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63-662: Greenock Royal Infirmary was a health facility in Greenock , Scotland. Its original Hospital or Infirmary of 1809 stood in Inverkip Street, it was subsequently extended round into East Shaw Street, then in 1869 a new building on the adjacent site at 2 Duncan Street formed the main address of the Hospital and Infirmary. It was renamed the Greenock Royal Infirmary in 1922. The facility had its origins in

126-639: A cause celebre , seven young Greenock males stowed away on a cargo ship bound for Quebec . Treated with what was, even for the times, exceptional brutality, they were forcibly disembarked in Newfoundland ; by the time they were returned to Scotland, three of them had died. The Captain and mate of the cargo ship were tried in a blaze of publicity at the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh and served short prison terms. In 1714 Greenock became

189-550: A Scottish Parliament constituency. Greenock is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council , the local authority responsible for the wider Inverclyde area in which Greenock is located. The council is based in the Greenock Municipal Buildings . Greenock's climate is temperate maritime having mainly cool summers and mild winters. The coastal location means that the heat capacity of seawater helps keep winter temperatures higher than locations just

252-659: A custom house port as a branch of Port Glasgow , and for a period this operated from rooms leased in Greenock. Receipts rose rapidly with the expansion of colonial trade, and in 1778 the custom house moved to newly-built premises at the West Quay of the harbour. By 1791 a new pier was constructed at the East Quay. In 1812 Europe's first steamboat service was introduced by PS  Comet with frequent sailings between Glasgow, Greenock and Helensburgh , and as trade built up

315-538: A Charter raising Greenock to a Burgh of Barony with rights to a weekly market. Further east, Saint Laurence Bay curved round past the Crawfurd Barony of Easter Greenock to Garvel (or Gravel) Point. When a pier (or dyke) was built making the bay an important harbour, the fishing village of Cartsdyke gained the alternative name of Craufurdsdyke. In 1642 it was made into the Burgh of Barony of Crawfurdsdyke, and part of

378-566: A broad bay with three smaller indentations: the Bay of Quick was known as a safe anchorage as far back as 1164. To its east, a sandy bay ran eastwards from the Old Kirk and the West Burn as far as Wester Greenock castle. The fishing village of Greenock developed along this bay, and around 1635 Sir John Schaw had a jetty built into the bay which became known as Sir John's Bay. In that year he obtained

441-628: A common spelling until it was changed to Greenock around 1700. Grenock was also used in the 19th century, e.g. in Lloyd's List publications. The spelling Greenoak was found in two factory accounts dating back to 1717, and a legend developed of a green oak tree at the edge of the Clyde at William Street being used by fishermen to tie up their boats. No reliable source has been found referencing green oaks, however, and so this has been generally dismissed as imaginative Anglophone folk etymology . Nonetheless

504-687: A customs and excise museum which was open to the public. In June 2008 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced that the building would close in 2011 as part of a rationalisation project with any jobs being transferred to offices in Glasgow , and despite a campaign to oppose these plans, the building closed in August 2010. Riverside Inverclyde arranged further refurbishment works, and in 2013 announced that space had already been let to companies including PG Paper Company Ltd and Toshiba which had planning permission to form meeting rooms and an executive office in

567-1021: A decrease from the 46,861 recorded in the 2001 UK Census . It lies on the south bank of the Clyde at the " Tail of the Bank " where the River Clyde deepens into the Firth of Clyde . Place-name scholar William J. Watson wrote that "Greenock is well known in Gaelic as Grianáig , dative of grianág , 'a sunny knoll ' ". The Scottish Gaelic place-name Grianaig is relatively common, with another Greenock near Callander in Menteith (formerly in Perthshire) and yet another at Muirkirk in Kyle , now in East Ayrshire . R. M. Smith in (1921) described

630-558: A dispensary for the sick poor which was established in 1801 in the town centre near the harbour, initially in Manse Lane, then nearby in Cathcart Street. This provided medicines, and a surgeon made daily visits to the poor when they were sick at home. In 1806 a contagious fever spread from the crew of a Russian prize ship in the harbour, causing many deaths, and one of the surgeons proposed a new hospital or fever-house, "where

