Everything about Dumbarton totally explained
Dumbarton (
Gaelic Dùn Breatainn, ) is a
burgh in
Scotland, lying on the north bank of the
River Clyde where the
River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. Dumbarton is split between the council areas of
Argyll and Bute and
West Dunbartonshire. As of 2001 the town had a population of approximately 20,550.
Dumbarton functioned as the capital of the ancient
Kingdom of Strathclyde, and later as the
county town of the county of
Dumbartonshire. The name comes from the
Scottish Gaelic Dùn Breatainn meaning "fort of the
Brythons".
Dumbarton Castle, sitting on top of Dumbarton Rock, dominates the area. Dumbarton was a
Royal burgh between 1222 and 1975.
Dumbarton emerged from the 19th century as a centre for
shipbuilding,
glassmaking, and
whisky production. However these industries have since declined, or demised altogether, and Dumbarton today increasingly functions as a
commuter town for the major
City of Glasgow which is east-southeast.
Dumbarton F.C. is the burgh's local association football club.
History
Dumbarton history goes back at least as far as the
Iron Age (and probably much earlier). It was the site of a strategically important early settlement, the residents of which were known to have traded with the
Romans. The presence of a settlement in Dumbarton is first recorded in a letter
St Patrick wrote to
King Ceretic, the British King of
Strathclyde at Alcluith (or Clyde Rock) in about 450 AD.
Dumbarton functioned as the capital of the
ancient Kingdom of Strathclyde, and later as the county town of the
county of
Dunbartonshire, formerly known as
Dumbartonshire. The name comes from the
Scottish Gaelic Dùn Breatainn meaning "fort of the
Brythons (Britons)". The Britons themselves knew it as
Alt Clut, the "rock (or height) on the Clyde".
Dumbarton was struck severely by the
black death in 1350 and much of it burned down in 1424. But by the 1600s it was an important port with trade routes going as far afield as the
West Indies. By 1800 the town was Scotland's largest producer of glass, for bottles and windows.
Dumbarton Castle
Dumbarton Castle sits on
Dumbarton Rock, at the east bank mouth of the
River Leven, where it flows into the
Clyde estuary.
The Castle has an illustrious history and many well-known figures from Scottish and British history have visited it. The castle was a royal fortress long before Dumbarton became a
Royal Burgh, its ownership went from Scottish to English and back again. The castle was an important place during the
Wars of Independence and was used to imprison
William Wallace for a short time after his capture by the English. It was also from here that
Mary, Queen of Scots, was conveyed to France for safety as a child. Mary was trying to reach Dumbarton Castle when she suffered her final defeat at
Langside. In later times,
Queen Victoria and
Queen Elizabeth II were also visitors to the castle.
From the top of the Castle one can behold a beautiful view of both the
Clyde, and of Leven Grove Park.
Leven Park
Leven Park itself was a gift to the town by the
Denny's who owned the shipbuilding company which was about away from the Castle. This was said to be not a purely philanthropic act however; the American company
Singer which is famous for the manufacturing of sewing machines had earmarked the land as a potental site for their factory which would eventually be built in Clydebank. Denny were in effect protecting their monopoly on the local work-force.
Dumbarton Rock
During
World War II Dumbarton was heavily bombed by the
German air force. The Germans were targeting the shipyards, and the area in the vicinity of the yards was consequently hit, with Clyde and Leven Street being severely damaged. In an attempt to lure the German aircraft away from the shipyards, decoy lights were routinely placed on the Kilpatrick hills above the town, lights were set out on reservoirs to mimic those of the shipyards reflecting on the waters of the Leven and Clyde. The ploy was sometimes successful in diverting the bombers and many bombs fell harmlessly onto the moors and lochs.
Today, Dumbarton Rock is popular with
rock climbers and provides a number of short but technically challenging
routes, and opportunities for
bouldering. A new route 'Rhapsody',
opened by local climber
Dave MacLeod, is the only
E11-graded route in the world. A film documenting this feat was released in 2006.
Governance
From 1975 Dumbarton lent its name to a
local government district in the
Strathclyde region of
Scotland. In 1996 the administrative functions of this district transferred to the
West Dunbartonshire and
Argyll and Bute unitary councils (See
Subdivisions of Scotland).
Dumbarton town currently serves as the administrative centre of the West Dunbartonshire authority.
