catholic church in the city after the Reformation was built. Numerous other Protestant denominations have a presence in Aberdeen. The Salvation Army citadel on the Castlegate dominates the view of the east end of Union Street. In addition, there
3116-477: A minimum and rigs were often reduced to barque so that a smaller crew was needed. Cutty Sark ' s well-known race against Thermopylae took place in 1872, the two ships leaving Shanghai together on 18 June. Both ships were of similar size: length, beam and depths were within one foot (0.3 m) of each other. The Thermopylae had a slightly larger capacity: 991 compared to 963 (GRT) or 948 compared to 921 (net). Two weeks later Cutty Sark had built up
3280-419: A mixture of 127 Incendiary, High Explosive and Cluster bombs were dropped on the city in one night. Two books written in 2018 and 2022 using bombing records held in London identified that unexploded bombs from the 1943 raid were found in the 1950s and 1980s making the bombs dropped 129 in total. Damage from the raid can still be seen in some parts of Aberdeen. The name given to Aberdeen translates as 'mouth of
3444-512: A new February high-temperature station record on 28 February 2012 of 17.2 °C (63.0 °F), and a new March high temperature record of 21.6 °C (70.9 °F) on 25 March 2012. The average temperature of the sea ranges from 6.6 °C (43.9 °F) in March to 13.8 °C (56.8 °F) in August. The Aberdeen locality population estimate is 198,590 (mid-2020 est.). For
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#17327753831563608-711: A new Town Hall was built and the first social services appeared with the Aberdeen Infirmary at Woolmanhill in 1739 and the Aberdeen Lunatic Asylum in 1800. The expensive infrastructure works led to the city becoming bankrupt in 1817 during the Post-Napoleonic depression , an economic downturn immediately after the Napoleonic Wars ; but the city's prosperity later recovered. The increasing economic importance of Aberdeen and
3772-482: A ship's cargo capacity and was used to calculate tax and harbour dues. The new 1836 regulations measured depth and breadth with length measured at half midship depth. Extra length above this level was tax-free and became a feature of clippers. Scottish Maid proved swift and reliable and the design was widely copied." The earliest British clipper ships were built for trade within the British Isles ( Scottish Maid
3936-411: A short chemise or undergarment ), that she had been given as a child, which explains why it was cutty , or in other words far too short. The erotic sight of her dancing in such a short undergarment caused Tam to cry out " Weel done, Cutty-sark", which subsequently became a well-known catchphrase . Originally, carvings by Hellyer of the other scantily clad witches followed behind the figurehead along
4100-560: A smaller fire. Cutty Sark whisky derives its name from the ship. An image of the clipper appears on the label, and the maker formerly sponsored the Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race . The ship also inspired the name of the Saunders Roe Cutty Sark flying boat. Cutty Sark was ordered by ship-owner John Willis, who operated a shipping company founded by his father. The company had several ships in
4264-432: A squarer stern with less tumblehome . The broader stern increased the buoyancy of the ship's stern, making it lift more in heavy seas so it was less likely that waves would break over the stern, and over the helmsman at the wheel. Cutty Sark was given masts that followed the design of The Tweed , with similar good rake and the foremast on both placed further aft than usual. A contract for Cutty Sark ' s construction
4428-418: A strong, rigid ship; diagonal members prevent racking ( shearing , where frame rectangles become parallelograms ). Less working and leaking of the hull meant less crew time spent pumping, allowing more time to be spent on changes of sail. The wrought-iron-framed hull also took up less cargo space than an all-wood hull would have done. The Muntz metal sheeting reduced fouling of Cutty Sark ' s hull; with
4592-415: A vessel, a mere speck on the horizon, astern of us, and the way she came into view it was evident she was travelling much faster than ourselves. 'Bringing the wind up with her' was remarked on board, and that seemed the only feasible conclusion to arrive at and account for the manner in which she overhauled us. In a few hours she was alongside us, and proved to be the famous British clipper Cutty Sark , one of
4756-464: Is 0.628; this allows comparison with US-built clippers studied by Howard I. Chapelle . After water-line length, the prismatic coefficient is the next most important determinant of potential hull speed. Unladen, or with a cargo of low density, ballast was required for stability. For example, when she was loaded with wool, 200 tons of ballast was carried. The largest wool cargo she ever carried was 900 tons' weight (the total of ballast and cargo of 1,100 tons
4920-601: Is a Unitarian church, established in 1833 and located in Skene Terrace. Christadelphians have been present in Aberdeen since at least 1844. Over the years, they have rented space to meet at a number of locations and currently meet in the Inchgarth Community Centre in Garthdee. There is also a Quaker meetinghouse on Crown Street, the only purpose built Friends meeting house in Scotland that
5084-472: Is a city in North East Scotland , and is the third most populous Scottish city . Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeenshire , but is now separate from the council area of Aberdeenshire . Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City ), and has a population of 198,590 (mid-2020 est.) for the urban area, making it
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5248-403: Is a higher percentage than both Glasgow and Edinburgh . In the household, there were 97,013 individual dwellings recorded in the city, of which 61% were privately owned, 9% privately rented and 23% rented from the council. The most popular type of dwellings are apartments which comprise 49% of residences followed by semi-detached at just below 22%. The median income of a household in the city
5412-536: Is also a Thai Buddhist temple located in the Hazelhead area of the city. There are no formal Hindu buildings, although there is a fortnightly Hindu religious gathering on the first and third Sunday afternoons at Queens Cross Parish church hall. The University of Aberdeen has a small Baháʼí society. Traditionally, Aberdeen was home to fishing, textile mills, shipbuilding and paper-making. These industries have been largely replaced. High technology developments in
5576-400: Is consistent with the estimated deadweight cargo capacity of 1,135 tons at 20-foot draught). The largest tea cargo carried was 615 tons' weight. Conversely, a dense cargo allowed full use of the deadweight capacity: if loaded with coal, she would usually carry 1,100 tons. Broadly, the parts of the ship visible above the waterline were constructed from East India teak , while American rock elm
5740-399: Is further north than almost all of Denmark and plenty of southern Sweden, being just south of Gothenburg in terms of latitude. Aberdeen features an oceanic climate ( Köppen Cfb ), with far milder winter temperatures than one might expect for its northern location. However, statistically speaking, it is still the coldest city in the UK. During the winter, especially throughout December,
5904-614: Is represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom by two constituencies , Aberdeen North and Aberdeen South , which are wholly within the Aberdeen City council area. In the Scottish Parliament , the city is represented by three constituencies with different boundaries: Aberdeen Central and Aberdeen Donside are wholly within the Aberdeen City council area. Aberdeen South and North Kincardine includes
