increased, within the last twenty years, in all those means which
facilitate and secure the advantages of trade and commerce. Though long
and deservedly resorted to as a delightful watering-place, remarkable
for the salubrity of its air, and the beauty of its situation, the
activity of trade was still unknown to its inhabitants. Its only
harbour, a small basin dug out of the rock, was rarely enlivened by
anything that could aspire to the title of shipping; for in Cromwell's
time, about twenty tons of boat-freight was all that its diminutive port
could lay claim to. The spirit of its inhabitants, however, with an
accurate perception of the natural advantages of the Port, and aided by
government in the preparation for a new era in commercial enterprise,
has achieved wonders. An air of prosperity animates the whole town: the
harbour is filled with goodly traders; imports and exports cover the
quays: industry has received a stimulus which communicates its happy
influence to everything around; and Peterhead now holds an enviable
station among the Ports and Harbours of Great Britain.
The point of land on which the town is built, is the most easterly of
the mainland of Scotland. It forms the north-east side of a bay, and is
connected with the country, on the north-west, by an isthmus eight
hundred yards in breadth. On Keith-Inch, so called from the Earl
Marischal, are many elegant and substantially-built houses; and on its
south-side is an old Castle, erected in the sixteenth century, by
George, Earl Marischal, after the model of one which he had seen in
Denmark. Down to the close of the sixteenth century, Peterhead was only
a small fishing-village, and the stranger who now passes through its
populous streets, and busy harbours, will readily perceive how much has
been accomplished in the interval.
The Harbours are both handsome and commodious; and, having two entrances
from the south and north, and being equidistant from the Forth and
Moray Friths, are much resorted to by vessels frequenting the east coast
of Scotland. The annual revenue is under the management of commissioners
incorporated by Act of Parliament. The South Harbour has a depth of
between twelve and fourteen feet water at medium springs, and from eight
to ten at neap-tides; but the North Harbour, during spring-tides, has
full eighteen feet water, and at no tide less than fourteen. The Quay
extends to 3350 feet in length; and connected with the harbour is an
excellent graving dock. The shipping belonging to the port amounts to
about 12,000 tons; and the number of vessels that annually take shelter
in these harbours, may be estimated at two hundred and forty. The
leading articles of export are grain, meal, eggs, butter, cattle, fish,
and the produce of the fisheries: the imports are groceries, clothing,
flour, salt, iron, timber, coal, lime, and bone-manure. Shipbuilding has
long been carried on to a considerable extent; and in the present day no
port of the kingdom sends out vessels more remarkable for fine
proportion and elegant combination of strength and beauty. During the
last half century, Peterhead has carried on an extensive trade with
Greenland, and Davis' Straits; and takes rank next to Hull in the whale
fishery.
The lighthouse, which stands on the Buchan Ness, at the extremity of the
south bay, is of the utmost importance, both as regards the interest of
the general trade of the port, and the prosecution of the herring
fishery, which is carried on with great success.
The neighbourhood of Peterhead is renowned for its granite, which is of
a reddish colour and closely resembles that on the west bank of the Lago
Maggiore in Italy. The beautiful pillars in the British Museum, and the
Duke of York's column in Waterloo-Place, are specimens of it; and
materials for many of our public buildings, such as the docks at
Sheerness, have also been furnished from the quarries of Peterhead.
[Illustration: MACDUFF, NEAR BANFF.]
MACDUFF.
"... A place, where industry and health
Their sure abode have found;
Where want has ripened into wealth,
And gladdened all around.
How sweet on that romantic bay
To spend the live-long summer-day!"
Macduff, which in the course of a century has emerged from its humble
origin of a few fishermen's huts into a town and harbour of no little
importance on this coast, is now an object of increasing interest to all
who delight in tracing the gradual rise and progress of national
prosperity, in the ramifications of our trade and commerce. The town is
situated about a mile and a half to the east of Banff; and in the
grouping of its buildings presents an aspect sufficiently romantic to
arrest the attention of every stranger who has a taste for the
picturesque. The Earl of Fife, on whose property it is built, has
greatly contributed to its advancement in all that regards the comfort
of the inhabitants, and the improvement of its harbour, which is now
considered one of the best in the Moray Frith. At the instance of this
patriotic nobleman, Macduff was created a burgh of barony by his Majesty
George III.; and from that time large sums of money have been annually
expended in improving the town, encouraging industry, and extending the
harbour. The import and export traffic of this port continues on the
increase, and employs numerous vessels that carry on a regular trade
with London and the ports of the Baltic. The exports consist chiefly of
corn, salmon, cod-fish, and granite, for which the quarries of this
coast have been so long known and appreciated. It is also a favourite
fishing-station, and possesses a numerous fleet of boats engaged in the
herring-fishery, which is here prosecuted during the season with great
activity and success; an occupation that has been the means of training
up a larger number of hardy seamen, and thus contributing to the naval
supremacy of our country in a greater degree than any other branch of
the coasting-trade. It has at the same time been instrumental in
providing an important portion of the subsistence of the peasantry in
the district, as well as furnishing a supply for transmission to the
metropolis and the southern part of the Kingdom, and successfully vieing
with the far-famed staple of Yarmouth. The herring-fishery on the coast
of Scotland was long confined, almost exclusively, to the coasts of
Caithness and Sutherland; but owing to the encouragement afforded by
government at the termination of the war, the fishing of herrings was
commenced on the Aberdeen, Banff, Moray, and Rossshire coasts; and it
was soon discovered that the herrings were both as good in quality and
as abundant on the south side of the Moray Frith as on the north. This
trade, from a small beginning, has now become flourishing and extensive;
and although the government bounties have been withdrawn, it is still
carried on with great spirit and activity. The quantity cured within the
district amounts in favourable years to about thirty thousand barrels.
