Greenock - Citizendia

For other uses, see Greenock (disambiguation).

Greenock
Scottish Gaelic: Grianaig
Scots: Greenock
View west over Greenock with the Golden Princess at Clydeport Ocean Terminal
Greenock shown within Scotland
Population	45,467 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	NS275764
Council area	Inverclyde
Lieutenancy area	Renfrewshire
Constituent country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	GREENOCK
Postcode district	PA15, PA16
Dialling code	01475
Police	Strathclyde
Fire	Strathclyde
Ambulance	Scottish
European Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Inverclyde
Scottish Parliament	Greenock and Inverclyde
List of places: UK • Scotland

Coordinates: 55°56′59″N 4°45′51″W / 55.94957, -4.76415

Greenock (Gaelic Grianaig, pronounced [g̊ɾʲiənɛg̊ʲ]) is a large town and former burgh of barony in the Inverclyde council area of western Scotland. Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. Scots ( The Scots leid) refers to Anglic varieties derived from early northern Middle English spoken in parts of Scotland and Northern Amenities The ship features three formal dining rooms mini golf course (9 holes several pools a spa a gym a video arcade a children's facility a dedicated teen center a screening Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology A nationwide Census, commonly known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday 29 April 2001 The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude For local government purposes Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as Inverclyde ( Gaelic: Inbhir Chluaidh, iɲɪɾʲˈxɫ̪uəj is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. The Lieutenancy areas of Scotland are the areas used for the ceremonial lord-lieutenants, the monarch 's representatives in Scotland. Renfrewshire or the County of Renfrew is a Registration county, Lieutenancy area, and one of the Counties of Scotland used for local Constituent country is a phrase used often by official institutions in contexts in which a country makes up a part of a larger entity or grouping Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. This list of sovereign states, alphabetically arranged gives an overview of States around the world with information on the extent of their Sovereignty. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system UK Postal codes are known as postcodes. UK postcodes are Alphanumeric. The, also known as the Paisley postcode area, is a group of postal districts around Appin, Bishopton, Bridge of Orchy, Bridge of Weir The UK Telephone numbering plan, also known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, is the system used for assigning Telephone numbers in the United There are a number of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom. Strathclyde Police is the Police force for the Scottish council areas of Argyll and Bute, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire The fire service in the United Kingdom operates under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Strathclyde Fire and Rescue is the Statutory fire and rescue service for the area of Strathclyde, Scotland. SASDivmap copyjpg|right|200px]] Helimed5jpg|thumb|right|EC-135 G-SASA "Helimed 5" based at Glasgow City Heliport]] The Scottish Ambulance Service ( Scottish Scotland constitutes a single Constituency of the European Parliament. This is a list of the 646 constituencies currently represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, as at the 2005 general election Inverclyde is a parliamentary constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Scottish Parliament ( Scottish Gaelic: Pàrlamaid na h-Alba; Scots: Scottish Pairlament) is the devlolved national unicameral Greenock and Inverclyde is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament ( Holyrood) A Gazetteer of place names in the United Kingdom showing each place's County, Unitary authority or council area and its geographical coordinates This List of places in Scotland is a complete collection of lists of places in Scotland. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. A burgh of barony is a type of Scottish town ( Burgh) They were distinct from Royal burghs as the title was granted to a tenant-in-chief a landowner who held Inverclyde ( Gaelic: Inbhir Chluaidh, iɲɪɾʲˈxɫ̪uəj is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. For local government purposes Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It forms part of a contiguous urban area with Gourock to the west and Port Glasgow to the east. Gourock ( Gaelic Guireag (pimple shaped or rounded g̊uɾʲag̊ is a Burgh in Inverclyde, Scotland. Port Glasgow ( Gaelic Port Ghlaschu pɔɾʃd̪̊ˈɣɫ̪as̪əxu is the second largest town in the Inverclyde Council area

Greenock's population was recorded as being 45,467 in the 2001 census, a decrease from about 78,000 in 1966. A nationwide Census, commonly known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday 29 April 2001 It lies on the south bank of the Clyde at the "Tail of the Bank" where the River Clyde expands into the Firth of Clyde, and is in what was the county of Renfrewshire. The Tail of the Bank is the name given to the Anchorage in the upper Firth of Clyde immediately north of Greenock and Gourock. The River Clyde ( Gaelic: Abhainn Chluaidh, avɪɲˈxɫ̪uəj is a major River in Scotland. 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 The counties of Scotland were the principal divisions of Scotland until 1975 Renfrewshire or the County of Renfrew is a Registration county, Lieutenancy area, and one of the Counties of Scotland used for local

