Wemyss Bay
Encyclopedia
Wemyss Bay is a village on the coast of the Firth of Clyde
falling within the Inverclyde
council area and historic county
of Renfrewshire
in the west central Lowlands
of Scotland
. The name may derive from the Gaelic uaimh, meaning 'cave'. It is also thought that it derives from Bob Wemyss, who was the owner of a hut on the shore in the 19th century.
Wemyss Bay is adjacent to Skelmorlie
, North Ayrshire
. The villages have always been in separate counties, divided by the Kelly Burn.
Wemyss Bay is the port
for ferries
to Rothesay
on the Isle of Bute
. Passengers from the island can connect to Glasgow
by train, which terminate in the village at the remarkable Wemyss Bay railway station
, noted for its architectural qualities and regarded as one of Scotland's finest railway buildings.
The port is very exposed, so in high winds the ferries must travel up river to Gourock
to dock.
of Kelly, whose lands were adjacent to the bay. Wallace became Greenock's first MP and was instrumental in establishing the penny post
.
London
merchant James Alexander further developed the area by constructing the first steamboat pier, which was swept away by a hurricane in 1856. Its successor suffered a similar fate and was replaced by the current railway terminus and pier.
The opening of the railway connection in 1865 brought even grander houses. Among the village's notable residents included Sir George Burns, who with Samuel Cunard
founded the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company (later the Cunard Line
), and his son John (later 1st Baron Inverclyde
) who lived at Castle Wemyss
, which stood on Wemyss Point above the bay itself. Alan, 4th Baron Inverclyde was briefly married to the actress June
, who was one of Alfred Hitchcock
's earliest leading ladies in the 1927 film The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
.
) and industrial magnate James "Paraffin" Young had a house at Kelly, and was buried in the old Inverkip
churchyard.
David Livingstone
was a friend of Young and a replica of a hut the explorer occupied near Victoria Falls
was built in the grounds of Kelly as a memorial to Livingstone.
Kelly House was rebuilt twice, the first structure dating from the 15th century being destroyed by fire in 1740, the second, a William Leiper
building, dating from 1793 and the third and final house also destroyed in a fire in 1913, only having been built in 1890. Blame was laid at the suffragettes but no evidence was ever found. Kelly remained a burnt out ruin for several years. A caravan park now occupies the estate.
, Lord Kelvin, Lord Palmerston
and the Earl of Shaftesbury
.
Neither Castle Wemyss nor James Salmon
's Wemyss House remain, having been demolished in the 1980s and 1940s respectively. Also gone is J.J. Burnet's episcopal
Inverclyde Church, which stood on the shore road of Undercliff Road and was demolished in 1970.
The Castle Wemyss estate and adjoining areas had been sold off in the 1960s to property developers and since then the village has grown considerably, albeit largely a dormitory settlement
for Greenock and Glasgow.
However several of the fine red sandstone
properties remain and are now seen as renovation opportunities. There is a butcher, newsagent, cafe and fish and chip shop in the village and a pub and cafe in the extensive railway station buildings. Parking your vehicle could be a bit difficult though , as it is a really tight space on the main road through , if you get a space at all. The railway station does have parking at about £3.00 a day.
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...
falling within the Inverclyde
Inverclyde
Inverclyde is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the historic county of Renfrewshire - which current exists as a registration county and lieutenancy area - located in the west...
council area and historic county
Counties of Scotland
The counties of Scotland were the principal local government divisions of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current lieutenancy areas and registration counties are largely based on them. They are often referred to as historic counties....
of Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire (historic)
Renfrewshire or the County of Renfrew is a registration county, the Lieutenancy area of the Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire, and one of the counties of Scotland used for local government until 1975. Renfrewshire is located in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland, south of the River Clyde,...
in the west central Lowlands
Central Lowlands
The Central Lowlands or Midland 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...
of 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...
. The name may derive from the Gaelic uaimh, meaning 'cave'. It is also thought that it derives from Bob Wemyss, who was the owner of a hut on the shore in the 19th century.
Wemyss Bay is adjacent to Skelmorlie
Skelmorlie
Skelmorlie is a village in North Ayrshire, Scotland.Although it is the northernmost settlement in the council area of North Ayrshire it is contiguous with Wemyss Bay, which is in Inverclyde. The dividing line is the Kelly Burn, which flows into the Firth of Clyde just south of the Rothesay ferry...
, North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland with a population of roughly 136,000 people. It is located in the south-west region of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the north-east and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the East and South...
. The villages have always been in separate counties, divided by the Kelly Burn.
Wemyss Bay is the port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
for ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
to Rothesay
Rothesay, Argyll and Bute
The town of Rothesay is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay which offers an onward rail link to Glasgow. At the centre of the town is Rothesay Castle, a ruined castle which dates back to the 13th...
on the Isle of Bute
Isle of Bute
Bute is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. Formerly part of the county of Buteshire, it now constitutes part of the council area of Argyll and Bute. Its resident population was 7,228 in April 2001.-Geography:...
. Passengers from the island can connect to 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...
by train, which terminate in the village at the remarkable Wemyss Bay railway station
Wemyss Bay railway station
Wemyss Bay railway station serves the village of Wemyss Bay, Inverclyde, Scotland. The station is a terminus on the Inverclyde Line, about west of . The station incorporates the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry terminal connecting mainland Scotland to Rothesay on the Isle of Bute...
, noted for its architectural qualities and regarded as one of Scotland's finest railway buildings.