There is also a
Dumbarton constituency of the Scottish Parliament and a former
Dumbarton constituency of the House of Commons.
Geography
Economy
Shipbuilding
From the mid 1700s to the early 1800s Dumbarton's main industry was
glassmaking. As the glass industry declined the town became a major centre for
shipbuilding and remained so well into the 20th century. There were many shipbuilding yards, although a number of them were later absorbed by larger yards. A great many ships were built in the town, the most famous of which is probably the
Cutty Sark which was built by
Scott & Linton, she was one of the final
Tea Clippers to be built, and one of the fastest. The ship is the last survivor of its type and can be seen today at
dry dock in
Greenwich, London. In 1818 William Denny built the
Rob Roy named after
Robert Roy MacGregor in Dumbarton, which went on to become the first steam powered ferry crossing the
English Channel.
William Denny and Brothers
The last major Dumbarton shipyard was
William Denny and Brothers which closed in 1963, and the remaining smaller yards followed over the next few decades. The old Denny's shipyard tender
The Second Snark is still in use on the
Firth of Clyde as a
passenger ferry and cruise boat. Denny's was an innovative company that had a reputation for research and development; high pressure turbines and hull stabilisation were two areas where they were highly respected. They even built an early design of helicopter in 1909 and in their final years they were involved in hovercraft development in the form of the Denny D2 Hoverbus. A film clip of this vessel on its maiden trip to
Oban exists in the
Scottish Film Archive.
The last surviving part of the Denny's shipbuilding company is the
Denny Ship Model Experiment Tank which forms part of the
Scottish Maritime Museum. This was the first commercial ship model testing tank built in the world and it retains many original features today: a water tank as long as a football pitch, clay moulding beds for casting wax model ship hulls and the original Victorian machinery used for shaping models.
During the Second World War
Blackburn Aircraft were to produce Sunderland flying boats from a factory adjacent to Denny's shipyard.
There is still a shipyard on the river Leven, Sandpoint Marina.
The 'Denny Club' was a local social club was named after Denny's shipyard. The club closed down a number of years ago after running into financial difficulties. The club was the proud sponsor of a local amateur football team, Dumbarton Amateurs, which subsequently changed its name to Denny Amateurs due to the continuning sponsorhip and support from the club. Denny Amateurs still play today in the best amateur league in Scotland, and has recently developed a team for younger players in the area, 'Denny Youth', and has provided the new team with strips and equipment along with advice and support. The future looks bright for Denny Youth, having won wheir first fixture 9-2 against Argylle Amateurs.
Whisky
As the ship industry declined,
whisky production grew to become the dominant industry in the town. In 1938 Hiram Walker's built a large whisky distillery on the river Leven (on the site of some of the old shipyards), the town became known as a major centre of the
whisky industry in the mid to late 20th century. Hiram Walker was acquired by Allied brewers in 1988 to form Allied Distillers, itself becoming part of Allied Domeq before eventually being taken over in 2005 by the French based alcohol giant
Pernod Ricard. The large Dumbarton distillery had been mothballed since 2002 and not long after the Pernod-Ricard takeover the giant red buildings of the Dumbarton '
Ballantine's' distillery which had dominated the town for over sixty years were earmarked for demolition and redevelopment. However the large bonded warehouse complex to the East of the town and the bottling complex to the North West were retained.
Other Whisky related site closures such as the Inverleven distillery which closed in 1991 and the
J&B Scotch Whisky bottling plant and bond in the north of the town have contributed to the decline in Dumbarton's importance to the drink industry. However part of the J&B bond has found a new life as a film set for television productions such as '
River City' and '
Still Game'.
Ballantine's Whisky have also become well known for the rather unusual 'security' guards used on their bonded warehouse complex at Dumbuck in Dumbarton, these are a large flock of white Chinese geese that were first introduced in 1959, starting with just six individuals, this has risen to close to 100 birds today. They have the nickname 'The Scotch Watch' and have been widely used in promotional material for the Ballantine's
blended whisky
Other industries
With the decline of the whisky industry, Dumbarton is becoming more a commuter town for those who work in nearby
Glasgow and other locations. The
Faslane naval base is also a major employer for the area. The Strathleven Industrial Estate near Dumbarton was once the location of several major manufacturers such as Burroughs (Adding Machines) and
Westclox. Technology overtook these companies and they closed down with the loss of many jobs. The estate has also been the home of
Polaroid UK since 1965. This was the largest Polaroid plant outside of the USA and at its peak it employed about 1800 people. Failing to recognise the impact that digital photography was its downfall and while they still have a presence in Dumbarton less than 100 people are now employed there (mainly in the manufacture of sunglass lenses).