History

Name

The origin of the town's name is uncertain. It is generally accepted, however, that the town is named after the Gaelic "Grianaig" meaning a sunny place. Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. The suggestion that the town's name comes from the words "Green Oak" is unfounded, but the image has been taken as a logo for the town's main shopping centre, The Oak Mall and was once emblazoned on the local Co-operative Society emblem. The Co-operative or The Co-op is a common branding used by a variety of co-operatives based in the United Kingdom. The story that 'Greenock' derives from 'Green Oak' is also perpetrated in a local song (The Green Oak Tree) and in the fact that the local dialect makes virtually no distinction between the syllables -ock and -oak. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος dialektos) is a variety of a Language that is characteristic of a particular group of A syllable ( Greek:) is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds Significantly, no green oak appears on the town's coat of arms which features three sugar caskets, a sailing ship in full sail and three herring above the motto God Speed Greenock. A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short in European tradition is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people Herring are small Oily fish of the genus Clupea found in the shallow temperate waters of the North Atlantic, the Baltic Sea, the North

Early history

Greenock was founded as a fishing village sometime prior 1592 when it split from the Inverkip parish. Inverkip ( Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Chip) is a village and parish in Inverclyde, Scotland. It was quickly established as a port, and was the location for the second voyage as part of the ill-fated Darien Scheme. The Darien scheme (colony of New Caledonia was an unsuccessful attempt by the Kingdom of Scotland to establish a Colony on the Isthmus of Panama in the This fleet left on August 18, 1699 arriving in Panama on 30 November with the majority of its passengers diseased or dead. Events 293 BC - The oldest known Roman temple to Venus is founded starting the institution of Vinalia Rustica. Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. Events 1700 - Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8500 men under Charles XII defeats After the Act of Union 1707, Greenock's facilities made it the main port on the West Coast and it prospered due to trade with the Americas, importing sugar from the Caribbean. The Acts of Union were a pair of Parliamentary Acts passed during 1706 and 1707 by the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland to put into The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America Sugar is a class of edible Crystalline substances mainly Sucrose, Lactose, and Fructose. The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting

In 1827 Loch Thom was constructed as a reservoir with The Cut, aqueduct, bringing water to power industry. Loch Thom is a reservoir which since 1827 has provided a water supply to the town of Greenock in Inverclyde, Scotland. An aqueduct is an artificial channel that is constructed to convey water from one location to another

Greenock Central railway station at Cathcart Street opened in 1841, for the first time providing a fast route from Glasgow to the coast linking up with Clyde steamer services. Greenock Central station is one of eight Railway stations serving the town of Greenock in western Scotland, and is the nearest to the town centre The era of the Clyde steamer in Scotland began in August 1812 with the very first successful commercial Steamboat service in Europe when Henry Bell 's The provision of this new line eliminated the necessity of taking the steamer all the way down river from Glasgow. In 1869 the Caledonian Railway was bypassed by the rival Glasgow and South Western Railway which opened a station on the waterfront at Princes Pier. The Caledonian Railway was a major Scottish Railway company operating in Scotland The Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR one of the pre- grouping railway companies, served a triangular area of south-west Scotland, between Glasgow To regain custom, the Caledonian Railway extended (what is now known as the Inverclyde Line) the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway west to Gourock; this line was built to run inland through deep cuttings and tunnels to avoid disturbance to the villas of Greenock's west end. The Inverclyde Line is a railway line running from Glasgow Central station through Paisley (Gilmour Street and a series of stations to the south of the River The Glasgow Paisley and Greenock Railway was an early railway which merged with the Caledonian Railway.

Prosperity

The Greenock Custom House building was designed by William Burn in 1818 and considered by many to be the finest in Britain. A Custom House or Customs House was a building housing the offices for the government officials who processed the paperwork for the import and export of goods into and out William Burn ( 20 December 1789 &ndash 15 February[[ 870]] was a Scottish architect pioneer of the Scottish Baronial style It underwent refurbishment which was completed in 1989 and now houses a customs and excise museum which is open to the public on weekdays. Customs is an Authority or agency in a Country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods Excise or Excise tax (sometimes called an excise duty) is a type of Tax charged on goods produced within the country (as opposed to Customs duties A museum is a "permanent institution in the service of society and of its development open to the public which acquires conserves researches communicates and exhibits the

Victoria Tower

The Municipal Buildings with the Victoria Tower and "Cowan's Corner", and the Mid Kirk spire of 1781 to the left.

Greenock's increasing importance and wealth was manifested in the construction of the Italianate Municipal Buildings, whose Victoria Tower, completed in 1886, stands 245 feet (74. In the course of the history of Classical architecture, an Italianate style of architecture was a distinct nineteenth-century phase in which Italian sixteenth-century 7 metres) tall. Begun five years previously in a competition won by architects H. & D. Barclay, it audaciously trumps the tower of the contemporaneous Glasgow City Chambers by more than a metre. The City Chambers (built 1882-90 architect William Young) of Glasgow, Scotland, are the headquarters of Glasgow City Council, the largest It remains uncompleted, however. A local businessman called Robert Cowan refused to sell his building in front of the tower for less than his own price, preventing completion of the right hand façade of the southern elevation. A facade or façade (fəˈsɑːd is generally one side of the exterior of a Building, especially the front but also sometimes the sides and rear

Villas

Further evidence of this wealth can be seen in the large villas of Greenock's west end, one time home to the ship owners, industrialists and investors. The area is fronted by the mile long (1. 6 km) sweep of the Esplanade with its views across the Clyde to Kilcreggan which almost convinces the visitor that no heavy industry could have been anywhere nearby. Kilcreggan is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It developed on the north shore of the Firth of Clyde at a time when Clyde steamers

Battery Park and torpedoes

At Fort Matilda railway station the tunnel emerged near the coast, and the excavated material was used as landfill to the west of the old coastal gun emplacement of Fort Matilda, forming a level area which became the playing fields of Battery Park. Fort Matilda railway station lies at the far western edge of the town of Greenock.