693-568: A few miles inland. Although there has been recent debate the moderating influence of the North Atlantic Drift , a warm oceanic current that is the eastern extension of the Gulf Stream , means that Greenock's average temperature is approximately one degree Celsius greater than eastern Scottish coastal towns on the same latitude (55.94 degrees north); whilst in winter, Greenock is considerably warmer than continental locations at

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756-545: A tunnel under Greenock's west end. To regain custom, the Caledonian Railway extended (what is now known as the Inverclyde Line ) the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway west to Gourock; this line was built to run inland through deep cuttings and tunnels, with a tunnel under the whole length of Newton Street crossing under the other railway tunnel to emerge near Fort Matilda railway station . Spoil from

819-459: Is a town in Inverclyde , Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland . The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council . It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire , and forms part of a contiguous urban area with Gourock to the west and Port Glasgow to the east. The 2011 UK Census showed that Greenock had a population of 44,248,

882-625: Is here that the coal and iron bearing rocks that fueled Scotland 's Industrial Revolution are to be found. This area has also experienced intense volcanism , Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh being the remnant of a once much larger volcano active in the Carboniferous period some 300 million years ago. This area is relatively low-lying, although even here hills such as the Ochils and Campsie Fells are rarely far from view. In common with

945-712: The Harland & Wolff shipyard (the present-day location of Container Way), the Old West Kirk was relocated to a new site on the Esplanade where it still stands. The shipbuilders provided the Pirrie Hall to the south of the site: this was opened in February 1925, just after the old church closed for work to commence, and was used during the works to accommodate services, enabling the congregation to see progress on

1008-657: The Isle of Bute and the Cowal Peninsula. The hospital was commissioned to replace the Greenock Royal Infirmary , the Eye Infirmary, Gateside Hospital, Duncan Macpherson Hospital and Broadstone Jubilee Hospital. Construction work started at the end of August 1970 and the hospital was completed in 1979. In 2004 Inverclyde Royal Hospital faced proposals for a major downsizing with the loss of

1071-639: The 1970s and 1980s due to competition from South Korea and Japan. Central Lowlands The Central Lowlands , sometimes called the Midland Valley or Central Valley , is a geologically defined area of relatively low-lying land in southern Scotland . It consists of a rift valley between the Highland Boundary Fault to the north and the Southern Uplands Fault to the south. The Central Lowlands are one of

1134-653: The 1970s and 1980s meant that none of these companies are still trading. Greenock Shipbuilders included: Scotts, Browns, William Lithgows, Fergusons, Head the Boat Builder (lifeboats). Other marine engineering related companies included engine-makers – Kincaids, Scotts, Rankin and Blackmore (which included the Eagle Foundry) – ship repair (Lamonts) and Hasties for steering gear. Yacht builders included Adams and McLean (at Cardwell Bay). Other yards included Cartsburn, Cartsdyke, and Klondyke – all of which closed during

1197-576: The Custom House was praised as "a grand National Structure" in "the highest style of elegance". By then there were scheduled steamboat sailings to Belfast , Derry , Liverpool, Inverness , Campbeltown , the Hebrides and "all the principal places in the Highlands". The Custom House underwent extensive refurbishment which was completed in 1989 and, until closure of the building in 2010, housed

1260-773: The French Vauquelin class destroyer Maillé Brézé blew up off Greenock with heavy loss of life following an accident involving two of her own torpedoes. Although this disaster occurred before the Free French Naval Forces were established, many people tend to regard the Cross of Lorraine on Lyle Hill as a memorial to the loss of the Maillé Brézé as well as to the later losses of the Free French Naval Forces which sailed from

1323-675: The Garvel estate for a harbour when Easter Greenock lands were put up for sale to meet debts, but were outbid by Sir John Schaw who then got a Crown Charter of 1670 uniting Easter and Wester Greenock into the Burgh Barony of Greenock. A separate Barony of Cartsburn was created, the first baron being Thomas Craufurd. In 1668 the City of Glasgow got the lease of 13 acres (5 hectares) of land upriver close to Newark Castle , and construction promptly started on Newport Glasgow harbour which by 1710 had

