Glasgow Harbour

A pictorial history of Glasgow Harbour – the greatest port in Scotland and one of the largest in Britain – from its beginnings to the present day.

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This is the illustrated story of Glasgow Harbour - the port and ship building centre along the River Clyde from Glasgow Green to the River Kelvin and beyond to Clydebank which became the greatest seaport in Scotland and one of the largest in Britain. Through a mixture of photographs and other illustrations, it portrays the early history, development, pioneering inventions, and importance nationally and internationally of Glasgow Harbour, as well as its regeneration today. From the seventeenth century Glasgow became one of the major hubs of trade across the Atlantic and to the rest of the world. In the eighteenth century Glasgow adopted new methods to deepen and engineer the River Clyde to make it more useful and the largest and most advanced docks were to be built; with some 12 miles of busy quayside lining the river. By the nineteenth century Glasgow was also the world-leading ship-building centre, including such famous names as Fairfield, John Brown, Beardmore, Barclay Curle, Stephen and Connal; to be joined by Yarrow, and Harland & Wolff, and at its peak over 70 shipping lines operated from the city.

Although heavy industry in Glasgow Harbour has shrunk today much of the waterfront is being regenerated. This is the story in pictures of Glasgow Harbour from its early days to the present of how ‘Glasgow made the Clyde, and the Clyde made Glasgow’.