In 1907 the Admiralty compulsory purchased part of this land and constructed the Clyde Torpedo Factory, which opened in 1910, with 700 workers transferred from the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. See also Woolwich Arsenal railway station, Arsenal FC The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, originally known as the Woolwich Warren Woolwich (ˈwʊlɪtʃ or /ˈwʊlɪdʒ/ is a suburb in south-east London, England in the London Borough of Greenwich, on the south side of the River The site was tasked with designing and testing of torpedoes. The modern torpedo (historically called an automotive automobile locomotive or fish torpedo is a self-propelled explosive Projectile weapon launched above or below These were then tested in Loch Long. Loch Long ( Loch Long in Gaelic is a body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. During the Second World War the site switched entirely to manufacturing torpedoes. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The original gun battery site was occupied by the Navy Buildings, the main offices, just to the east of the torpedo factory buildings.

Second World War

Greenock suffered badly during the Second World War and its anchorage at the Tail of the Bank became the base for the Home Fleet as well as the main assembly point for Atlantic convoys. The Tail of the Bank is the name given to the Anchorage in the upper Firth of Clyde immediately north of Greenock and Gourock. The Home Fleet is the traditional name of the fleet of the Royal Navy that protects the United Kingdom 's territorial waters On 30 April 1940 the French Vauquelin class destroyer Maillé Brézé blew up off Greenock with heavy loss of life following an accident involving two of her own torpedoes. Events 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Ships Cassard (Penant numbers 2 3 93 and X92 - named after the 18 th Century naval captain Jacques Cassard, built by at & Ch de Bretagne Although this disaster occurred before the Free French Naval Forces were established, many people tend to regard the Cross of Lorraine on Lyle Hill as a memorial to the loss of the Maillé Brézé as well as to the later losses of the Free French naval vessels which sailed from the town. The Free French Forces (Forces Françaises Libres FFL) were French fighters in World War II who decided to continue fighting against Axis forces This article is about a symbol For the film see The Cross of Lorraine. On the nights of 6 May and 7 May 1941 around 300 Luftwaffe aircraft attacked the town in the Greenock Blitz. Events 1527 - Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. Events 558 - In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. The Greenock Blitz is the name given to two nights of intensive Bombing of the town of Greenock, Scotland during the Second World War when the A large building housing a drapery business constructed on Cowan's property at the corner of the Municipal Buildings was badly damaged and was demolished, leaving the blank brick corner area still known as "Cowan's Corner".

Postwar years

Greenock thrived in the post-war years but as the heavy industries declined in the 1970s and 1980s unemployment became a major problem, and it has only been in the last ten years with reinvestment and the redevelopment of large sections of the town that the local economy has started to revive. Tourism has also appeared as an unexpected bonus with the development of the Clydeport Container Terminal as an Ocean Terminal for cruise ships crossing the Atlantic. Students who do not travel further afield for study often attend the James Watt College of Further and Higher Education. The James Watt College is a Further education college in Greenock, Scotland.

Greenock reached its population peak in 1921 (81,123) and was once the sixth largest town in Scotland.

Governance

Main article: Greenock (UK Parliament constituency)

Until 1974 Greenock was a parliamentary burgh in its own right. Greenock was a Burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until 1974 when it was abolished In the United Kingdom (UK, each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly It was merged with Port Glasgow to form Greenock and Port Glasgow constituency. Greenock and Port Glasgow was a Burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1974 until 1997 electing one In 1997 it became Greenock and Inverclyde. Greenock and Inverclyde was a Burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1997 until 2005 when After the redistribution of Scottish seats it was merged into an enlarged Inverclyde constituency- the first time in political history that Greenock has not been named in a parliamentary seat. Inverclyde is a parliamentary constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Greenock and Inverclyde remains a Scottish Parliament constituency. Greenock and Inverclyde is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament ( Holyrood) The Scottish Parliament ( Scottish Gaelic: Pàrlamaid na h-Alba; Scots: Scottish Pairlament) is the devlolved national unicameral

Health

Main article: Inverclyde Royal Hospital

The Inverclyde Royal Hospital is located in Greenock serving both the population of the town and wider area including Port Glasgow, Gournock and the Isle of Bute. Inverclyde Royal Hospital is the main hospital in Greenock which serves a large population area of 125 000 consisting of Inverclyde (including Greenock Largs ^[1]

