Carron Company
Encyclopedia
The Carron Company was an ironworks
established in 1759 on the banks of the River Carron
near Falkirk
, in Stirlingshire
, Scotland
. After initial problems, the company was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution
in the United Kingdom
. The company prospered through its development and production of a new short-range and short-barrelled naval cannon
, the carronade
. The company was one of the largest iron works in Europe through the 19th century. After 223 years, the company became insolvent
in 1982 and was later acquired by the Franke Corporation
.
, a chemist
, Samuel Garbett, a merchant, and a wealthy Scottish shipowner, William Caddell. The factory of "Roebucks, Garbett and Cadells" was established on the north bank of Carron Water, two miles north of Falkirk
. Taking iron ore from Bo'ness
and water from the Carron, they decided to use the new method pioneered by Abraham Darby
at Coalbrookdale
, using coke
from coal mines in the vicinity as fuel rather than the usual charcoal
. The works helped to push other less technologically advanced ironworks, such as the Wealden iron industry
based in the Weald, out of business.
Caddell's young son, also William, was appointed manager, and the company's financial position was precarious in its first few years. It took time and a considerable investment to create the necessary infrastructure
and for the largely unskilled workforce to develop the techniques of iron working. The first blast furnace
became operational on 26 December 1760, producing pig iron
. However, when the factory started to produce cast iron
goods, they were of a generally poor quality. Nevertheless, in 1764, the Board of Ordnance
granted the company a lucrative contract to supply armaments to the British
armed forces. The company also cast parts for James Watt's steam engine
in 1765.
The company's fortunes had begun to improve as a result of Charles Gascoigne
becoming a partner in 1765. Gascoigne was a grandson of Charles Elphinstone, 9th Lord Elphinstone and had married Samuel Garbett's daughter in 1759. Gascoigne introduced many improvements in the company's techniques of production, and devoted considerable effort to increasing the quality of its work, and he took over the management of the works from William Cadell, Jr, in 1769.
The company received a royal charter
to incorporate
as the Carron Company in 1773. However, despite Gascoigne's efforts, the quality of company's products had remained low, and the company's contracts to supply the Royal Navy
were cancelled in 1773, with the company's cannon being removed from all naval vessels.
, originally known as the "Gasconades" but better known by its later name, the "Carronade
".
A carronade was shorter and therefore much lighter than a long gun
of the same calibre, meaning that more could be carried, and it was also quicker to load and required a smaller crew. On the debit side, carronades had a short range.
Some warships - mainly small ones - were equipped with carronades as their main or only armament, but such vessels were vulnerable to opponents armed with long guns. The carronade's principal use was on the upper decks of warships, where batteries of carronades replaced smaller numbers of long guns. This greatly increased firepower at the close ranges at which contemporary naval battles were usually fought, without impairing stability or sailing qualities.
The carronade was a considerable success, and remained in production from 1778 through to the 1850s. The company established such a reputation for quality that the Duke of Wellington
remarked in a letter to Admiral Berkley in 1812 that he only wanted cannon manufactured by the Carron Company in his army. The company also made ammunition, including some invented by Henry Shrapnel
.
The company also supplied armaments to governments outside the UK, including weapons supplied to the embryonic United States
which were used against Britain in the War of 1812
. The British government tried to prevent the company from supplying plans and equipment to the Russian Empire
, intended to improve Catherine the Great's weapons foundry at Petrozavodsk
; nonetheless, Gascoigne delivered the Russian's orders, and travelled to Russia in May 1786 to supervise the works. He remained in Russia for 20 years, dying in July 1806 in Kolpino
near St. Petersburg as Actual State Councillor Karl Karlovich Gaskoin.