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1386-548: The Scottish average of 3.9% (figure is for the Scottish Parliament constituency and includes Gourock , Inverkip , Port Glasgow and Wemyss Bay ). In the early 17th century, the first pier was built in Greenock. Shipbuilding was already an important employer by this time. The first proper harbour was constructed in 1710 and the first well-known shipbuilders, Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company ,

1449-558: The West Burn estuary and is reputed to have been the first Protestant church built in Scotland after the Reformation. The Schaw, later Shaw and Shaw-Stewart , family retained a leading role in Greenock over the following centuries. In 1670, Sir John Shaw obtained a charter from King Charles II , combining the lands of Finnart and the barony of Wester Greenock, to create the barony of Greenock. The coast of Greenock formed

1512-484: The accident and emergency department and the acute surgical ward in an effort to save costs. Many people criticised the plans complaining that the Inverclyde Royal Hospital was being seen as nothing more than a large health centre. In February 2007, after undertaking a review, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde proposed retaining the accident and emergency department and core inpatient services, including

1575-541: The alternative derivation from Common Brittonic * Graenag , 'gravelly or sandy place', as more appropriate, accurately describing the original foreshore. Johnston (1934) notes that "some Gaels call the seaport Ghónait , and that a possible derivation may be greannach , meaning 'rough, gravelly'. The name of the town has had various spellings over time. It was printed in early Acts of Parliament as Grinok , Greenhok , Grinock , Greenhoke , Greinnock , and later as Greinok . Old Presbyterial records used Grenok ,

1638-513: The building. Greenock Telegraph estimated that £4.1 million has been spent over five-year period for the renovation works. Greenock became a centre of industry, with water power being used to process imported goods. In 1827 Loch Thom was constructed as a reservoir with The Cut aqueduct , bringing water to two lines of falls for water mills to power a paper mill, cotton and woollen mills, sugar refineries and shipbuilding Greenock Central railway station at Cathcart Street opened in 1841, for

1701-561: The century. The land to the west of this was common ground for inhabitants of the town, but in 1907 the Admiralty compulsorily purchased part of this land for a torpedo factory. The remaining space was handed over to Greenock Corporation in 1914 as a public park. The Clyde Torpedo Factory opened in 1910, with 700 workers transferred from the Royal Arsenal , Woolwich . The site was tasked with designing and testing of torpedoes ,

1764-723: The closure of the Iapetus Ocean . The fault allowed the Midland Valley to descend as a major rift by as much as 4000 metres and there was subsequently vertical movement . This earlier vertical movement was later replaced by a horizontal shear. The Southern Uplands Fault runs from the Rhins of Galloway in the west towards Dunbar on the east coast 30 miles (50 km) from Edinburgh . A productive combination of fertile low-lying agricultural land and significant deposits of economically valuable coal and iron have led to

1827-512: The cuttings and tunnels was used to build an embankment out from the shore to a long timber wharf at Gourock railway station , providing space for railway sidings. The railway bought Wester Greenock castle and its extension, the Mansion House, and demolished them before constructing the tunnel immediately west of Greenock Central station, running under the castle grounds which now form Well Park. Greenock's increasing importance and wealth

1890-548: The development of the Clydeport container port as Ocean Terminal, a passenger terminal for cruise ships touring the Atlantic. Students who do not travel further afield for study often attend the Greenock campus of West College (formerly known as James Watt College of Further and Higher Education). Greenock reached its population peak in 1921 (81,123) and was once the sixth largest town in Scotland. Until 1974, Greenock

1953-455: The eldest inherited Easter Greenock and married a Crawfurd, while Wester Greenock went to the younger daughter who married Schaw of Sauchie. Around 1540 the adjoining barony of Finnart was passed to the Schaw family, extending their holdings westward to the boundary of Gourock , and in 1542 Sir John Schaw founded Wester Greenock castle. The Scottish Reformation of 1560 closed the chapels in

