INDUSTRY

DENNY SHIPBUILDING

The family of Denny have been associated with the town of Dumbarton since 1375. William Denny I (1779-1833) was the first recorded member of the family to be involved in shipbuilding and started a dynasty of shipbuilders stretching over a century.

His son, William Denny II (1815-1854) founded William Denny and Brothers, naval architects, in 1842. He was one of thirteen children, many of them were influenced by their father’s interest in shipbuilding and engineering. William had been employed by Robert Napier as manager of his shipyard at Govan, while his brother was a successful naval architect. Peter Denny, another brother, was the other founding member. In the early days, the company designed and built ship hulls and had to farm out engineering work as they had no engineering shop.

This changed in 1850 when Peter formed a partnership with John Tulloch, an engineer from Greenock, and John McAusland. They bought the site of the old glassworks, demolished the building and established an engineering works. Profits increased immediately and a new industry was created in the town, William Denny built Dennystown to contain the new influx.

June 1854 saw the death of William, the guiding hand in the company. Under his leadership, the company had launched 45 vessels in twelve years. Peter assumed the helm and expanded the business in 1859, establishing the North Yard which became the boiler shop. The company expanded further in 1864 by purchasing land at the other side of the river, Leven Shipyard.

At this time, Peter was the sole Denny partner. It wasn’t until 1868 that the first of the new generation, William Denny III, Peter’s eldest son was made partner. His father made him work an apprenticeship in his yard before making him partner and it paid off; William was known for his technical ability, pioneering the use of steel in shipbuilding. William also took an active interest in his employees, social responsibility fostered by working on the shop floor. He promoted conferences between employers and employees and also promoted the technical education of his workers.

The Cutty Sark was completed in 1870 and was the fastest sailing ship of its time. Her price was £17 per ton with a specified maximum of 950 tons. The order was initially placed with Scott and Linton by John Willis who insisted on the highest quality finishes. This drove the company into bankruptcy and the creditors arranged for William Denny and Brothers to complete the ship.

The Dennys had the knack of spotting talented people and bringing them into their own business. John McAusland was a partner brought in from outside the family, retiring in 1881. He was respected for his university education, rare at the time, and had, like many of the partners contributed heavily to civic life. He was a member of the Town Council, Provost, Chairman of the School Board and initiator of the Social Union. He donated the cottage hospital to Dumbarton.

William Denny III died in 1887 at the age of 39. The Denny Institute, a reading and recreation room was built for the townspeople in his memory. Perhaps William’s greatest achievement was the building of the Denny Tank, a water tank designed to test differing conditions, designs, propellers and even paint finishes! Its two main purposes were to establish the power needed to effectively drive a ship and then to minimise the power needed. The tank was originally 300ft long, 22ft wide and 10ft deep. Model ships made of paraffin wax were used. An example of the usefulness of the new tank occurred in 1888 when the Belgian government ordered a fast paddle steamer. At the time, a fair speed for a steamer was 15 or 16 knots, the contract specified a speed in excess of 20. Trails at the tank showed that could be improved by increasing the width of the ship, a result contrary to all accepted ideas at the time. The result was the PS Princess Henriette, whose speed at trail was 21.09 knots.

1890 the Union Steam Company place placed an order for a ship for the South African mail service. It was the largest ship that the builders had constructed with a tonnage of 6,844 and was named the TSS Scot. Once launched, it immediately began to break records and in 1892, it steamer from Cape Town to Plymouth in 13 days 23 hours, breaking the record by 2 days.

In 1895, Peter died after managing the firm for 51 years. Again, his contribution to the town of Dumbarton was great. He served as town councillor, Chief Magistrate and presented Levengrove Park and Knoxland Square to the town.

After his death, Walter Brock took over as managing partner in the Company, managing until his death in 1902. He pioneered turbine technology.