The town contains a thriving and industrious population of nearly two
thousand: it has a grammar-school, a town-hall, and a jail. The church,
which forms so prominent a feature in the picture, occupies a
conspicuous situation on the eminence, and owes much to the taste and
munificence of Lord Fife, who has erected a fine massy cross in its
immediate precincts, and thereby contributed an ornament which, by its
peculiar elevation, gives additional interest and effect to the whole
scene.
The bridge across the Devon, by which Macduff communicates with Banff
and the surrounding scenery, is described in our notice of the latter
town and harbour. Owing to the acknowledged excellence of its
accommodation for shipping, Macduff is gradually acquiring fresh
testimony in its favour as a seaport, and promises to insure to its
inhabitants, at no remote period, their full proportion of maritime
prosperity. So be it; and in this wish and prospect every one, who is
acquainted with the place or the people, will cordially sympathize; and
from their known energy and perseverance, there is no reason to doubt of
their securing that commercial success which they labour so strenuously
to obtain, and to which their natural position so much entitles them.
[Illustration: BANFF.]
BANFF.
The ancient town of Banff consists of two distinct parts, the first of
which, called the body of the town, lies partly on the lower extremity
of the plain, skirting the river, and partly on the declivity. The
second portion, called the sea-town, stands on an elevated level which
terminates abruptly within a short distance of the sea, by which it is
bounded. When viewed from the low ground beyond the river, the sea-town
appears to stand on a long elevated ridge, as seen in the engraving, and
having the battery on its northern extremity. On a piece of table-land,
projecting midway between the town proper, and sea-town, and nearly
opposite the mouth of the river, stands the Castle, a plain, modern
edifice, but commanding an extensive and varied prospect of the sea, the
town, the hill of Macduff, the sweep of the river, and the beautiful
slope opposite, surmounted by the woods of Mount Coffer.
The streets of Banff, though composed of houses varying much in size,
are generally straight and of a convenient width. The High-street,
Castle-road, and a street in the sea-town, terminating in the battery,
form a continuous line from south to north, of about half a mile in
length. In the progress of recent improvements, many of the old houses
have been pulled down and replaced by others, so that now scarcely a
feature of primitive architecture is left to remind the spectator of the
olden time--the characteristic dwellings of our forefathers--
"When walls of oak and hearts of steel
Stood surety for the public weal."
About twenty years ago the comfort and convenience of the inhabitants
were greatly promoted by the addition of an excellent market-place, laid
out in a central part of the town and furnished with every necessary
accommodation. Public baths have also been erected by a joint-stock
company, and the town is lighted with gas.
In the southern approach to Banff, the road is carried over the Doveran
by means of an elegant and substantial stone bridge, consisting of seven
semicircular arches, with a clear water-way of one hundred and forty-two
yards. This handsome structure was finished at the expense of government
in 1779, and is highly ornamental to the town and neighbourhood. From
this point the view of Duff House, in the centre of a beautiful park, is
seen to great advantage. In proof of this, the reader has only to cast
his eye over the engraving, which, to those who have not seen the
original, conveys a faithful and striking resemblance to Banff and its
vicinity. Seen so near as to render its elaborately carved ornaments
visible, the appearance of Duff House is particularly rich, graceful,
and majestic. It contains a fine gallery of paintings, many of them by
the first masters of the art. This baronial mansion, was built nearly a
century ago, after a design by Adams, in the Roman style, but has never
been finished in its original detail. The body of the house is an
oblong, consisting of four lofty stories; the first of which is a rustic
basement, over which rise two stories, adorned with fluted pilasters,
and an entablature in imitation of that on the temple of Jupiter Stator,
in the Campo Vaccino at Rome. Over this entablature, which surrounds the
whole structure, is an attic story, surmounted by a balustrade. The four
corners of the building have projections resembling towers, which break
and vary the outline, overtop the attic story, and are adorned at the
angles by an upper range of pilasters with an entablature of the
Composite order, and crowned by dome-like roofs, on which are placed
octagonal pedestal-chimneys.