6068-745: Is sometimes called one of the first medium clippers, the Antelope , often called the Antelope of Boston to distinguish her from other ships of the same name. A contemporary ship-design journalist noted that "the design of her model was to combine large stowage capacity with good sailing qualities." Antelope was relatively flat-floored and had only an 8-inch deadrise at half-floor. The medium clipper, though still very fast, could carry more cargo. After 1854, extreme clippers were replaced in American shipbuilding yards by medium clippers. The Flying Cloud
6232-562: Is still in use today. In addition, there are a number of Baptist congregations in the city, and Evangelical congregations have been appearing in significant numbers since the late 2000s. The city also has two meeting houses of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). There are also four mosques in Aberdeen which serve the Islamic community in the city. There is an Orthodox Jewish Synagogue established in 1945. There
6396-465: Is the older of the two survivors, and was transported to Australia for conservation. The clipper legacy appears in collectible cards and in the name of a basketball team . Departures of clipper ships, mostly from New York and Boston to San Francisco, were advertised by clipper-ship sailing cards. These cards, slightly larger than today's postcards, were produced by letterpress and wood engraving on coated card stock. Most clipper cards were printed in
6560-411: Is £16,813 (the mean income is £20,292) (2005) which places approximately 18% households in the city below the poverty line (defined as 60% of the mean income). Conversely, an Aberdeen postcode has the second highest number of millionaires of any postcode in the UK. The proportion of people residing in Aberdeen born outside the UK was 21.1% in 2022, compared with 15.9% in 2011 and 6.3% in 2001. Below are
6724-512: The Champion of the Seas , 13 other cases are known of a ship's sailing over 400 nautical miles (740 km) in 24 hours. With few exceptions, though, all the port-to-port sailing records are held by the American clippers. The 24-hour record of the Champion of the Seas , set in 1854, was not broken until 1984 (by a multihull), or 2001 (by another monohull). The American clippers sailing from
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6888-528: The Alfred Holt -designed and owned SS Agamemnon made her first voyage to China. Holt had persuaded the Board of Trade to allow higher steam pressures in British merchant vessels. Running at 60 psi instead of the previously permitted 25 psi, and using an efficient compound engine , Agamemnon had the fuel efficiency to steam at 10 knots to China and back, with coaling stops at Mauritius on
7052-750: The Buffalo Braves moved to San Diego, California in 1978, a contest was held to choose a new name. The winning name highlighted the city's connection with the clippers that frequented San Diego Bay . The team retained the name in its 1984 move to Los Angeles. The airline Pan Am named its aircraft beginning with the word 'Clipper' and used Clipper as its callsign. This was intended to evoke an image of speed and glamour. Aberdeen Aberdeen ( / ˌ æ b ər ˈ d iː n / AB -ər- DEEN ; locally [ˌeːbərˈdin] or [ˈeːbərdin] ; Scottish Gaelic : Obar Dheathain [ˈopəɾ ˈʝɛ.ɪɲ] )
7216-701: The Chesapeake Bay before the American Revolution , and reached their zenith between 1795 and 1815. They were small, rarely exceeding 200 tons OM . Their hulls were sharp ended and displayed much deadrise. They were rigged as schooners, brigs, or brigantines. In the War of 1812 , some were lightly armed, sailing under letters of marque and reprisal , when the type – exemplified by Chasseur , launched at Fells Point, Baltimore in 1814 – became known for her incredible speed;
7380-545: The Docklands Light Railway is one minute's walk away, with connections to central London and the London Underground . Greenwich Pier is next to the ship, and is served by scheduled river boats from piers in central London. A tourist information office stands to the east of the ship. By the early 2000s, there were serious concerns about corrosion of the iron internal structure, and the hull
7544-871: The Java Sea for three days. In desperation as matters moved from bad to worse, he committed suicide by jumping overboard and disappeared. He was replaced as Master by William Bruce, who proved to be a drunken incompetent who claimed pay for non-existent crewmen and managed to set sail with inadequate provisions, resulting in the crew starving. An inquiry in New York in April 1882 resulted in the captain and mate being suspended and replaced by Captain Moore, previously of Blackadder . In December 1883, Cutty Sark departed Newcastle , New South Wales with 4,289 bales of wool and 12 casks of tallow, arriving in London in just 83 days. This
7708-651: The Thames for repairs. In December 1877 the ship sailed from London to Sydney, where she took on coal for Shanghai, arriving there in April. However, the ship was unable to find any cargo of tea for a return trip to London—the days of the tea race were over. The master, Captain Tiptaft, died in October while still in Shanghai and was replaced by the first mate, James Wallace. The ship now had to take different cargoes around
7872-423: The big improvement in the fuel efficiency of steamships in 1866, the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 gave them a shorter route to China, so Cutty Sark spent only a few years on the tea trade before turning to the trade in wool from Australia , where she held the record time to Britain for ten years. Continuing improvements in steam technology early in the 1880s meant that steamships also came to dominate
8036-590: The oil industry and Aberdeen's seaport. Aberdeen Heliport is one of the busiest commercial heliports in the world, and the seaport is the largest in the north-east part of Scotland. A university town , the city is known for the University of Aberdeen , founded in 1495 as the fifth oldest university in the English-speaking world and located in Old Aberdeen . In 2012, HSBC named Aberdeen as
8200-508: The "Aberdeen" clipper bow in the late 1830s; the first was Scottish Maid launched in 1839. Scottish Maid , 150 tons OM, was the first British clipper ship. " Scottish Maid was intended for the Aberdeen-London trade, where speed was crucial to compete with steamships. The Hall brothers tested various hulls in a water tank and found the clipper design most effective. The design was influenced by tonnage regulations. Tonnage measured
8364-491: The 1850s and 1860s, and represented the first pronounced use of color in American advertising art. Perhaps 3,500 cards survive. With their rarity and importance as artifacts of nautical, Western, and printing history, clipper cards are valued by both private collectors and institutions. The Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association take their name from the type of ship. After
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#17327753831568528-477: The 20th century. Catches have fallen because of overfishing and the use of the harbour by oil support vessels, and so although still an important fishing port it is now eclipsed by the more northerly ports of Peterhead and Fraserburgh . The Fisheries Research Services are headquartered in Aberdeen, and there is a marine research laboratory there. Aberdeen is well regarded for the agricultural and soil research carried out at The James Hutton Institute (formerly
8692-632: The Baltimore clipper. Vessels of the Baltimore clipper type continued to be built for the slave trade, being useful for escaping enforcement of the British and American legislation prohibiting the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Some of these Baltimore clippers were captured when working as slavers, condemned by the appropriate court, and sold to owners who then used them as opium clippers – moving from one illegal international trade to another. Ann McKim , built in Baltimore in 1833 by