Ravenscraig Hospital is also located in Greenock dealing with pyschiatric, day patients, referrals and specialised prescribing. ^[2]

Geography

Areas and suburbs

Arran View, Bogston, Bow Farm, Braeside, Branchton, Bridgend, Broomhill, Cartsburn, Cornhaddock, Fancy Farm, Fort Matilda, Gibshill, Greenock West, Grieve Hill, Hole Farm, Larkfield, Lyle Hill, Lynedoch Overton, Pennyfern, Strone, Strone Farm, and Whinhill. Arran View is an area of Gourock, but due to its proximity to Greenock it is often mistakenly named as a suburb of the town Bogston railway station is on the Inverclyde Line, between the towns of Port Glasgow and Greenock in Inverclyde council area Scotland Braeside is a neighbourhood situated on the far west side of Greenock, in Inverclyde, Scotland. Branchton is an area within the Scottish town of Greenock, in Inverclyde. Fort Matilda railway station lies at the far western edge of the town of Greenock. Gibshill (also spelt sometimes as Gibbshill is the eastern-most Housing estate in Greenock and adjoins Port Glasgow, both in the Inverclyde Greenock West, also known simply as the West End, is an area of Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland. Larkfield is the largest council housing estate in Greenock, Scotland. Lyle Hill is a viewpoint in Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland. One of the most panoramic views in the west of Scotland its highest point is 426 feet (130 Overton is an area in the suburbs of Greenock, Inverclyde. Overton offers excellent views across the river clyde and suburban Greenock. Whinhill railway station is a railway station located in the east of the town of Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland.

Economy

Historically, the town relied on shipbuilding, sugar refining and wool manufacturing for employment, but none of these industries are today part of Greenock's economy. See also Shipbuilding (song. Shipbuilding is the construction of Ships It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a Sugar is a class of edible Crystalline substances mainly Sucrose, Lactose, and Fructose. Wool is the fiber derived from the specialized skin cells called follicles of animals in the Caprinae family principally sheep, but the hair of certain species More recently the town relied heavily on electronics manufacture. Electronics refers to the flow of charge (moving Electrons through Nonmetal conductors (mainly Semiconductors, whereas electrical However this has given way mostly to call centre business, insurance, banking and shipping export. A call centre or call center (see spelling differences) is a centralized office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by Insurance, in Law and Economics, is a form of Risk management primarily used to hedge against the Risk of a contingent loss A banker or bank is a Financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money In Economics, an export is any good or Commodity, Transported from one country to another country in a Legitimate fashion

Shipbuilding

Greenock waterfront from Victoria Harbour to Ocean Terminal, the skyline dominated by Victoria Tower.

In the early 17th century, the first pier was built in Greenock. A pier is a raised Walkway over water supported by widely spread Piles or pillars. Shipbuilding was already an important employer by this time. The first proper harbour was constructed in 1710 and the first well-known shipbuilders, Scott's, was established the following year. A harbor or harbour (see spelling differences) or haven, is a place where ships may shelter from the Weather or are stored It was the oldest shipbuilding business in the world and gained numerous contracts with the Royal Navy from 1806, building ships such as the Prince of Wales. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) Naming The Admiralty ordered construction of two new ''King George V''-class Battleships on 29 July 1936 (the other became HMS ''King George V'')

Scott's was nationalised in 1969 and merged with Lithgow's (founded 1874, later the largest privately owned yard in the world) the same year becoming Scott Lithgow. Nationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act of taking an industry or assets into the Public ownership of a national government Other yards included Cartsburn, Cartsdyke, and Klondyke - all of which closed during the 1970s and 1980s due to competition from South Korea and Japan. South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics.

The site of the Scott's yard is now occupied by a T-Mobile call centre. T-Mobile is a Mobile network operator headquartered in Bonn, Germany.

Ship repair work continues at the Garvel dry dock.

Shipping

Ocean Terminal seen from the esplanade.

Freight traffic is handled at the container cranes of Greenock's Ocean Terminal, at Prince's Pier which was constructed for the Glasgow and South Western Railway. A container crane (also known as a portainer, container handling gantry crane, quay crane, ship-to-shore crane, ship-to-shore gantry crane The Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR one of the pre- grouping railway companies, served a triangular area of south-west Scotland, between Glasgow The same terminal is also a regular port of call for cruise liners visiting the west of Scotland. A cruise ship or cruise liner is a Passenger ship used for pleasure voyages where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience

Greenock's Great Harbour is one of the three main ports providing marine services support to the Royal Navy, in dual site operation with Faslane at HMNB Clyde on the Gare Loch. Along with HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth, Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB Clyde is one of the Royal Navy 's three operational bases Along with HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth, Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB Clyde is one of the Royal Navy 's three operational bases The Gare Loch or Gareloch ( Gaelic: An Gearr Loch) is a Sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland This formerly came under the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service, but is currently operated by Serco Denholm, who are preferred bidders for the next contract. Organisation The RMAS merged with the former Port Auxiliary Service in 1976 to form a component of the Naval Service that is known as Marine Services This facility means that "Admiralty" boats and tugs are a common sight on the Clyde.