Culture
Sports
There was at one stage two Scottish Football League clubs from the town,
Dumbarton Harp F.C. which no longer exists and still around is professional football team
Dumbarton F.C.. also known as 'Sons of the rock', it's an old club founded in 1872 and steeped in history. The club play home games at the
Strathclyde Homes Stadium, next to Dumbarton Castle. They won the Scottish Cup in 1882/3 and five times were beaten finalists. As reigning Scottish Cup holders, they met the FA Cup winners, Blackburn Olympic, and thrashed them 6-1 to be hailed as champions of Great Britain. The
Scottish League was formed in 1890 and the very first championship was shared between Dumbarton and
Rangers. Dumbarton play in gold and black strips.
Dumbarton is home to the basketball team
Dumbarton Dodgers Basketball Club who play in the
Strathclyde basketball league. The team formed in 1981 from a youth club in Riverside Parish Church in the town.
The town is also the birthplace of the
motor-racing driver
Jackie Stewart OBE. He competed in
Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Championships.
Music/Arts
Scottish
poet Robert Burns was made freeman of Dumbarton. He refers to Dumbarton in a letter written in 7 July 1787.
» "... I've lately been rambling over by Dumbarton and Inverary, and running a drunken race on the side of Loch Lomond with a wild Highlandman; his horse, which had never known the ornaments of iron or leather, zigzagged across before my old spavin’d hunter, whose name is Jenny Geddes, and down came the Highlandman, horse and all, and down came Jenny and my bardship; so I've got such a skinful of bruises and wounds, that I'll be at least four weeks before I dare venture on my journey to Edinburgh."
Dumbarton is also immortalised in the traditional Scottish song "
Dumbarton's Drums"
(External Link
) » Across the fields of bounding heather,
Dumbarton sounds the hour of pleasure; » The joy I know will know no measure,
When Johnnie kneels and kisses me. (one verse)
A recording of "Dumbarton's Drums" sung at a charity concert by the Dumbarton Band, The Midgies,assisted by a couple of hunderd Dumbarton folks can be heard at www.themidgies.co.uk.
Royal Scottish Pipe Bands Championships
Held in Dumbarton since 2000, the Royal Scottish
Pipe Band Championships sees over 140 bands enter yearly, including representatives from
Sweden,
Denmark,
Holland and
Ireland. The championships is one of the biggest and most prestigious pipe band events in the world. Besides the pipe band championships there's a
fun fair and
Highland dancing competitions.
Dumbarton is also the birthplace in 1952 of
David Byrne a
Grammy Award, Academy Award and
Golden Globe winning musician best known as the founding member and principal
songwriter of
New Wave band
Talking Heads.
Theatre
The Denny Civic Theatre is used by a number of local groups, including the
Dumbarton People's Theatre.
Things to do
Dumbarton is a popular place for visitors to base themselves with many hotels, Inns and Bed and Breakfast establishments. There is also a wide range of places to eat and drink in the town centre and surrounding areas as well as it's very own nightclub 'Cheers'. Dumbarton is only 10 minutes away from
Balloch where cruises can be taken to explore famous
Loch Lomond. Visitors can also browse through Loch Lomond Shores with stores including 'Jenners' and a
farmers market that visits on a Sunday usually every two weeks. Glasgow City Centre is approximately 45 mins. away by train. With three train stations and four services every hour; this makes easy commuting to the various nearby sites and tourist attractions.
(External Link) (External Link)
Overtoun House
Overtoun House is an impressive mansion in the Scots Baronial style built between 1859-1862 for a wealthy chemical manufacturer originally from
Glasgow, James White. The house is reputed to be haunted. In 2005 the Overtoun estate gained some notoriety as it was uncovered by a local journalist that around fifty dogs had mysteriously jumped from the Bridge over Overtoun burn over the years, the topic caught the public imagination and became the subject of a channel five documentary in late 2006.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Dumbarton'.
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