8856-538: The China tea trade and known as "tea clippers". Then in 1845 Rainbow , 757 tons OM, the first extreme clipper, was launched in New York. These American clippers were larger vessels designed to sacrifice cargo capacity for speed. They had a bow lengthened above the water, a drawing out and sharpening of the forward body, and the greatest breadth further aft. Extreme clippers were built in the period 1845 to 1855. In 1851, shipbuilders in Medford, Massachusetts, built what
9020-499: The China tea trade, starting with Falcon in 1859, and continuing until 1870. The earlier ships were made from wood, though some were made from iron, just as some British clippers had been made from iron prior to 1859. In 1863, the first tea clippers of composite construction were brought out, combining the best of both worlds. Composite clippers had the strength of an iron hull framework but with wooden planking that, with properly insulated fastenings, could use copper sheathing without
9184-617: The Cutty Sark Preservation Society, in June 1953. The restoration, re-rigging and preparation for public exhibition was estimated to cost £250,000. Cutty Sark was preserved as a museum ship , and has since become a popular tourist attraction, and part of the National Historic Fleet . She is located near the centre of Greenwich , in south-east London, close to the National Maritime Museum ,
9348-650: The East Coast to the California goldfields were working in a booming market. Freight rates were high everywhere in the first years of the 1850s. This started to fade in late 1853. The ports of California and Australia reported that they were overstocked with goods that had been shipped earlier in the year. This gave an accelerating fall in freight rates that was halted, however, by the start of the Crimean War in March 1854, as many ships were now being chartered by
9512-500: The East India Import Dock to the special dry dock at Greenwich. The skipper on this occasion was 83-year-old Captain C.E. Irving, who had sailed the world three times in her before he was 17. The river pilot was Ernest Coe. Thereafter the entrance tunnel to the dry dock was filled in, the river wall rebuilt and the work of re-rigging began. The foundation stone of the dry dock was laid by The Duke of Edinburgh, patron of
9676-749: The East and West churches. At that time, the city also was home to houses of the Carmelites (Whitefriars) and Franciscans (Greyfriars). The latter survives in modified form as the chapel of Marischal College. St Machar's Cathedral was built twenty years after David I (1124–1153) transferred the pre-Reformation diocese from Mortlach in Banffshire to Old Aberdeen in 1137. Except the episcopate of William Elphinstone (1484–1511), building progressed slowly. Gavin Dunbar , who followed him in 1518, completed
9840-517: The English-held Aberdeen Castle before destroying it in 1308. It is still widely present in the city, throughout street names, business names and the city's Bon Accord shopping mall. The shield in the coat of arms is supported by two leopards . A local magazine is called the "Leopard" and, when Union Bridge was widened in the 20th century, small statues of the creature in a sitting position were cast and placed on top of
10004-509: The Far East to London (and many other European ports) through the Suez Canal was shorter by about 3,300 nautical miles (6,100 km; 3,800 mi), compared to sailing round the Cape of Good Hope. The route round Africa is in excess of 14,000 nmi (26,000 km; 16,000 mi). Typically a clipper might log significantly more than that by planning her route for favourable winds. Whilst it
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#173277538315610168-748: The French and British governments. The end of the Crimean War in April 1856 released all this capacity back on the world shipping markets – the result being a severe slump. The next year had the Panic of 1857 , with effects on both sides of the Atlantic. The United States was just starting to recover from this in 1861 when the American Civil War started, causing significant disruption to trade in both Union and Confederate states. As
10332-497: The Kennard & Williamson shipyard, is considered by some to be the original clipper ship. (Maritime historians Howard I. Chapelle and David MacGregor decry the concept of the "first" clipper, preferring a more evolutionary, multiple-step development of the type. ) She measured 494 tons OM , and was built on the enlarged lines of a Baltimore clipper, with sharply raked stem , counter stern , and square rig. Although Ann McKim
10496-648: The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute), which has close links to the city's two universities. The Rowett Research Institute is a world-renowned research centre for studies into food and nutrition located in Aberdeen. It has produced three Nobel laureates and there is a high concentration of life scientists working in the city. As oil reserves in the North Sea decrease, there is an effort to rebrand Aberdeen as "Energy Capital of Europe" rather than "Oil Capital of Europe", and there
10660-599: The New York-to-San Francisco route around Cape Horn during the California gold rush . Dutch clippers were built beginning in the 1850s for the tea trade and passenger service to Java . The boom years of the clipper era began in 1843 in response to a growing demand for faster delivery of tea from China and continued with the demand for swift passage to gold fields in California and Australia beginning in 1848 and 1851, respectively. The era ended with
10824-667: The North Kincardine ward of Aberdeenshire Council . A further seven MSPs are elected as part of the North East Scotland electoral region. In the European Parliament the city was represented by six MEPs as part of the all-inclusive Scotland constituency. The arms and banner of the city show three silver towers on red. This motif dates from at least the time of Robert the Bruce and represents
10988-438: The Thames. The two ships were locked together after the collision which forced Cutty Sark ' s jibboom into Worcester ' s forecastle rails, snapping the boom before scraping along Worcester ' s starboard side. Cutty Sark ' s figurehead lost an arm in the process. Worcester was a condemned hulk, sunk at her moorings at the time, photographs showing her lying on her starboard side with her starboard side near
11152-547: The United Kingdom's 39th most populous built-up area , and 224,190 (2022) for the wider council area including outlying localities. The city is 127 mi (204 km) northeast of Edinburgh and 536 mi (863 km) north of London . Aberdeen has a long, sandy coastline and features an oceanic climate , with cool summers and mild, rainy winters. During the mid-18th to mid-20th centuries, Aberdeen's buildings incorporated locally quarried grey granite , which may sparkle like silver because of its high mica content. Since
11316-405: The adjoining Marischal College . The civic head and chair of the council is the Lord Provost . The council area is also divided into 30 community council areas , 29 of which had community councils operating as at August 2024. The first burgh of Aberdeen, covering just the New Aberdeen area near the mouth of the Dee, was created by David I (reigned 1124–1153). Neighbouring Old Aberdeen to
11480-406: The ageing clipper fleet became unseaworthy. Before the early 18th century, the East India Company paid for its tea mainly in silver. When the Chinese emperor chose to embargo European-manufactured commodities and demand payment for all Chinese goods in silver, the price rose, restricting trade. The East India Company began to produce opium in India, something desired by the Chinese as much as tea
11644-448: The basis for the city's Common Good Fund which still benefits Aberdonians. During the Wars of Scottish Independence , Aberdeen was under English rule, so Robert the Bruce laid siege to Aberdeen Castle before destroying it in 1308, followed by executing the English garrison. The city was burned by Edward III of England in 1336, but was rebuilt and extended. The city was strongly fortified to prevent attacks by neighbouring lords, but