The port is very exposed, so in high winds the ferries must travel up river to Gourock
Gourock
Gourock is a town falling within the Inverclyde council area and formerly forming a burgh of the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It has in the past functioned as a seaside resort on the Firth of Clyde...
to dock.
History
Wemyss Bay was created in the early 19th century as a 'marine village' and watering-place by Robert WallaceRobert Wallace
Robert Wallace was a Scottish politician. He was an electoral franchise reformer and agitator for postal service reform.He was elected to the Westminster Parliament as the member for Greenock in 1832, sitting for that constituency until 1845.Robert Wallace was the founder of the campaign for cheap...
of Kelly, whose lands were adjacent to the bay. Wallace became Greenock's first MP and was instrumental in establishing the penny post
Penny Post
The Penny Post is any one of several postal systems in which normal letters could be sent for one penny.-London Penny Post:In England, the Post Office had a monopoly on the collection and carriage of letters between post towns but there was no delivery system until the London Penny Post was...
.
London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
merchant James Alexander further developed the area by constructing the first steamboat pier, which was swept away by a hurricane in 1856. Its successor suffered a similar fate and was replaced by the current railway terminus and pier.
The opening of the railway connection in 1865 brought even grander houses. Among the village's notable residents included Sir George Burns, who with Samuel Cunard
Samuel Cunard
Sir Samuel Cunard, 1st Baronet was a British shipping magnate, born at Halifax, Nova Scotia, who founded the Cunard Line...
founded the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company (later the Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
), and his son John (later 1st Baron Inverclyde
Baron Inverclyde
Baron Inverclyde, of Castle Wemyss in the County of Renfrew, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1897 for the Scottish shipowner Sir John Burns, 1st Baronet. He had already been created a Baronet in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom in 1889...
) who lived at Castle Wemyss
Castle Wemyss
Castle Wemyss was a large mansion in Wemyss Bay, Scotland.It stood high on Wemyss Point, overlooking the Firth of Clyde where it heads south towards the North Channel of the Irish Sea. It was built around 1850 for Charles Wilsone Brown, a property developer who had plans to develop the land around...
, which stood on Wemyss Point above the bay itself. Alan, 4th Baron Inverclyde was briefly married to the actress June
June Tripp
June Tripp , sometimes known just by her screen name, June, was a British actress.Born June Howard-Tripp in London, she worked mainly on stage . She made a handful of films, mostly in the silent era...
, who was one of Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's earliest leading ladies in the 1927 film The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog is a silent film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1926 and released on 14 February 1927 in London and on 10 June 1928 in New York City. The film, based on a story by Marie Belloc Lowndes and a play Who Is He? co-written by Belloc Lowndes, concerns the hunt for a...
.
Kelly Estate
The inventor of paraffin (keroseneKerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
) and industrial magnate James "Paraffin" Young had a house at Kelly, and was buried in the old Inverkip
Inverkip
Inverkip is a village and parish falling within the Inverclyde council area and historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies about southwest of Greenock on the A78 trunk road...
churchyard.
David Livingstone
David Livingstone
David Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and an explorer in Africa. His meeting with H. M. Stanley gave rise to the popular quotation, "Dr...
was a friend of Young and a replica of a hut the explorer occupied near Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls
The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.-Introduction:...
was built in the grounds of Kelly as a memorial to Livingstone.
Kelly House was rebuilt twice, the first structure dating from the 15th century being destroyed by fire in 1740, the second, a William Leiper
William Leiper
William Leiper FRIBA RSA was a British architect notable particularly for his work in the west central Lowlands of Scotland.-Career:...
building, dating from 1793 and the third and final house also destroyed in a fire in 1913, only having been built in 1890. Blame was laid at the suffragettes but no evidence was ever found. Kelly remained a burnt out ruin for several years. A caravan park now occupies the estate.
Other notable buildings
A memorial on the shore road recalls 'The Gaiter Club', whose members included Anthony TrollopeAnthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
, Lord Kelvin, Lord Palmerston
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
and the Earl of Shaftesbury
Earl of Shaftesbury
Earl of Shaftesbury is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1672 for Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Baron Ashley, a prominent politician in the Cabal then dominating the policies of King Charles II...
.
Neither Castle Wemyss nor James Salmon
James Salmon
James Salmon was a Scottish architect, active chiefly in Glasgow and the west of Scotland.Salmon served his apprenticeship with John Brash, who between 1823 and 1829 designed the houses of Glasgow's Blythswood Square. Salmon would no doubt have been involved with the work...
's Wemyss House remain, having been demolished in the 1980s and 1940s respectively. Also gone is J.J. Burnet's episcopal
Scottish Episcopal Church
The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian church in Scotland, consisting of seven dioceses. Since the 17th century, it has had an identity distinct from the presbyterian Church of Scotland....
Inverclyde Church, which stood on the shore road of Undercliff Road and was demolished in 1970.
The Castle Wemyss estate and adjoining areas had been sold off in the 1960s to property developers and since then the village has grown considerably, albeit largely a dormitory settlement
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
for Greenock and Glasgow.
However several of the fine red sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
properties remain and are now seen as renovation opportunities. There is a butcher, newsagent, cafe and fish and chip shop in the village and a pub and cafe in the extensive railway station buildings. Parking your vehicle could be a bit difficult though , as it is a really tight space on the main road through , if you get a space at all. The railway station does have parking at about £3.00 a day.