Greenock's attractive esplanade provides a gently curving riverside walk just over a mile (1. 6 km) long extending to the west from Ocean Terminal to the Royal West Boat Club sailing and rowing facilities and clubhouse at the corner of the Navy Buildings which house a main Her Majesty's Coastguard centre as well as a Royal Naval Reserve establishment, HMS Dalriada. Her Majesty's Coastguard is the service of the Government of the United Kingdom concerned with co-ordinating Rescue at sea

Sugar

The Sugar Warehouse dominates the James Watt Dock

Sugar refining began in Greenock in 1765. ^[3] John Walker began a sugar refinery in Greenock in 1850 followed by the prominent local cooper and shipowner Abram Lyle who, with four partners, purchased the Glebe Sugar Refinery in 1865. Traditionally a cooper is someone who makes Wooden staved vessels of a conical form of greater length than breadth bound Abram Lyle (1820&ndash1891 is noted for founding the sugar refiners Abram Lyle & Sons which merged with a rival to become Tate & Lyle in 1921 Another 12 refineries were active at one point. The most famous of these (and successful, being the only survivor until August 1997) was Tate & Lyle. Tate & Lyle PLC ( is a UK -based multinational agri-processor listed on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol TATE. It was formed from a merger in 1921 between Abram Lyle, who had expanded into Plaistow, and Henry Tate, who had set up a sugar refinery in Liverpool and had also expanded into London. Plaistow (ˈplɑːstoʊ or plaa-stow - and not as sometimes heard " play-stow " is a place in the London Borough of Newham in East London Sir Henry Tate 1st Baronet ( March 11, 1819 – December 5, 1899) was an English Sugar merchant from Chorley Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom.

By the end of the 19th century, around 400 ships a year were transporting sugar from Caribbean holdings to Greenock for processing in the 14 sugar refineries. Tobacco from the Americas also arrived here. Tobacco is an Agricultural product recognized as an addictive drug processed from the fresh Leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana.

When Tate and Lyle finally closed its Greenock refinery in 1997 it brought to an end the town's 150-year old connections with sugar manufacture. A newly built sugar warehouse continued shipping operations at Greenock's Ocean Terminal. The former sugar warehouse at the James Watt Dock was by then scheduled as a grade A listed building as a fine example of early industrial architecture, with an unusual feature of a colonnade of cast iron columns forming a sheltered unloading area next to the quayside. A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural historical or cultural significance In Classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of Columns joined by their Entablature, often free-standing as in the famous elliptically A quay, pronounced 'key' is a Wharf or bank where Ships and other vessels are loaded This building has since lain empty, with various schemes being proposed for conversion and restoration. The photographs show the building still intact in February 2006, but a fire on the evening of 12 June 2006 caused severe damage to much of the building before being brought under control in the early hours of 13 June. Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for The local council confirmed that parts of the building will have to be taken down to ensure public safety, but promised an investigation and emphasised the importance of this world heritage building. ^[4]

Electronics

Since IBM arrived in the town in 1951, electronics and light manufacturing have, until recently, been the mainstay of local employment. International Business Machines Corporation abbreviated IBM and nicknamed "Big Blue", is a multinational Computer Technology National Semiconductor has also run a silicon wafer manufacturing plant in the town since 1970. National Semiconductor ( is a Semiconductor manufacturer specializing in analog devices and subsystems headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Silicon (ˈsɪlɪkən or /ˈsɪlɪkɒn/ silicium is the Chemical element that has the symbol Si and Atomic number 14

However, with manufacturing moving to Eastern Europe and Asia, work has shifted to the service sector, especially call centres. Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. T-Mobile and IBM both have major call centre operations in Greenock, while the Royal Bank of Scotland Mortgage Centre processes Mortgage applications from throughout the UK & Ireland. The Royal Bank of Scotland plc ( Scottish Gaelic: Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group

IBM have in recent years curtailed their operations greatly in the area. Sanmina, another electronics company, took over much of the IBM installation. Sanmina-SCI Corporation ( is a global Electronics manufacturing services (EMS provider headquartered in San Jose California that serves Original equipment As of 2006, Sanmina have themselves announced major cuts, with 370 jobs being moved to Hungary. Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic [1]

Sanmina has now shut and the remaining workers are being re-located.