11808-435: The bow, but these were removed by Willis in deference to 'good taste'. Tam o' Shanter riding Meg was to be seen along the ship's quarter . The motto " Where theres a will is a way " was inscribed along the taffrail , with variable spaces enabling also the reading Where there(')s a Willis away . The Tweed , which acted as a model for much of the ship which followed her, had a figurehead depicting Tam o' Shanter. Cutty Sark
11972-448: The buildings that stood on the three hills of medieval Aberdeen: Aberdeen Castle on Castle Hill (today's Castlegate ); the city gate on Port Hill; and a church on St Catherine's Hill (now levelled). "Bon Accord" is the motto of the city and is French for "Good Agreement". Legend tells that its use dates from a password used by Robert the Bruce during the 14th century Wars of Scottish Independence , when he and his men laid siege to
12136-492: The chief executive of the Cutty Sark Trust, revealed that at least half of the "fabric" (timbers, etc.) of the ship had not been on site as it had been removed during the preservation work. Doughty stated that the trust was most worried about the state of iron framework to which the fabric was attached. He did not know how much more the ship would cost to restore, but estimated it at an additional £5–10 million, bringing
12300-604: The city spread beyond the (inferred) limits of the outlier onto the surrounding metamorphic/ igneous complexes formed during the Dalradian period (approximately 480–600 million years ago) with sporadic areas of igneous Diorite granites to be found, such as that at the Rubislaw quarry which was used to build much of the Victorian parts of the city. The city extends to 186 km (72 sq mi), and includes
12464-526: The city was plundered by both sides. In 1644, it was taken and ransacked by Royalist troops after the Battle of Aberdeen and two years later it was stormed by a Royalist force under the command of the George Gordon, 2nd Marquis of Huntly . An outbreak of bubonic plague over 1687 and 1688 killed 8.5% of the population, adding to the economic and demographic damage caused by war. In the 18th century,
12628-646: The city, with paper having been first made there in 1694. Paper-making has reduced in importance since the closures of Donside Paper Mill in 2001 and the Davidson Mill in 2005 leaving the Stoneywood Paper Mill with a workforce of approximately 500. Textile production ended in 2004 when Richards of Aberdeen closed. Grey granite was quarried at Rubislaw quarry for more than 300 years, and used for paving setts, kerb and building stones, and monumental and other ornamental pieces. Aberdeen granite
12792-519: The clipper City of Adelaide , now in Port Adelaide , South Australia and the warship HMS Gannet in Chatham . The beached skeleton of Ambassador , of 1869 lying near Punta Arenas , Chile is the only other significant remnant of this construction method. The ship has been damaged by fire twice in recent years, first on 21 May 2007 while undergoing conservation. She was restored and
12956-472: The clippers was public and fierce, with their times recorded in the newspapers. The last China clippers had peak speeds over 16 knots (30 km/h), but their average speeds over a whole voyage were substantially less. The joint winner of the Great Tea Race of 1866 logged about 15,800 nautical miles on a 99-day trip. This gives an average speed slightly over 6.6 knots (12.2 km/h). The key to
13120-548: The composition of the local council, and the affairs of the town. The Burgesses of the Guild were an integral part of the council for more than 700 years and played a considerable role in the growth and development of Aberdeen. In 1319, the Great Charter of Robert the Bruce transformed Aberdeen into a property-owning and financially independent community. Granted with it was the nearby Forest of Stocket, whose income formed
13284-464: The counties of Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire . Aberdeen was made a county of itself in 1899. In 1975 the burgh was replaced by the larger City of Aberdeen district within the Grampian region. Further local government reforms in 1996 replaced the districts and regions created in 1975 with council areas; the pre-1996 City of Aberdeen district became the Aberdeen City council area. Aberdeen
13448-546: The deep draft enabled the Baltimore clipper to sail close to the wind . Clippers, running the British blockade of Baltimore, came to be recognized for speed rather than cargo space. The type existed as early as 1780. A 1789 drawing of HMS Berbice (1780) – purchased by the Royal Navy in 1780 in the West Indies ;– represents the earliest draught of what became known as
13612-415: The depressed years, apparently little affected by the economic downturn. The long-distance route to China was not realistically challenged by steamships in the early part of the 1860s. No true steamer (as opposed to an auxiliary steamship) had the fuel efficiency to carry sufficient cargo to make a profitable voyage. The auxiliary steamships struggled to make any profit. The situation changed in 1866 when
13776-658: The development of the shipbuilding and fishing industries led to the construction of the present harbour including Victoria Dock and the South Breakwater, and the extension of the North Pier. Gas street lighting arrived in 1824 and an enhanced water supply appeared in 1830 when water was pumped from the Dee to a reservoir in Union Place. An underground sewer system replaced open sewers in 1865. The city absorbed
13940-519: The discovery of North Sea oil in 1969, Aberdeen has been known as the offshore oil capital of Europe. Based upon the discovery of prehistoric villages around the mouths of the rivers Dee and Don , the area around Aberdeen has been thought to have been settled for at least 6,000 years. Aberdeen received royal burgh status from David I of Scotland (1124–1153), which transformed the city economically. The traditional industries of fishing, paper-making, shipbuilding, and textiles have been overtaken by
14104-447: The earlier boom years, only four clipper ships were built; a few were built in the 1860s. British clipper ships continued to be built after 1859. From 1859, a new design was developed for British clipper ships that was nothing like the American clippers; these ships continued to be called extreme clippers. The new design had a sleek, graceful appearance, less sheer, less freeboard, lower bulwarks, and smaller breadth. They were built for
14268-455: The eastern seaboard of the USA. At first, these fast sailing vessels were referred to as "Virginia-built" or "pilot-boat model", with the name "Baltimore-built" appearing during the War of 1812 . In the final days of the slave trade ( circa 1835–1850) – just as the type was dying out – the term, Baltimore clipper , became common. The common retrospective application of
14432-421: The economic situation deteriorated in 1853, American shipowners either did not order new vessels, or specified an ordinary clipper or a medium clipper instead of an extreme clipper. No extreme clipper was launched in an American shipyard after the end of 1854 and only a few medium clippers after 1860. By contrast, British trade recovered well at the end of the 1850s. Tea clippers had continued to be launched during
14596-402: The electronics design and development industry, research in agriculture and fishing and the oil industry , which have been largely responsible for Aberdeen's economic growth, are now major parts of Aberdeen's economy. Until the 1970s, most of Aberdeen's leading industries dated from the 18th century; mainly these were textiles, foundry work, shipbuilding and paper-making, the oldest industry in
14760-439: The entire night. Temperatures at this time of year hover around 17.0 °C (62.6 °F) during the day in most of the urban area, though nearer 16.0 °C (60.8 °F) directly on the coast, and around 18.0 to 19.0 °C (64.4 to 66.2 °F) in the westernmost suburbs. Two weather stations collect climate data for the area, Aberdeen/Dyce Airport , and Craibstone. Both are about 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (7 km) to