By 1814, the Carron Company was the largest iron works in Europe, employing over 2,000 workers, and it attracted many innovators. William Symington
was an engineer for the Carron Company in the early 19th century, and the company made engines for his steamboat
s, the Experiment and the Charlotte Dundas
. John Smeaton
was a consultant for the company. Henry Cort
experimented on methods to produce malleable iron, anticipating the puddling process. Benjamin Franklin
visited the factory, leaving works and is said to have left a design for a stove- 'Dr Franklin's stove or the Philadelphia stove'
The company continued to produce pig iron
through the 19th century, together with cast iron
products such as ballustrades, fire grates, and the Carron bathtub. It ran its own shipping line
, and produced munitions in both World War
s. It later became one of several foundries producing Pillar box
es and was one of five foundries casting Sir Giles Gilbert Scott
's classic Red telephone box
es. In the 1960s, it produced cast iron rings to line the Tyne Tunnel
under the River Tyne
from Jarrow
to Howdon
and the Clyde Tunnel
under the River Clyde
from Whiteinch
to Govan
near Glasgow
.
The company diversified into plastic
s and stainless steel
, but the works went into receivership
in 1982. It was bought over however and still operates today under the name of Carron Phoenix, part of the Franke
corporation. They produce both stainless steel and Granite moulded sinks which are sold around the world however some areas of production have been moved to China
and Slovakia
recently.
Campbell, R.H. Carron Company (1961) Oliver and Boyd
Ironworks
An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e...
established in 1759 on the banks of the River Carron
River Carron (Forth)
The River Carron is a river in central Scotland. This river has given its name to towns in Falkirk, a variety of regional features, a type of cannon, a line of bathtubs, two warships and an island in the Southern Hemisphere.-River Carron:The river rises in the Campsie Fells before flowing into...
near Falkirk
Falkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
, in Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the former county town. It borders Perthshire to the north, Clackmannanshire and West Lothian to the east, Lanarkshire to the south, and Dunbartonshire to the south-west.Until 1975 it was a county...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. After initial problems, the company was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The company prospered through its development and production of a new short-range and short-barrelled naval cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
, the carronade
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
. The company was one of the largest iron works in Europe through the 19th century. After 223 years, the company became insolvent
Insolvency
Insolvency means the inability to pay one's debts as they fall due. Usually used to refer to a business, insolvency refers to the inability of a company to pay off its debts.Business insolvency is defined in two different ways:...
in 1982 and was later acquired by the Franke Corporation
Franke (company)
Franke Holding AG, based in Aarburg, Switzerland is an industrial manufacturer with companies located around the world.Franke has about 10,500 qualified employees working in 70 companies in Europe, South and North America, Africa, Australia and Asia....
.
Early years
The company was founded as a partnership by three men, two Englishmen, Dr John RoebuckJohn Roebuck
This article is about the English inventor. For the 19th century British politician, see John Arthur Roebuck.John Roebuck FRS was an English inventor who played an important role in the Industrial Revolution and who is known for developing the industrial-scale manufacture of sulfuric acid.-Life...
, a chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
, Samuel Garbett, a merchant, and a wealthy Scottish shipowner, William Caddell. The factory of "Roebucks, Garbett and Cadells" was established on the north bank of Carron Water, two miles north of Falkirk
Falkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
. Taking iron ore from Bo'ness
Bo'ness
Bo'ness, properly Borrowstounness, is a coastal town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on a hillside on the south bank of the Firth of Forth within the Falkirk council area, north-west of Edinburgh and east of Falkirk. At the 2001 census, Bo'ness had a resident population of 13,961...
and water from the Carron, they decided to use the new method pioneered by Abraham Darby
Abraham Darby
Abraham Darby may refer to:*Abraham Darby I *Abraham Darby II *Abraham Darby III *Abraham Darby IV , High Sheriff of BuckinghamshireAbraham Darby may also refer to:...
at Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. This is where iron ore was first smelted by Abraham Darby using easily mined "coking coal". The coal was drawn from drift mines in the sides...
, using coke
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
from coal mines in the vicinity as fuel rather than the usual charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
. The works helped to push other less technologically advanced ironworks, such as the Wealden iron industry
Wealden iron industry
The Wealden iron industry was located in the Weald of south-eastern England. It was formerly an important industry, producing a large proportion of the bar iron made in England in the 16th century and most British cannon until about 1770. Ironmaking in the Weald used ironstone from various clay...
based in the Weald, out of business.
Caddell's young son, also William, was appointed manager, and the company's financial position was precarious in its first few years. It took time and a considerable investment to create the necessary infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
and for the largely unskilled workforce to develop the techniques of iron working. The first blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
became operational on 26 December 1760, producing pig iron
Pig iron
Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...