The town of Banff has much to recommend it as a residence. It possesses
both coast and inland scenery of a superior description, and is
particularly healthy. It has excellent schools, classical and
commercial; various places of public worship, as observed by the
established Presbyterian, the Episcopalian, the Seceder, and others. It
has abundant markets, frequent and regular mails, public baths,
literary, scientific, and benevolent institutions; boarding-schools, and
society equal at least to what is generally met with in a remote
provincial town.
[Illustration: PORT GLASGOW.]
PORT GLASGOW.
Here, safely moored, our vessels ride,
Here plies the busy oar;
And every ship that stems the tide
Brings treasures to our shore:
Here trade and industry command
The trusty heart and steady hand.
The ground on which this town has been erected belonged originally to
the estate of Newark, and was purchased by the magistrates of Glasgow,
in 1668, in order to provide a convenient harbour for the
merchant-vessels belonging to that city--hence the name of Port Glasgow.
In 1775, a charter was obtained from parliament, conferring on the town
the privilege of a burgh of barony, and granting a constitution, which
vested the management of its municipal affairs in a council of thirteen,
including two baillies. By the Burgh-Reform Act, the number was reduced
to nine, consisting of a provost, two baillies, and six councillors. The
Reform Bill elevated it to the rank of a parliamentary burgh; and, in
connexion with Kilmarnock, Rutherglen, Dumbarton, and Renfrew, it sends
one member to parliament.
In its general appearance, Port Glasgow presents an air of much neatness
and regularity. The streets are straight, and for the most part cross
each other at right angles; while the houses, nearly uniform in size,
and generally whitewashed, give to the whole a light and regular
appearance. Among the modern buildings the town-house, and parish-church
are chiefly deserving of notice. The town-hall, of plain but substantial
workmanship, is ornamented in front with a portico, resting on four
massy fluted pillars, and surmounted with a handsome spire, which rises
from the centre. Of this edifice, the ground-floor has been laid out
chiefly in shops; but the upper story, in addition to the chambers of
the council and town-clerk, contains a large and commodious
reading-room, with several apartments occupied as mercantile
counting-rooms. The church was finished seventeen years ago, and affords
accommodation for about twelve hundred persons. It is square in form,
and plain in its exterior; but is much and deservedly admired for the
simplicity and elegance of its internal arrangement. The wealthy
inhabitants of the place did themselves great honor, and at the same
time set a valuable example to others, by gratuitously contributing a
sum of fifteen hundred pounds to assist in the expenses of its
erection.
Attached to this Port are two capacious harbours, substantially built,
and so completely sheltered from storms, that the vessels moored within
them have rarely been found to suffer injury even in the severest
weather. These harbours are furnished with ample quay and shed-room, and
also with a commodious graving-dock--the oldest in Scotland. The largest
vessels that trade to the Clyde are found at this port; such is the
facility of access to this harbour, that vessels which draw twenty-one
feet of water are towed up and down the channel with the greatest ease
and safety.
A very important addition to the harbour accommodations of Port Glasgow
was obtained a few years back in the erection of wet-docks. The then
existing harbours having been found much too small for the increasing
number of ships belonging to the port, the inhabitants of the town
resolved to avail themselves of their local advantages, by converting
the Bay of Newark, naturally adapted to the purpose, into a spacious
dock, where vessels of the largest class might lie securely afloat in
every state of the tide. The trustees of the harbours obtained an act of
parliament, investing them with the necessary powers for carrying this
desirable object into effect; and funds having been secured, they were
enabled to commence the work, which was soon in rapid progress, and
completed about twelve years ago. This dock, having spacious quays, with
a twenty-five feet depth of water alongside, holds out special
advantages to the trade, both in point of safety and convenience.
The charges levied at this port are on the most moderate scale, and
considerably below the rates imposed at the neighbouring ports. To
merchants engaged in trade with the Clyde, Port Glasgow thus presents
the double advantage of low charges and very superior accommodation;
while, at the same time, the privileges of the warehousing system are on
a footing equal to those of any other port in the kingdom.
Warehouse-room is provided on a very extensive scale, and is open for
the general accommodation of the trade, on very moderate terms. In
addition to the regular bonded warehouses, there is a large area for
receiving wood into bond, and an excellent warehouse for crushing
refined sugars, in which large quantities of that article are prepared
for exportation to the Mediterranean markets.
Shipbuilding is also carried on at this port to a considerable extent:
of late years the builders have been chiefly employed in the
construction of steamboats, of which they have produced a great number,
some of them of the largest class, and all of very superior workmanship.