14924-491: The event, completing the ship meant the company's creditors were owed even more money than when work had first been halted. Cutty Sark has a registered length of 212.5 feet (64.77 m), with a depth of hold of 21 feet (6.40 m) and a net tonnage of 921. The hull is one of the sharpest of all the tea clippers: she has a coefficient of under deck tonnage of 0.55, compared to Thermopylae at 0.58. Cutty Sark ' s prismatic coefficient , another measure of hull sharpness,
15088-494: The fastest ships afloat. She passed us going two feet to our one, and in a short time was hull down ahead of us. —Wool clipper crewman, 1879 The maximum logged speed for Cutty Sark was 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph). Her greatest recorded distance in noon to noon sights was 363 nautical miles (672 km; 418 mi) averaging 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph), although she recorded 2,164 nautical miles (4,008 km; 2,490 mi) in six days, which given
15252-467: The fastest trip record, achieving 77 days on his first outward trip and 73 days returning to Britain from Australia. He achieved this by taking a more southerly route than previously, to catch the strongest winds in the Roaring Forties despite having to face icebergs, gales and storms whipped up by the winds he sought. Cutty Sark was the fastest ship on the wool trade for ten years. In July 1889
15416-663: The fifteen largest overseas-born groups in Aberdeen according to the 2022 census, alongside the two previous censuses. Christianity is the main religion practised in the city. Aberdeen's largest denominations are the Church of Scotland (through the Presbytery of Aberdeen ) and the Roman Catholic Church , both with numerous churches across the city, with the Scottish Episcopal Church having
15580-620: The first settlement of Aberdeen; this literally means "the mouth of the Don". The Celtic word aber means "river mouth", as in modern Welsh ( Aberystwyth , Aberdare , Aberbeeg etc.). The Scottish Gaelic name is Obar Dheathain (variation: Obairreadhain ; * obar presumably being a loan from the earlier Pictish; the Gaelic term is inbhir ), and in Latin , the Romans referred to
15744-546: The former Greenwich Hospital , and Greenwich Park . She is also a prominent landmark on the route of the London Marathon and marks the finish of The Big Half . She usually flies signal flags from her ensign halyard reading "JKWS", which is the code representing Cutty Sark in the International Code of Signals , introduced in 1857. The ship is in the care of the Cutty Sark Trust, whose president,
15908-456: The former burghs of Old Aberdeen, New Aberdeen, Woodside and the Torry area to the south of River Dee . In 2022, this gave the city a population density of 1,208 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,130/sq mi). The city is built on many hills, with the original beginnings of the city growing from Castle Hill, St. Catherine's Hill and Windmill Hill. When compared to mainland Europe, Aberdeen
16072-654: The gates were removed by 1770. Aberdeen's medieval council registers survive from 1398 onwards and are exceptional for their quantity and continuity among surviving Scottish burgh records. The earliest eight volumes, from 1398 to 1511, have been included in the UNESCO UK Memory of the World Register , and have been edited in a digital edition. During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1644 to 1647
16236-417: The high freight rates often paid to a fast sailing ship were not available (in a fluctuating market). The term "clipper" applied to vessels between these two categories. They often made passages as fast as extreme clippers, but had less difficulty in making a living when freight rates were lower. The first ships to which the term "clipper" seems to have been applied were the Baltimore clippers, developed in
16400-486: The highest speed ever achieved by a sailing ship of the era, 22 knots (41 km/h), made while running her easting down to Australia in 1854. (John Griffiths' first clipper, the Rainbow , had a top speed of 14 knots.) Eleven other instances are reported of a ship's logging 18 knots (33 km/h) or over. Ten of these were recorded by American clippers. Besides the breath-taking 465-nautical-mile (861 km) day's run of
16564-616: The late 1860s until the early 1870s, the clipper trade increasingly focused on the Britain to Australia and New Zealand route, carrying goods and immigrants, services that had begun earlier with the Australian Gold Rush of the 1850s. British-built clipper ships and many American-built, British-owned ships were used. Even in the 1880s, sailing ships were still the main carriers of cargo between Britain, and Australia and New Zealand . This trade eventually became unprofitable, and
16728-423: The length of the day is very short, averaging 6 hours and 41 minutes between sunrise and sunset at the winter solstice. As winter progresses, the length of the day grows fairly quickly, to 8 hours and 20 minutes by the end of January. Around summer solstice, the days will be around 18 hours long, having 17 hours and 55 minutes between sunrise and sunset. During this time of the year marginal nautical twilight lasts
16892-480: The log of the modern passenger steamship SS Britannia recorded that when steaming at 15 to 16 knots she was overtaken in the night by a sailing ship doing 17 knots, which proved to be Cutty Sark . Eventually steamships began to dominate the wool trade too and it ceased to be profitable for a sailing ship. In 1895 Jock Willis sold Cutty Sark to the Portuguese firm Joaquim Antunes Ferreira for £1,250. She
17056-676: The longer sailing route to Australia, and the ship was sold to the Portuguese company Ferreira and Co. in 1895 and renamed Ferreira . She continued as a cargo ship until purchased in 1922 by retired sea captain Wilfred Dowman, who used her as a training ship operating from Falmouth, Cornwall . After his death, Cutty Sark was transferred to the Thames Nautical Training College , Greenhithe, in 1938 where she became an auxiliary cadet training ship alongside HMS Worcester . By 1954, she had ceased to be useful as
17220-476: The many clipper ships built during the mid-19th century, only two are known to survive. The only intact survivor is Cutty Sark , which was preserved as a museum ship in 1954 at Greenwich for public display. The other known survivor is City of Adelaide ; unlike Cutty Sark , she was reduced to a hulk over the years. She eventually sank at her moorings in 1991, but was raised the following year, and remained on dry land for years. Adelaide (or S.V. Carrick )
17384-419: The men were tossed about as they worked and the brazier used to heat the metal for working was spilled out, burning the captain's son. The ship finally arrived in London on 18 October a week after Thermopylae , a total passage of 122 days. The captain and crew were commended for their performance and Henderson received a £50 bonus for his work. This was the closest Cutty Sark came to being first ship home but it
17548-531: The mouth of the river Don ; and New Aberdeen, a fishing and trading settlement, where the Denburn waterway entered the river Dee estuary. The earliest charter was granted by William the Lion in 1179 and confirmed the corporate rights granted by David I . In 1214, Aberdeen Burgesses were granted a Royal Charter by Alexander II of Scotland giving them the sole right to form a Guild. This body exercised power in
17712-505: The national average of 19.2%. According to the 2011 census Aberdeen is 91.9% white, ethnically, 24.7% were born outside Scotland, higher than the national average of 16%. Of this population, 7.6% were born in other parts of the UK. 8.2% of Aberdonians stated to be from an ethnic minority (non-white) in the 2011 census, with 9,519 (4.3%) being Asian, with 3,385 (1.5%) coming from India and 2,187 (1.0%) being Chinese . The city has around 5,610 (2.6%) residents of African or Caribbean origin, which