Lenovo has now also re-located away from Greenock, and the plant is at 10% of the 1999/2000 capacity

As of 2008 the plant has now been scheduled for 'shutdown' with the remaining workers being 'relocated'

Trade and commerce

Greenock's main shopping throughfare was Hamilton Street, which connected West Blackhall Street in the west to Clyde Square in the east. In 1975 it disappeared along with several other streets as the area was pedestrianised as Hamilton Way. Car-free zones (also known as auto-free zones and pedestrian zones) are areas of a city or town in which automobile traffic is prohibited In the 1990s it was refurbished again, and The Oak Mall indoor shopping centre now forms the central feature of the town, and provides most of the major retail shops in Inverclyde, with approximately 85 units, with main anchor stores including Marks and Spencer, Woolworths, Boots, Primark and a newly opened New Look store. A shopping mall or shopping centre is a building or set of buildings that contain Retail units with interconnecting Walkways enabling visitors Marks & Spencer Group plc (also M&S, Marks and Sparks, and Marks) is a British Retailer with 843 stores in more than 30 This article is about the British Woolworths Group plc, and its stores This article is about a former British company which has now merged to form Alliance Boots, as a result information on this page may be out of date New Look is a chain of high street shops in Britain, Belgium, France and the Republic of Ireland, popular at first with girls and women Both Marks and Spencer and Woolworths are in their original buildings (Marks and Spencer dating from 1936) which were simply built round during the first phase of pedestrianisation. ^[5] In addition, two major supermarkets Tesco and Morrisons are sited nearby the mall. Tesco plc is a British -based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC ( is the fourth largest chain of Supermarkets in the United Kingdom. A further retail estate is located nearby, in front of the Waterfront swimming pool and leisure centre, and the streets around the mall provide a large number of smaller shops. Small groups of shops in most of the areas of the town provide for day to day needs, but most of the specialist shops are in the town centre. The town contains one diplomatic mission, an Italian consulate.

Transport

Greenock's most significant transportation connection is the Container Terminal (see above).

Greenock is Scotland's best served town in terms of railway stations. It boasts nine: Bogston, Cartsdyke, Greenock Central, Greenock West, Fort Matilda, Whinhill, Drumfrochar, Branchton and IBM Halt. Bogston railway station is on the Inverclyde Line, between the towns of Port Glasgow and Greenock in Inverclyde council area Scotland Cartsdyke railway station serves part of the town of Greenock, Scotland. Greenock Central station is one of eight Railway stations serving the town of Greenock in western Scotland, and is the nearest to the town centre Greenock West railway station is a station in Greenock, Scotland, located on the Inverclyde Line which runs from Gourock to Glasgow Central Fort Matilda railway station lies at the far western edge of the town of Greenock. Whinhill railway station is a railway station located in the east of the town of Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland. Drumfrochar railway station is a railway station It is located in a residential district in the south-western part of Greenock, Scotland. Branchton railway station is a railway station on located in the south-west of the town of Greenock, beside the area called Branchton in Scotland IBM railway station (formerly known as IBM Halt) is a railway station on the Inverclyde Line 41 km (25½ miles west of Glasgow Central. Only Glasgow has a much greater number of stations and Edinburgh possesses only one more.

Greenock is located at the end of the A8 road/M8 motorway which begins in Edinburgh. It is also the northern terminus of Euroroute E05 which heads south through England, France and Spain, ending at the Spanish port of Algeciras which also possesses a container terminal. The international E-road network is a numbering system for Roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE. The E05 or E5 is part of the United Nations International E-road network. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Algeciras - Arabic: الجزيرة الخضراء is a port city in the south of Spain, and is the largest urban area on the Bay of Gibraltar

Culture

The town has a daily evening newspaper, The Greenock Telegraph. The Greenock Telegraph is a local Daily newspaper serving Inverclyde, Scotland. It is one of the oldest daily local newspapers in the United Kingdom.

Greenock is fictionalised as 'Gantock' by Robin Jenkins in his 1979 novel Fergus Lamont (The Gantocks are in fact a rocky shoal in the Firth of Clyde nearby, just off Dunoon). Robin Jenkins ( 11 September 1912 - 24 February 2005) was a Scottish writer of about thirty novels the most well know being A shoal or sandbar (also called sandbank) is a somewhat Linear Landform within or extending into a body of Water, 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 Dunoon ( Dùn Omhain in Gaelic) is a resort town situated on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll, Scotland. Alasdair Gray's 1984 novel 1982, Janine is set in a Greenock hotel room. Alasdair Gray (born 28 December 1934 is a Scottish writer and Artist. 1982 Janine is a Novel by the Scottish author Alasdair Gray. His second it was published in 1984, and remains his most controversial Greenock has featured in several of the poems of Douglas Dunn. Douglas Eaglesham Dunn, OBE (born October 23, 1942) is a Scottish Poet, academic and critic

The Victorian landscape artist John Atkinson Grimshaw depicted a somewhat idealised Greenock in several of his paintings. Culture The Victorian fascination with novelty resulted in a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuities John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836 &ndash 1893 was a Victorian-era painter notable for his landscapes usually known as Atkinson Grimshaw.

Greenock has featured as the backdrop to several films: the television films Just a Boy's Game (1979), [2] and Down Among the Big Boys (1993) [3] and the theatrical films Sweet Sixteen (2002) and [4] and Dear Frankie (2004). [5]

Notable residents

A statue at the original James Watt College building marks the site of his birthplace.