. However, when the factory started to produce cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
goods, they were of a generally poor quality. Nevertheless, in 1764, the Board of Ordnance
Board of Ordnance
The Board of Ordnance was a British government body responsible for the supply of armaments and munitions to the Royal Navy and British Army. It was also responsible for providing artillery trains for armies and maintaining coastal fortresses and, later, management of the artillery and engineer...
granted the company a lucrative contract to supply armaments to the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
armed forces. The company also cast parts for James Watt's steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
in 1765.
The company's fortunes had begun to improve as a result of Charles Gascoigne
Charles Gascoigne
Charles Gascoigne was a British industrialist at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. He was a partner and manager of the Carron Company ironworks in its early years, but left in 1786, before the company's success became obvious, to reorganise the production of iron and cannon in Russia...
becoming a partner in 1765. Gascoigne was a grandson of Charles Elphinstone, 9th Lord Elphinstone and had married Samuel Garbett's daughter in 1759. Gascoigne introduced many improvements in the company's techniques of production, and devoted considerable effort to increasing the quality of its work, and he took over the management of the works from William Cadell, Jr, in 1769.
The company received a royal charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
to incorporate
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
as the Carron Company in 1773. However, despite Gascoigne's efforts, the quality of company's products had remained low, and the company's contracts to supply the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
were cancelled in 1773, with the company's cannon being removed from all naval vessels.
Carronades
Undeterred, Gascoigne also pushed forward the development of a new type of cannonCannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
, originally known as the "Gasconades" but better known by its later name, the "Carronade
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
".
A carronade was shorter and therefore much lighter than a long gun
Long gun
The term long gun is used to describe classes of firearm and cannon with longer barrels than other classes. In small arms, a long gun is designed to be fired braced against the shoulder, in contrast to a handgun, while in artillery a long gun would be contrasted with a howitzer or carronade.-Small...
of the same calibre, meaning that more could be carried, and it was also quicker to load and required a smaller crew. On the debit side, carronades had a short range.
Some warships - mainly small ones - were equipped with carronades as their main or only armament, but such vessels were vulnerable to opponents armed with long guns. The carronade's principal use was on the upper decks of warships, where batteries of carronades replaced smaller numbers of long guns. This greatly increased firepower at the close ranges at which contemporary naval battles were usually fought, without impairing stability or sailing qualities.
The carronade was a considerable success, and remained in production from 1778 through to the 1850s. The company established such a reputation for quality that the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
remarked in a letter to Admiral Berkley in 1812 that he only wanted cannon manufactured by the Carron Company in his army. The company also made ammunition, including some invented by Henry Shrapnel
Henry Shrapnel
Henry Shrapnel was a British Army officer and inventor, most famously, of the "shrapnel shell".Henry Shrapnel was born in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England....
.
The company also supplied armaments to governments outside the UK, including weapons supplied to the embryonic United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
which were used against Britain in the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. The British government tried to prevent the company from supplying plans and equipment to the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, intended to improve Catherine the Great's weapons foundry at Petrozavodsk
Petrozavodsk
Petrozavodsk is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia. It stretches along the western shore of the Lake Onega for some . The city is served by Petrozavodsk Airport. Municipally, it is incorporated as Petrozavodsky Urban Okrug . Population:...
; nonetheless, Gascoigne delivered the Russian's orders, and travelled to Russia in May 1786 to supervise the works. He remained in Russia for 20 years, dying in July 1806 in Kolpino
Kolpino
Kolpino is a municipal city in Kolpinsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on the Izhora River southeast of St. Petersburg proper. Population: 81,000 ; 8,076 ....
near St. Petersburg as Actual State Councillor Karl Karlovich Gaskoin.
Prosperity and fall
.By 1814, the Carron Company was the largest iron works in Europe, employing over 2,000 workers, and it attracted many innovators. William Symington
William Symington
William Symington was a Scottish engineer and inventor, and the builder of the first practical steamboat, the Charlotte Dundas.-Early life:...
was an engineer for the Carron Company in the early 19th century, and the company made engines for his steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
s, the Experiment and the Charlotte Dundas
Charlotte Dundas
The Charlotte Dundas is regarded as the world's "first practical steamboat", the first towing steamboat and the boat that demonstrated the practicality of steam power for ships....