17876-561: The neighbouring burghs of Old Aberdeen and Woodside plus the Torry area on the south bank of the Dee in 1891. Over the course of World War II Aberdeen was attacked 32 times by the German Luftwaffe . One of the most devastating attacks was on Wednesday 21 April 1943 when 29 Luftwaffe Dornier 217s flying from Stavanger , Norway attacked the city between the hours of 22:17 and 23:04. A total of 98 civilians and 27 servicemen were killed, along with 12,000 houses damaged, after
18040-460: The neighbouring burghs of Old Aberdeen and Woodside, plus the Torry area on the south bank of the Dee. The act of parliament which expanded the burgh also confirmed that Aberdeen was entitled to be called a city; it had commonly been described as a city prior to that, but (like most Scottish cities) without official recognition. Following the absorption of Torry in 1891, the city boundaries straddled
18204-486: The north was subsequently made a separate burgh in 1489. The burgh of Aberdeen was governed by a corporation, also known as the town council. As Aberdeen grew, the council's powers were inadequate to cater for the needs of the growing urban area. A separate police commission was established in 1795 with powers to levy taxes and provide infrastructure ('police' in this context being its older meaning of civic government rather than law enforcement). The first police commission
18368-426: The northwest of the city centre, and given that they are in close proximity to each other, exhibit very similar climatic regimes. Dyce tends to have marginally warmer daytime temperatures year-round owing to its slightly lower elevation, though it is more susceptible to harsh frosts. The coldest temperature to occur in recent years was −16.8 °C (1.8 °F) during December 2010, while the following winter, Dyce set
18532-511: The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. The etymological origin of the word clipper is uncertain, but is believed to be derived from the English language verb "to clip", which at the time meant "to run or fly swiftly". The first application of the term "clipper", in a nautical sense, is likewise uncertain. The type known as the Baltimore clipper originated at the end of the 18th century on
18696-399: The outward and return legs – crucially carrying sufficient cargo to make a profit. In 1869, the Suez Canal opened, giving steamships a route about 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) shorter than that taken by sailing ships round the Cape of Good Hope. Despite initial conservatism by tea merchants, by 1871, tea clippers found strong competition from steamers in
18860-409: The past, without reference to hull shape. As commercial vessels, these are totally reliant on speed to generate a profit for their owners, as their sharpness limits their cargo-carrying capacity. A medium clipper has a cargo-carrying hull that has some sharpness. In the right conditions and with a capable captain, some of these achieved notable quick passages. They were also able to pay their way when
19024-421: The problem of galvanic corrosion . Copper sheathing prevented fouling and teredo worm , but could not be used on iron hulls. The iron framework of composite clippers was less bulky and lighter, so allowing more cargo in a hull of the same external shape. After 1869, with the opening of the Suez Canal that greatly advantaged steam vessels (see Decline below), the tea trade collapsed for clippers. From
19188-522: The railing posts (known locally as Kelly's Cats). The city's toast is "Happy to meet, sorry to part, happy to meet again". Being situated between two river mouths, the city has little natural exposure of bedrock. The small amount of geophysics done, and occasional building-related exposures, combined with small exposures in the banks of the River Don, suggest that it is actually sited on an inlier of Devonian "Old Red" sandstones and silts. The outskirts of
19352-466: The return journey took 122 days. In November 1877 the ship was anchored off Deal in the English Channel along with sixty other vessels, waiting out a great storm. The anchor failed to hold and Cutty Sark was blown through the ships, damaging two others before grounding on a mud bank. Fortunately she was pulled clear by the tug Macgregor before too much damage was caused and she was towed to
19516-473: The return trip. This was 14 days longer than Thermopylae and 27 days longer than achieved by the iron ship Hallowe'en a few months later. Captain W. E. Tiptaft assumed command in 1873 achieving 118 days on his first return trip, but after the ship had to travel 600 nautical miles (1,100 km) up the Yangtze River in search of a cargo. Steamships were now taking most of the tea. The following year
19680-527: The river Don', and is recorded as Aberdon in 1172 and Aberden in c. 1180 . The first element of the name is the Pictish word aber 'river mouth'. The second element is from the Celtic river goddess Devona . Aberdeen is usually described as within the historical Pictish territory and became Gaelic-speaking at some time in the medieval period. Old Aberdeen is the approximate location of Aberdon,
19844-446: The river as Devana . Medieval (or Ecclesiastical ) Latin has it as Aberdonia . The local Doric pronunciation, [ˌeːbərˈdin] or [ˈeːbərdin] (with a long ay sound), is frequently rendered Aiberdeen or Aiberdein . Aberdeen City is one of 32 council areas of Scotland , administered by Aberdeen City Council . The council meets at Aberdeen Town House and has its main offices in
20008-485: The ship during the voyage. At Greenhithe, Cutty Sark acted as an auxiliary vessel to HMS Worcester for sail training drill, but by 1950 she had become surplus to requirements. From February to October 1951 she was temporarily moved first for a refit and then to take part in the Festival of Britain at Deptford . On 30 January 1952, the 800-ton tanker MV Aqueity collided with Cutty Sark ' s bow in
20172-476: The ship. On the morning of 21 May 2007, Cutty Sark , which had been closed and partly dismantled for conservation work, caught fire, and burned for several hours before the London Fire Brigade could bring the fire under control. Initial reports indicated that the damage was extensive, with most of the wooden structure in the centre having been lost. In an interview the next day, Richard Doughty,
20336-504: The ship. Work on the ship was suspended when Scott and Linton ran out of money to continue. Rather than simply liquidate the company, an arrangement was made for Denny's to take over the contract and complete the ship, which was finally launched on 22 November 1869 by Captain Moodie's wife. The ship was moved to Denny's yard to have her masts fitted, and then on 20 December towed downriver to Greenock to have her running rigging installed. In
20500-521: The shore. Cutty Sark was anchored and towed to the Shadwell Basin where repairs were carried out by Green & Silley Weir Ltd. The damaged arm was recovered at Grays Thurrock and the figurehead was repaired. In 1953 Cutty Sark was given to the Cutty Sark Preservation Society and in 1954 she was moved to a custom-built dry dock at Greenwich. She was stripped of upper masts, yards, deck-houses and ballast to lighten her before being towed from
20664-471: The stern seas was a great danger, as they filled again with a bang that threatened to burst them into tatters. It was some trick rebending sails. I had a time on the fore topsail yard for two hours. The ship took a green sea over the stern, and it appeared as if there were just three sticks set in the ocean, as it swept the length of the deck. —A crew member writing of life on board Moore remained captain only for one round trip to China, taking 117 days for