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2016-489: The first time providing a fast route from Glasgow to the coast linking up with Clyde steamer services. The provision of this new line meant there was no need to take the steamer all the way down river from Glasgow. In 1869 the Caledonian Railway was bypassed by the rival Greenock and Ayrshire Railway which opened a station on the waterfront at its Albert Harbour station (later renamed Princes Pier), served by

2079-566: The following high schools as of 2023: Greenock has the following other educational establishments: The Greenock Infirmary , later the Royal Infirmary, was established in 1809, when a building was erected at an expense of £1815, on a site of land given by Sir John Shaw Stewart. Today, the town is served by the Inverclyde Royal Hospital which is located in Greenock serving the population of Inverclyde , Largs ,

2142-623: The gun battery of Fort Beauclerc near the West Burn was extended to guard against the threat of privateers , but the emphasis shifted to wider markets including imports of rum and sugar from the Caribbean , wines from Spain, and fish from North America. A whaling business operated for about 40 years. Greenock "was mainly a trading port for goods such as sugar and cotton, but also dispatched ships to West Africa to take people to be enslaved " in Britain's American colonies. In 1868, in what became

2205-495: The hospital round into East Shaw Street. A new Hospital and Infirmary building designed by Salmon and Son was added on the adjacent site at 2 Duncan Street in 1869. It was renamed the Greenock Royal Infirmary in 1922 and joined the National Health Service in 1948. After services transferred to the Inverclyde Royal Hospital , the Greenock Royal Infirmary closed in 1979 and was subsequently demolished. The site

2268-496: The ill-fated Darien Scheme set out from this pier in 1697. Its town was named Cartsburn. The fishing trade grew prosperous, with barrels of salted herring exported widely, and shipping trade developed. As seagoing ships could not go further up the River Clyde , the Glasgow merchants including the Tobacco Lords wanted harbour access but were in disputes with Greenock over harbour dues and warehouses. They tried to buy

2331-498: The image has frequently been used as an emblem or logo, carved on public buildings, used on banners and badges, and was once emblazoned on the local Co-operative Society emblem. It reappeared in 1992 as the new shopping centre's name, the Oak Mall, which uses a green tree as its logo. The name is also recalled in a local song ("The Green Oak Tree"). Significantly, no green oak appears on the former burgh coat of arms , which features

2394-685: The introduction of the State Registration of Nurses in 1920 the infirmary’s training school adopted the three year training programme. In 1964 a two year course for State Enrolled Nurses was established.   Miss E Beaton received the RRC for her work in the Third Scottish General Hospital in 1916. Greenock Greenock ( / ˈ ɡ r iː n ə k / ; Scots : Greenock ; Scottish Gaelic : Grianaig , pronounced [ˈkɾʲiənɛkʲ] )

2457-572: The nave of the church. Opposite it, above the front entrance, is the Crawfurdsburn or Choir Gallery. At the south end of the nave, the Sailor's Loft gallery was built in 1698 and features a 19th-century model frigate, which replaced earlier models. At the north end, the Farmer's Gallery is above the main seating area. A tower was added in the mid 19th century. In 1926, to make way for expansion of

2520-629: The newly formed Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment (AUWE), Portland. A church which became known as the Old West Kirk had been established in Greenock in 1591 under the patronage of John Schaw, the first built in Scotland since the Reformation . It was extended over the years, at an early stage the Schaw aisle provided pews for the Laird of the Barony, built as a gallery to the east of

2583-453: The opposite true in midwinter . On the summer solstice, usually observed on the 21 June, the sun rises at 04:31 and sets at 22:07. On the winter solstice, usually 21 December, the sun rises at 08:46 and sets at 15:44. The Highlanders academy was built in 1837, partly by subscription, and partly by grant from government, on a site given by the late Sir Michael Shaw Stewart. Greenock has the following primary schools as of 2023: Greenock has

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2646-399: The parish, and as the parish church was some 6 miles (10 kilometres) distant at Inverkip over a difficult route which was impassable in winter, in 1589 John Schaw obtained a charter from King James VI to build a kirk for the "poor people upon his lands who were all fishers and of a reasonable number". Later known as the Old Kirk or the Old West Kirk , it was constructed on the west bank of