From the nature of the trade, the rope-work and canvas factory are here
in a state of constant activity, and give employment to a great number
of hands. The vast improvements effected within the last few years, by
deepening the river, and extending the harbours and docks as already
mentioned, give Port Glasgow just cause to anticipate all the advantages
arising from a prosperous and extending commerce.
[Illustration: GREENOCK.]
GREENOCK.
"The Clyde, always spacious, and always covered with its
shipping, offers a scene of life and brilliancy unparalleled on
any of our sea-shores; and enhanced by a majestic screen of
mountains to the north, for ever varying under the change of a
restless atmosphere, but under all these changes, for ever
magnificent!"
Among the principal sea-ports of the United Empire, Greenock is justly
entitled to a distinguished place. Although of comparatively modern
date, it has left many of its ancient predecessors and modern rivals in
the background, and at this moment continues to advance rapidly in
commercial enterprise and prosperity.
The recent formation of quays and docks of corresponding dimensions,
affords to this harbour every facility for vessels of heavy burthen. The
town possesses several handsome buildings, the principal of which are
the church, the Tontine, or great hotel, and the CUSTOM-HOUSE. Of the
latter, with the immediate scene of commercial activity and forest of
masts by which it is surrounded, the engraving opposite presents a vivid
and faithful representation. It is a structure of great elegance, and,
as an illustration of the chastest style of Grecian architecture, it
would be difficult to point out a finer specimen either at home or
abroad. The quality of the materials too is every way worthy of so fine
a monument of national prosperity; and a fair estimate may be formed of
the superiority of the workmanship, when we state that a sum of not less
than twenty thousand pounds was expended in its erection; a fact which
evinces at the same time the high importance attached to Greenock as a
depot of the national revenue. The river Clyde is here about three miles
broad; but, as also at Port-Glasgow, the navigable channel is little
more than three hundred yards across. The bay is formed by an expansion
of the Clyde, into which several bold points of land project from the
northern bank, over which the mountains of Argyll, gradually receding
till their summits are lost in the sky, present a landscape of almost
Alpine beauty and magnificence.
In conjunction with the native grandeur of the scenery, the spirit of
commercial enterprise, which is everywhere visible on the banks, as well
as on the bosom of the water--transforming the one into a garden, and
the other into a "high road" to prosperity,--impresses every spectator
with the strongest evidence of its magical influence. Industry and
activity pervade and animate everything around, and extend their
influence into the remotest parts of the country. For several years
past, Greenock has been the principal port in immediate connexion with
America, to which the annual tide of emigration from the Highlands still
flows, though with abated force, and a divided stream, since the golden
hills of Australia have offered to thousands the vision of wealth to be
acquired in a few months, and an independence to be realized in a single
year. Here, grouped on the quay, sauntering along the streets, or
viewing the distant mountains to which they are soon to bid adieu, the
voice and features of the Gael awaken a lively interest and attention on
the part of every stranger. They have left their humble dwellings in
those mountains, which still look invitingly in the distance, and which
through innumerable generations had afforded shelter and sustenance to
their ancestors, but whence they are driven at last, not by choice, but
imperious necessity.
When tired or satisfied with the tumultuous scene on the quays, the
traveller may ascend in half an hour the heights above the port, and
there behold one of the finest views in Scotland. The gigantic screen of
Argyllshire mountains, rising peak over peak till they vanish in the
sky, forms a magnificent distance to the picture; while the middle
ground is occupied by the broad expanse of the Clyde, gay and studded
with shipping in every direction. Still nearer, the port of Greenock
itself, crowded with masts and sails, and steam chimneys and buildings,
forms an appropriate foreground to a panorama as variegated as it is
picturesque.
That generous spirit of enterprise which characterises the merchants of
Greenock has given birth to one of the most remarkable efforts of
science and art which have been accomplished in modern times. This is
the admiration of every stranger, and well known to the public under the
name of Shaw's Water-works. By a singular combination of ingenuity and
skill, a small stream of water is made to travel along the faces of
mountains, and across ravines, for the space of six miles and a half,
till it reaches the brow of a hill about a mile above Greenock, at an
elevation of more than five hundred feet above the level of the sea.
Here it is received into a small reservoir, and managed in such a manner
as to produce, by this stupendous fall, a two-thousand-horse power,
greater, says Mr. Brown, than that produced by all the united
steam-engines in Glasgow. This splendid scheme was designed and
completed under the personal superintendence of Mr. Thom, of Rothesay,
to whose scientific and inventive genius it is a noble and lasting
monument. The immense power thus provided is rendered more secure and
certain than that of steam, because there exists no doubt whatever that
a full supply of water commensurate with the power, can be had at all
times and seasons.
[Illustration: NEW BRIDGE AND BROOMIELAW GLASGOW.]
THE BROOMIELAW, GLASGOW.