. John Smeaton
John Smeaton
John Smeaton, FRS, was an English civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist...
was a consultant for the company. Henry Cort
Henry Cort
Henry Cort was an English ironmaster. During the Industrial Revolution in England, Cort began refining iron from pig iron to wrought iron using innovative production systems. In 1783 he patented the puddling process for refining iron ore...
experimented on methods to produce malleable iron, anticipating the puddling process. Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
visited the factory, leaving works and is said to have left a design for a stove- 'Dr Franklin's stove or the Philadelphia stove'
The company continued to produce pig iron
Pig iron
Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...
through the 19th century, together with cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
products such as ballustrades, fire grates, and the Carron bathtub. It ran its own shipping line
Shipping line
-History of shipping lines:Large-scale shipping lines became widespread in the nineteenth century, after the development of the steamship in 1783. At first, Great Britain was the centr of development; in 1819, the first steamship crossing of the Atlantic Ocean took place and by 1833, shipping lines...
, and produced munitions in both World War
World war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
s. It later became one of several foundries producing Pillar box
Pillar box
A pillar box is a free-standing post box. They are found in the United Kingdom and in most former nations of the British Empire, members of the Commonwealth of Nations and British overseas territories, such as the Republic of Ireland, Australia, India and Gibraltar...
es and was one of five foundries casting Sir Giles Gilbert Scott
Giles Gilbert Scott
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, OM, FRIBA was an English architect known for his work on such buildings as Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea Power Station and designing the iconic red telephone box....
's classic Red telephone box
Red telephone box
The red telephone box, a public telephone kiosk designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, is a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom, Malta, Bermuda and Gibraltar, and despite a reduction in their numbers in recent years, red boxes can still be seen in many places and in current or former...
es. In the 1960s, it produced cast iron rings to line the Tyne Tunnel
Tyne Tunnel
The Tyne Tunnel is a the name given to two two-lane toll vehicular tunnels under the River Tyne in North East England. Completed in 1967 and 2011 respectively, they connect the town of Jarrow on the south bank of the river with North Shields and Howdon on the north...
under the River Tyne
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
from Jarrow
Jarrow
Jarrow is a town in Tyne and Wear, England, located on the River Tyne, with a population of 27,526. From the middle of the 19th century until 1935, Jarrow was a centre for shipbuilding, and was the starting point of the Jarrow March against unemployment in 1936.-Foundation:The Angles re-occupied...
to Howdon
Howdon
Howdon is a place in Tyne and Wear, England.Howdon is an area in the eastern part of Wallsend, a former coal-mining and shipbuilding town on the north banks of the River Tyne....
and the Clyde Tunnel
Clyde Tunnel
The Clyde Tunnel is a crossing beneath the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Two parallel tunnel tubes connect the districts of Whiteinch to the north and Govan to the south in the west of the city.-History:...
under the River Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
from Whiteinch
Whiteinch
Whiteinch is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde between the Partick and Scotstoun areas of the city...
to Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
near Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.
The company diversified into plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
s and stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
, but the works went into receivership
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
in 1982. It was bought over however and still operates today under the name of Carron Phoenix, part of the Franke
Franke (company)
Franke Holding AG, based in Aarburg, Switzerland is an industrial manufacturer with companies located around the world.Franke has about 10,500 qualified employees working in 70 companies in Europe, South and North America, Africa, Australia and Asia....
corporation. They produce both stainless steel and Granite moulded sinks which are sold around the world however some areas of production have been moved to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
recently.
Trivia
An isolated beach on the west coast of the island of Zakynthos, Greece, has the shell of a Carron-built ship washed up on the beach. It is one of the island's most famous tourist attractions. The vessel still bears the plate of the company, "Carron Company Stirlingshire". Local folklore suggests it was run aground after an intense chase from the Greek Navy as it smuggled wine and tobacco onto the mainland in 1980.Further reading
- Where Iron Runs Like Water! A new history of Carron Iron Works 1759-1982, Brian Watters, John Donald, 1998.
Campbell, R.H. Carron Company (1961) Oliver and Boyd