2709-449: The pier became known as Steamboat Quay. The custom house needed larger premises and in May 1817 the foundation stone was laid at Steamboat Quay for a Custom House building designed by William Burn , which was completed in 1818. Its gracious neoclassical architecture features a Grecian Doric portico looking out over the quay, which would eventually be renamed Custom House Quay. In 1828

2772-586: The poor would be removed from their own uncomfortable dwellings, not only for their own sakes, but for the purpose of checking infection." In 1807, funds were raised to build a Hospital or Infirmary, and a site obtained on the south edge of the town, up on the east side of Inverkip Street between the Anti-Burgher Secession Church of 1803 (called the Canister Kirk for its shape) and the 1789 cemetery. The building on Inverkip Street

2835-532: The principal Clyde custom house . In 1696 and 1700 Schaw and residents of the town made unsuccessful bids to the Scottish Parliament for grants for a Greenock harbour, then when the Act of Union 1707 opened up involvement in colonial trade, they raised their own funds. The work was completed in 1710, with quays extended out into Sir John's Bay to enclose the harbour. In 1711 the shipbuilding industry

2898-417: The rebuilt kirk. It then came into use as the church hall. The church is notable for stained glass by artists such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Sir Edward Burne-Jones . The Church has a website. Greenock suffered badly during the Second World War and its anchorage at the Tail of the Bank became the base for the Home Fleet as well as the main assembly point for Atlantic convoys. On 30 April 1940

2961-521: The rest of Scotland the whole region was affected by Pleistocene glaciations . The Highland Boundary Fault runs from North Glen Sannox on the Isle of Arran in the south and west through the Isle of Bute and Helensburgh , then forms the northern boundary of Strathmore before reaching Stonehaven in the north east. The fault was active during the Caledonian orogeny , a plate tectonic collision which took place from Mid Ordovician to Mid Devonian periods (520 to 400 million years ago), during

3024-473: The same latitude, such as Moscow. Anecdotally Greenock has a reputation for receiving higher than average rainfall (the song The Green Oak Tree comments on this). Whilst the rainfall is indeed higher than the average recorded at Scottish weather stations, the greatest rainfall in Scotland occurs on the west (ocean) facing mountain slopes of Lochaber , near Fort William in the Highlands . Greenock's latitude means long hours of daylight in midsummer with

3087-476: The testing taking place in Loch Long . During the Second World War the site switched entirely to manufacturing torpedoes. The original gun battery site was occupied by the Navy Buildings , the main offices, just to the east of the torpedo factory buildings. Following WW2, in 1947, the site became fully committed to R&D as the Torpedo Experimental Establishment (TEE). TEE was closed in 1959, when all torpedo research, development and design were concentrated at

3150-425: The three chalices of the Shaw Stewarts, a sailing ship in full sail, and two herring above the motto "God Speed Greenock". Hugh de Grenock was created a Scottish Baron in 1296, and the seat of the feudal barony of Greenock was apparently what became Easter Greenock Castle . Around 1400 his successor Malcolm Galbraith died with no sons, and his estate was divided between his two daughters to become two baronies:

3213-427: The three main geographical sub-divisions of Scotland, the other two being the Highlands and Islands which lie to the north, northwest and the Southern Uplands , which lie south of the associated second fault line. It is the most populated of Scotland ’s three geographical regions. The Central Lowlands is largely underlain by Paleozoic formations . Many of these sedimentary rocks have economic significance for it

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3276-419: The town relied heavily on electronics manufacture. However, this has given way mostly to: call centre business, insurance, banking and shipping export. The Fleming and Reid merino wool mill employed 500 people – mostly women and produced wool garments spun and woven at the mill. This mill was at the corner of Drumfrochar Road and Mill Road. As of October 2012 Greenock has an unemployment rate of 5.3%, above

3339-415: The town. On the nights of 6 May and 7 May 1941 around 300 Luftwaffe aircraft attacked the town in the Greenock Blitz . On 10 October 1940, RAF Greenock was created as a maintenance base for RAF flying boats. The base was hit on 7 May 1941 during the Greenock Blitz. A large building housing a drapery business constructed on Cowan's property at the corner of the Municipal Buildings was badly damaged and