20828-465: The structure by adding the two western spires and the southern transept. It is now a congregation of the Church of Scotland . Aberdeen has two other cathedrals: St. Mary's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Gothic style , erected in 1859. In addition, St. Andrew's Cathedral serves the Scottish Episcopal Church . It was constructed in 1817 as Archibald Simpson 's first commission and contains
20992-471: The support of Dowman's wife, artist Catharine Dowman ( née Courtauld ), heiress daughter of Sydney Courtauld , crepe and silk manufacturer. The rigging was restored to an approximation of the original arrangement and the ship was used as a cadet training ship. In 1924 she was used as committee boat for the regatta week in Fowey during that years regatta week as recalled to me by Mr. Arthur (Toby) West. As
21156-480: The tea ports of China. A typical passage time back to London for a steamer was 58 days, while the fastest clippers could occasionally make the trip in less than 100 days; the average was 123 days in the 1867–68 tea season. The freight rate for a steamer in 1871 was roughly double that paid to a sailing vessel. Some clipper owners were severely caught out by this; several extreme clippers had been launched in 1869, including Cutty Sark , Norman Court and Caliph . Of
21320-432: The tea runs. Willis also commissioned two all-iron clippers with designs based upon The Tweed , Hallowe'en and Blackadder . Linton was taken to view The Tweed in dry dock . Willis considered that The Tweed ' s bow shape was responsible for her notable performance, and this form seems to have been adopted for Cutty Sark . Linton, however, felt that the stern was too barrel shaped and so gave Cutty Sark
21484-432: The tea trade from China to Britain. Speed was an advantage to vessels carrying a high-value, seasonal product, such as tea. Faster ships could obtain higher rates of freight (the price paid to transport the cargo), and tea merchants would use the names of fast-sailing ships that had carried their products in their advertising. Cutty Sark was ordered during a boom in building tea clippers in the period 1865–1869—something that
21648-614: The then Duke of Edinburgh , was instrumental in ensuring her preservation, when he set up the Cutty Sark Society in 1951. The Trust replaced the Society in 2000. She is a Grade I listed monument and was on the Buildings at Risk Register following the 2007 fire. The gallery beneath the ship holds the world's largest collection of ships' figureheads, donated to the Society by Sydney Cumbers in 1953. Cutty Sark station on
21812-590: The third-largest number. The census in 2022 showed that Aberdeen has the highest proportion of non-religious residents of any city in Scotland, with 58% of citizens claiming to have no religion. In the Middle Ages , the Kirk of St Nicholas was the only burgh kirk and one of Scotland's largest parish churches. Like a number of other Scottish kirks, it was subdivided after the Reformation , in this case into
21976-416: The total cost of the ship's restoration to £30–35 million. Clipper A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel , designed for speed. The term was also retrospectively applied to the Baltimore clipper , which originated in the late 18th century. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th-century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had
22140-504: The trade routes between Europe and the East Indies . The last example of these still in reasonable condition is Cutty Sark , preserved in dry dock at Greenwich , United Kingdom. Damaged by fire on 21 May 2007 while undergoing conservation, the ship was permanently elevated 3.0 m above the dry dock floor in 2010 as part of a plan for long-term preservation. Clippers were built for seasonal trades such as tea, where an early cargo
22304-460: The training ship Lady of Avenel . The ship returned to Lisbon, where she was sold to new owners and renamed Maria do Amparo (Mary of the Refuge, a name associated with the devotion of Our Lady of the Refuge; in Portuguese, " Nossa Senhora do Amparo "). Dowman persevered in his determination to buy the ship, which he did for £3,750 and she was returned to Falmouth harbour. The purchase was made with
22468-403: The weather over the whole period implied she had achieved over 370 nmi (690 km; 430 mi) some days. By comparison, Thermopylae ' s best recorded 24-hour distance was 358 nmi (663 km; 412 mi). On another occasion she recorded 3,457 nmi (6,402 km; 3,978 mi) in 11 days. Cutty Sark was considered to have the edge in a heavier wind, and Thermopylae in
22632-514: The west. Captain Wallace was sure in his element now. It was 'Stand by!' the whole time, not knowing whether the sticks would go, but the splendid rigging and equipment of sails in the Cutty Sark stood the strain. We lost two brand new topgallant sails and one lower fore topsail. A tremendous sea was running and needs must we carry on or be pooped. The partial becalming of the lower sails by
22796-425: The wider settlement of Aberdeen including Cove Bay and Dyce , the population estimate is 220,690 (mid-2020 est.). For Aberdeen City council area, the population estimate is 224,190 (2022). In 1396, the population was about 3,000. By 1801, it had become 26,992, then 153,503 in 1901, and finally 182,467 in 1941. The 2011 census showed fewer young people in Aberdeen, with 16.4% under 16, as opposed to
22960-431: The word "clipper" to this type of vessel has caused confusion. The Oxford English Dictionary's earliest quote (referring to the Baltimore clipper) is from 1824. The dictionary cites Royal Navy officer and novelist Frederick Marryat as using the term in 1830. British newspaper usage of the term can be found as early as 1832 and in shipping advertisements from 1835. A US court case of 1834 has evidence that discusses
23124-516: The world, including coal, jute, castor oil and tea to Australia. In 1880 yards were shortened and the stun'sails removed. Also in 1880 an incident occurred on board during which the First Mate Sidney Smith killed seaman John Francis. Smith was allowed to leave the ship at Anjer by Captain Wallace, causing the crew to cease work in protest. Wallace continued the voyage with six apprentices and four tradesmen but became becalmed in
23288-579: Was 25 days faster than her nearest rival that year and heralded the start of a new career taking Australian wool to Britain in time for the January wool sales. From 1885 to 1893, Cutty Sark was run between England and New South Wales under the agency of the Sydney-based Dangar, Gedye & Co. In 1885 Richard Woodget was appointed captain on a salary of £186 per year (£23,729.80 in 2019 when adjusted for inflation) and continued to improve on
23452-407: Was 3-inch (7.6 cm) yellow pine. The keel , 16.5 in × 15 in (42 cm × 38 cm), had on either side a garboard strake, 11 in × 12 in (28 cm × 30 cm), and then 6-inch (150 mm) planking decreasing to 4.75 in (12.1 cm) at one-fifth the depth of the hold. Teak planking began at approximately the level of the bilge stringer. The hull
23616-403: Was Moodie's last trip as her captain before he transferred to steamships. He was replaced by Captain F. W. Moore. A little east of the longitude of the Cape we were favoured by a great fair wind blow, that tested all the resources of ship and crew. At the first spurt, heavy squalls came up from S.W., that threatened to take toll of our masts, but later it steadied down to a hurricane straight from
23780-535: Was a frigate designed by Oliver Lang based on the lines of an old French frigate, built in Bombay for the East India Company as a combination sail/paddle steamer. She and a sister ship were purchased by Willis, who promptly sold the second ship plus engines from The Tweed for more than he paid for both. The Tweed was then lengthened and operated as a fast sailing vessel, but was considered too big for
23944-431: Was a clipper ship built in 1851 that established the fastest passage between New York and San Francisco within weeks of her launching, then broke her own records three years later, which stood at 89 days 8 hours until 1989. (The other contender for this "blue ribbon" title was the medium clipper Andrew Jackson – an unresolvable argument exists over timing these voyages "from pilot to pilot"). Flying Cloud