Greenock's most noted son is the engineer James Watt. James Watt ( 19 January 1736 &ndash 25 August 1819 Boulton proved to be an excellent businessman and both men eventually made fortunes He is remembered in the name of the local college, at the library instituted in his memory and by the original James Watt Memorial College building on the site of his birth place in William Street which incorporates a commemorative statue.

Other famous Greenockians include: the composers Hamish MacCunn and William Wallace, musicians John McGeoch and Thomas Leer, poets Denis Devlin, W. S. Graham and Jean Adam, merchant Matthew Algie, actors Richard Wilson, Stella Gonet and Martin Compston, playwrights Bill Bryden and Peter McDougall, comedian Charles 'Chic' Murray, Antarctic explorer Henry Robertson 'Birdie' Bowers and pirate Captain Kidd were born in the town. Hamish MacCunn ( 22 March 1868 &ndash 2 August 1916) Scottish romantic composer was born in Greenock, Sir William Wallace (1860-1940 was a Scottish Classical composer. John Alexander McGeoch, (28 May 1955 &ndash 4 March 2004 was a Scottish guitarist who played with some of the biggest bands of the Post-punk era including Magazine Thomas Leer is a British musician who as well as releasing a number of albums and singles in his own right was also one half (the other being Claudia Brücken Denis Devlin ( April 15, 1908 - August 21, 1959) was along with Samuel Beckett and Brian Coffey, one of the generation William Sydney Graham ( November 19 1918 - January 9 1986) was a Scottish poet who is often associated with Dylan Thomas Jean Adam (or Adams) ( April 30 1704 - April 3 1765) was a Scottish Poet. Matthew Algie is a company selling Coffee, coffee-making machines Tea, and other products such as Hot chocolate primarily in the United Kingdom For other people named Richard Wilson see Richard Wilson (disambiguation Ian Colquhoun Wilson, better known as Richard Wilson, Stella Gonet (born 8 May 1963) in Greenock, Scotland) is a Scottish theatre film and TV actress. Martin Compston (born 8 May 1984) is a Scottish actor He is perhaps most notable for his role as Liam in Sweet Sixteen, and for his William Campbell Rough Bryden CBE (born 12 April 1942, Greenock, Scotland) is a British stage- and film director and Peter McDougall (born Greenock, Scotland, 1947 is a television Playwright whose major success was in the 1970s Charles Murray is the name of several notable people Charles Murray 1st Earl of Dunmore (1661–1710 Charles Murray 7th Earl of Dunmore Lieutenant Henry Robertson (Birdie Bowers ( July 29, 1883 - March 29, 1912) was one of Robert Falcon Scott 's polar party on the ill-fated William " Captain " Kidd ( c 1645 &ndash May 23, 1701) was a Scottish sailor remembered for his

The novelist John Galt, noted for founding Guelph, Ontario in 1827, lived in the town and based some of his work, most notably Annals of the Parish (1821), on Greenock and surrounding towns. John Galt ( May 2, 1779 – April 11, 1839) was a Scottish Novelist He is buried in the Inverkip Street Cemetery.

Lawrence Tynes, kicker for the New York Giants an American Football team in the NFL, originates from Greenock and has several family members still in the town. Lawrence James Henry Tynes (born May 3, 1978 in Greenock, Scotland) is an American football Placekicker for the New The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York City suburb of East Rutherford New Jersey. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. The British painter, William Scott (1913-1989) was born in Greenock and lived there with his family until 1924 when the family moved to Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. Enniskillen ( is the county town (and largest town in County Fermanagh and the west of Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of The Oscar winning screenwriter, Neil Paterson (1916-1995) was born in Greenock, as was the radio and television presenter Jimmy Mack (1934-2004). "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. Screenwriters or scenarists are Scriptwriters who write the Screenplays from which Films and Television programs are made James Edmund Neil Paterson ( 31 December 1916 - 19 April 1995) known as Neil Paterson, was a Scottish Academy Award Jimmy Mack MBE (1934-2004 born James F McRitchie was a Scottish broadcaster best known for his work on BBC Radio Scotland and Radio Clyde.

Mary Campbell, Robert Burns' Highland Mary, is buried in Greenock Cemetery where there is a monument to her memory. Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796 (also known as Rabbie Burns, Scotland's favourite son, the Ploughman Poet, the Bard of Ayrshire Greenock is also home to the world's first Burns club, The Mother Club, which was founded in 1801.