3402-502: The trauma and emergency medical departments at Inverclyde Royal Hospital and submitted this proposal to the Scottish Government for approval. Langhill Clinic situated behind Inverclyde Royal Hospital is now the main psychiatric hospital with an IPCU unit and Day hospital alongside the main psychiatric ward. Historically, the town relied on shipbuilding , sugar refining and wool manufacturing for employment, but none of these industries are today part of Greenock's economy. More recently

3465-408: Was a parliamentary burgh in its own right. It was merged with Port Glasgow to form Greenock and Port Glasgow constituency. In 1997, it became Greenock and Inverclyde . After the redistribution of Scottish seats, it was merged into an enlarged Inverclyde constituency – the first time in political history that Greenock has not been named in a parliamentary seat. Greenock and Inverclyde remains

3528-493: Was appointed as Lady Superintendent of Nursing. The Edinburgh Nurses Training Society sent female nurses of ‘high moral character’ to be probationary nurses and receive a one year training at Greenock Royal Infirmary. In 1870, Miss Beatty left and was replaced by Miss Johnstone who had worked at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. By 1871 there were 21 nurses. Several nurses at this time were ill with fever and smallpox, of which two died. Miss Johnstone died in 1884 after 15 years’ service and

3591-479: Was demolished, leaving the blank brick corner area still known as "Cowan's Corner". This was later landscaped and used as a garden. Greenock thrived in the post-war years but as the heavy industries declined in the 1970s and 1980s unemployment became a major problem, and it has only been in the last ten years with reinvestment and the redevelopment of large sections of the town that the local economy has started to revive. Tourism has appeared as an unexpected bonus with

3654-414: Was designed by the local harbour engineer, John Aird, the foundation stone was laid in 1808, and the first patient was admitted in June 1809. The building was erected at an expense of £1815, on a site of land given by Sir John Shaw Stewart . The infirmary was extended with wings added in 1830 after another fever epidemic, and an 1847 extension incorporating the site and parts of the Canister Kirk continued

3717-476: Was established the following year. It gained numerous contracts with the Royal Navy from 1806, building ships such as Glasgow . In 1967 Scott's was merged with Lithgows (founded 1874, later the largest privately owned yard in the world) the same year becoming Scott Lithgow , which was later nationalised as part of British Shipbuilders in 1977. From 1800 to 1980 many thousands of people worked to design, build and repair ships. The reduction in shipbuilding in

3780-530: Was founded when Scotts leased ground between the harbour and the West Burn to build fishing boats. Greenock rapidly became a major port and shipbuilding centre, and though tobacco imported from the colonies was taken to Glasgow by pack horse, the more bulky imports of sugar were processed locally. From 1774 the dredging of the River Clyde increasingly allowed ships to take merchandise directly to Glasgow, but merchants continued to use Greenock harbour. The American Revolutionary War temporarily interrupted trade, and

3843-409: Was manifested in the construction of the Greenock Municipal Buildings , whose Victoria Tower, completed in 1886, stands 245 feet (75 metres) tall. The War of 1812 reawakened fears of American raids against Britain's ports. Earlier gun batteries had been dismantled and in 1813 ground was granted for a battery at Whitefarland Point. Fort Matilda was completed in 1818 and was sporadically modified over

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3906-435: Was replaced by Miss Fletcher as Lady Superintendent. Miss Tod took over from Miss Fletcher in 1887 and worked as the matron for 27 years, retiring in 1914. Miss AM Filley took over this role and also worked as the Matron for 27 years. Miss G Manners was Matron from 1942-1947, leaving to take on the role of Matron at Glasgow Royal Infirmary . She was succeeded by Miss MB Crichton who retired after 17 years service in 1963. With

3969-422: Was then used for a Sheltered housing complex providing 34 flats (for seniors) with associated facilities, built in 1988, which is named John Galt House in commemoration of the novelist and entrepreneur John Galt who was buried in the adjacent Inverkip Street Cemetery in 1839. The first nurses that trained on the Nightingale system started working in Greenock Royal Infirmary in 1968. This included Miss Beatty who

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