24108-406: Was also becoming distorted because more weight was being carried on the keel than if the ship was afloat, when it would be evenly supported over the whole area below the waterline. An extensive conservation project was planned to overcome this, including repair and anti- corrosion painting of the framework and the addition of some additional steel ribs to add strength, and a new method of supporting
24272-552: Was attributed to a substantial reduction in the import duties for tea. In 1868 the brand-new Aberdeen -built clipper, Thermopylae , set a record time of 61 days port to port on her maiden voyage from London to Melbourne and it was this design that Willis set out to better. It is uncertain how the hull shape for Cutty Sark was chosen. Willis chose Hercules Linton to design and build the ship but Willis already possessed another ship, The Tweed , which he considered to have exceptional performance. The Tweed (originally Punjaub )
24436-416: Was built for the Aberdeen to London trade ). Then followed the vast clipper trade of tea, opium, spices, and other goods from the Far East to Europe, and the ships became known as "tea clippers". From 1839, larger American clipper ships started to be built beginning with Akbar , 650 tons OM, in 1839, and including the 1844-built Houqua , 581 tons OM. These larger vessels were built predominantly for use in
24600-497: Was by the British. This had to be smuggled into China on smaller, fast-sailing ships, called "opium clippers". Some of these were built specifically for the purpose – mostly in India and Britain, such as the 1842-built Ariel , 100 tons OM. Some fruit schooners were bought for this trade, as were some Baltimore clippers. Among the most notable clippers were the China clippers, also called tea clippers, designed to ply
24764-400: Was characterised by the sharp deadrise and ends found in the Baltimore clipper. The second was a hull with a full midsection and modest deadrise, but sharp ends – this was a development of the hull form of transatlantic packets. The third was more experimental, with deadrise and sharpness being balanced against the need to carry a profitable quantity of cargo. A clipper carried
24928-488: Was covered by Muntz metal sheeting up to the 18-foot (5.5 m) depth mark, and all the external timbers were secured by Muntz metal bolts to the internal iron frame. The wrought-iron frame was an innovation first experimented with in shipbuilding in the 1840s, and was the standard building method for tea clippers by the middle of the 1860s. It consisted of frames (vertical), beams (horizontal) and cross bracing (diagonal members). The diagonally-braced iron frame made for
25092-423: Was destined for the tea trade, a seasonal trade of a high-value cargo from China to London. Though the "premium" or bonus paid to the ship that arrived with the first tea of the year was abandoned after the Great Tea Race of 1866 , faster ships could usually obtain a higher price for transporting their cargoes than others. Her first roundtrip voyage under captain George Moodie began 16 February 1870 from London with
25256-405: Was impossible to obtain suitable materials to replace the masts so she was re-rigged over 18 months to a barquentine sail arrangement. In 1922 Ferreira was the last clipper operating anywhere in the world. Caught in a storm in the English Channel she put into Falmouth harbour where she was spotted by retired merchant navy captain Wilfred Dowman of Flushing , Cornwall, who was then operating
25420-481: Was more valuable, or for passenger routes. One passenger ship survives, the City of Adelaide designed by William Pile of Sunderland . The fast ships were ideally suited to low-volume, high-profit goods, such as tea, opium , spices, people, and mail. The return could be spectacular. The Challenger returned from Shanghai with "the most valuable cargo of tea and silk ever to be laden in one bottom". Competition among
25584-439: Was possible for a sailing vessel to take a tug through the canal, this was difficult and expensive. Furthermore, sailing conditions in the northern Red Sea were unsuited to the design of a tea clipper, so they still had to sail around Africa. The ability of a steamer to make, for example, 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) continuously, versus the fastest clipper voyage averaging under 6.5 knots (12.0 km/h; 7.5 mph) over
25748-509: Was renamed Ferreira after the firm. Her crews referred to her as Pequena Camisola ( little shirt , a straight translation of the Scots cutty sark ). The ship traded various cargoes between Portugal, Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, Mozambique, Angola, and Britain. In May 1916 she was dismasted off the Cape of Good Hope because of the rolling of the ship in bad weather and had to be towed into Table Bay off Cape Town . Because of World War I, it
25912-596: Was reopened to the public on 25 April 2012. Funders for the Cutty Sark conservation project include: the Heritage Lottery Fund , the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee , Sammy Ofer Foundation, Greenwich Council, Greater London Authority , The Stavros Niarchos Foundation , Berry Brothers & Rudd , Michael Edwards and Alisher Usmanov . On 19 October 2014 she was damaged in
26076-429: Was short-lived, but it was resurrected in 1818 after the town council went bankrupt in 1817. From 1818 until 1871 there was a dual system of local government, with the town council and police commission having different roles in Aberdeen's administration. The police commission was eventually abolished in 1871 and its functions absorbed by the town council. In 1891 the city boundaries were significantly enlarged, absorbing
26240-512: Was signed on 1 February 1869 with the firm of Scott & Linton , which had only been formed in May 1868. Their shipyard was at Dumbarton on the River Leven on a site previously occupied by shipbuilders William Denny & Brothers . The contract required the ship to be completed within six months at a contracted price of £17 per ton and maximum size of 950 tons. This was a highly competitive price for an experimental, state-of-the-art vessel, and for
26404-444: Was the first large clipper ship ever constructed, she cannot be said to have founded the clipper ship era, or even that she directly influenced shipbuilders, since no other ship was built like her, but she may have suggested the clipper design in vessels of ship rig. She did, however, influence the building of Rainbow in 1845, the first extreme clipper ship. In Aberdeen , Scotland, shipbuilders Alexander Hall and Sons developed
26568-611: Was the most famous of the clippers built by Donald McKay . She was known for her extremely close race with the Hornet in 1853; for having a woman navigator, Eleanor Creesy , wife of Josiah Perkins Creesy, who skippered the Flying Cloud on two record-setting voyages from New York to San Francisco; and for sailing in the Australia and timber trades. Clipper ships largely ceased being built in American shipyards in 1859 when, unlike
26732-408: Was used for the ship's bottom. The stem , 15 in × 15 in (38 cm × 38 cm), and sternpost , 16.5 in × 15 in (42 cm × 38 cm), were of teak while the rudder was of English oak. The keel was replaced in the 1920s with one constructed from 15-inch (38 cm) pitch pine . The deck was made of 3.5-inch (8.9 cm) thick teak while the 'tween deck
26896-460: Was used to build the terraces of the Houses of Parliament and Waterloo Bridge in London. Quarrying finally ceased in 1971. The current owners have begun pumping 40 years of rainwater from the quarry to develop a heritage centre on the site. In-shore fishing was once the predominant industry but was surpassed by deep-sea fisheries, which derived a great impetus from improved technologies throughout
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