Its most infamous resident is Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the Libyan intelligence officer and former head of Libyan Arab Airlines, who was convicted on 31 January 2001 of murder after causing a bomb to be placed on board Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland on 21 December 1988 with the loss of 270 lives. Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi (عبد الباسط محمد علي المقرحي (not المقراحي as commonly misspelled by the media (born April 1 1952 is a former Libyan Libya ( ليبيا ar-Latn Lībiyā; Libyan vernacular: Lībya; Amazigh:) officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Libyan Airlines ( Arabic: الخطوط الجوية الليبية transliterated: al-Khutut al-Jawiyah al-Libiyah formerly known as Libyan Arab Airlines Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Lockerbie ( Scottish Gaelic: Logarbaidh) is a town in the Dumfries and Galloway region of south-western Scotland. Events 69 - The end of the Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) Megrahi was moved in February 2005 from solitary confinement in Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow to Greenock Prison, where he is expected to serve the rest of his 27-year sentence. Glasgow (ˈglæzgoʊ is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom HMP Greenock serves designated courts in western Scotland by holding male prisoners (both adult and under 21s on remand and short-term convicted prisoners

Catherine (Muir), a homemaker, was born in Greenock and immigrated to the United States as an eleven year-old. Catherine is known for being the mother of Emmy-winning American comedian and writer Jay Leno. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno (born April 28 1950 is an Emmy Award -winning American Stand-up comedian and Television host Jay is best known as the host of NBC television's long-running variety and talk program The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's A variety show or variety entertainment is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts especially Musical performances and Comedy Skits and A talk show ( American) or chat show ( Global) is a Television or Radio program where one person or group of people come together to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an Emmy Award -winning American late-night Talk show currently hosted by Jay Leno, on

Hugh Enes Blackmore, who appeared with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the 1890s, was born in the town. Hugh Enes Blackmore ( 1 October 1863 &ndash 21 May 1945 was a British opera and Concert singer D'Oyly Carte Opera Company staged performances of Gilbert and Sullivan 's Savoy Operas in the UK Europe North America South Africa Australia and elsewhere from the

Another famous local resident was recently covered in an article by The Daily Telegraph and is known as "The Catman". For "The Daily Telegraph" in Australia see The Daily Telegraph (Australia. He is a man of around 60 who lives wild.

Sports

Morton F.C.[6] are the local football side who play at Cappielow Park. Greenock Morton Football Club are a football team who currently play in the Irn-Bru sponsored Scottish Football League First Division. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered In addition, Greenock also plays host to a rugby union team, the Greenock Wanderers RFC[7], and is the home town of the Greenock Cricket Club[8]. Overview See also Playing rugby union A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes (plus stoppage time with a short

Climate

Mean monthly temperatures (click to enlarge)

Greenock’s climate is temperate maritime having mainly cool summers but with relatively mild winters. An oceanic climate (also called marine west coast climate and maritime climate) is the Climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes Its location means that the heat retentive properties of seawater help keep winter temperatures higher. Additionally, the effect of the Gulf Stream on the Clyde helps Greenock's average temperature stay approximately one degree above that of eastern coastal towns on the same latitude. The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful warm and swift Atlantic Ocean current that Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi ( Φ) gives the location of a place on Earth (or other planetary body north or south of the

Greenock anecdotally has the reputation for having higher than average rainfall (the song The Green Oak Tree comments on this) but this is not statistically true; the Western Highlands in fact has the highest average rainfall in Scotland. The Scottish Highlands ( Scottish Gaelic: A' Ghàidhealtachd, Scots: Hielans) include the rugged and Mountainous ^[6]

Source: http://uk.weather.com/

Twin cities

Greenock's twin cities are:

Duisburg, Germany

Gallery

Ocean Terminal is close to the town centre. Duisburg (ˈdyːsbʊɐ̯k is a German city in the western part of the Ruhr Area ( Ruhrgebiet) in North Rhine-Westphalia. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.	New waterfront walkway.	PS Waverley at Custom House quay. History The Waverley was built in 1946 as a replacement for an earlier PS Waverley of 1899 that took part in the WW II war effort as a minesweeper	PS Waverley sets off.
East India Harbour.	Cappielow Park, home of Morton F. Cappielow is a district of Greenock in Inverclyde, west central Scotland. C.	The Sugar Warehouse, across the road from Cappielow.	A covered arcade sheltered sugar unloading.
The old James Watt College	James Watt College Finnart Campus	James Watt College Waterfront Campus	The James (or Jimmy) Watt pub, formerly the main Post Office.
Greenock Central	Greenock West	Branchton	Greenock Sheriff Court
View over the west end. Greenock Central station is one of eight Railway stations serving the town of Greenock in western Scotland, and is the nearest to the town centre Greenock West railway station is a station in Greenock, Scotland, located on the Inverclyde Line which runs from Gourock to Glasgow Central Branchton railway station is a railway station on located in the south-west of the town of Greenock, beside the area called Branchton in Scotland	The Cut – aqueduct. An aqueduct is an artificial channel that is constructed to convey water from one location to another	Loch Thom. Loch Thom is a reservoir which since 1827 has provided a water supply to the town of Greenock in Inverclyde, Scotland.	Free French Memorial overlooking Gourock. The Free French Forces (Forces Françaises Libres FFL) were French fighters in World War II who decided to continue fighting against Axis forces