Donald's Quay was once the location of the northern terminus of the

Erskine Ferry Erskine Ferry sailed across the River Clyde from Erskine to Old Kilpatrick. The ferry was also referred to as ''East Ferry of Erskine'' as there was another ferry to Dumbarton a few miles down river, known as ''West Ferry''. It is reputed to be t ...

then run by

Lord Blantyre Lord Blantyre was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1606 for the politician Walter Stewart. The lordship was named for Blantyre Priory in Lanarkshire, where Walter Stewart had been commendator. The main residences associated ...

of Erskine House that provided foot passengers with a crossing of the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

, giving direct access between

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire ( gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann) or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders P ...

and

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

. At some point in the early 19th century the northern terminus of the

moved to a site closer to

Old Kilpatrick Old Kilpatrick ( sco, Auld Kilpaitrick, gd, Cille Phàdraig meaning "Patrick's church"), is a village in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It has an estimated population of 4,820. It belonged to the parish of Old Kilpatrick which itself was only a f ...

and opposite the Ferry House at Erskine, before closure in 1971 when the

Erskine Bridge The Erskine Bridge is a multi span cable-stayed box girder bridge spanning the River Clyde in west central Scotland. The bridge connects West Dunbartonshire with Renfrewshire and can be used by all types of motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrian ...

was completed. Donald's Quay once had an approximately stone pier that was used by coal boats that transferred their loads into canal barges on the

Forth & Clyde Canal The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allowe ...

at Ferrydyke Wharf and thereby avoided paying fees at the Bowling Basin. The quay was demolished during the construction of the

Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway The Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway was a railway company in Scotland. It was promoted independently but supported by the Caledonian Railway, and it was designed to connect Balloch (on Loch Lomond) and Dumbarton with central Glasgow, l ...

in 1896.

Infrastructure

Roy's map of the mid 18th century marks the ferry as being in the Ferrydyke and Donald's Quay location without recording a name. Two sizeable buildings are shown amidst a group of trees; the canal is not marked as it was yet to be built. The Ferry House on the

Erskine Erskine (, sco, Erskin, gd, Arasgain) is a town in the council area of Renfrewshire, and historic county of the same name, situated in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the southern bank of the River Clyde, providing the lo ...

side is shown standing at the same location that it did when the ferry closed in 1971. Erskine Ferry Lodge

Thomas Telford planned to alter the Clyde until it was wide at Donald's Quay. A light tower was installed at Donald's Quay in 1849. A photograph of it was displayed in St Louis in 1904. The 1860 OS map shows a dwelling at Ferrydyke on the northern side of the canal that may have been associated with the canal. On the southern side a complex of buildings is shown consisting of the stables and the bridge and stable keepers' cottages with a substantial stone quay running out from the river bank at right angles to it. The end of the approximately quay is slightly wider than the mid section and it leads to a lane that accesses the stables area directly as well as running up to the Ferrydyke Wharf on the canal above. Donald's Quay reached the open river allowing boats to call at all stages of the tides. At this date the

Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway The Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway was a railway company in Scotland. It was promoted independently but supported by the Caledonian Railway, and it was designed to connect Balloch (on Loch Lomond) and Dumbarton with central Glasgow, l ...

had yet to be built. An enclosed area of land runs from the cottage/s a short distance to the east. In 1896 the

opened its line between

and

Bowling, West Dunbartonshire Bowling ( sco, Bowlin,
gd, Bolan) is a village in

where it met with the

Helensburgh Helensburgh (; gd, Baile Eilidh) is an affluent coastal town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local governm ...

line near

Dumbarton East railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Dumbarton East railway station, West Dunbartonshire - geograph.org.uk - 3278452.jpg , caption = , borough = Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshi ...

. The 1896 25 inch to the mile OS map shows Donald's Quay Light (fixed red and white) standing on a very short stone pier that is approached via a substantial footbridge over the new railway. The cottages and stables are still present and roofed. The Ferrydyke cottage on the northern canal side is no longer shown. In 1937 the stables complex and workers cottages are still present and a small extension has been added to one of them. The late 18th century Ferrydyke

bascule Bascule may refer to: * Bascule bridge, a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances the span in providing clearance for boat traffic * Bascule (horse), the arc a horse's body takes as it goes over a jump * Bascule light, a sma ...

bridge (NS458731) is one of the few remaining on the

and once carried the junction off the Old Portpatrick road to Donald's Quay, former site of the ferry to Erskine. The ruins of canal bridge and stable keepers' cottages (NS4587073042) stand near the Ferrydyke bridge next to the old stables that lie below the canal.

History

The quay was named for Robert Donald, well known '

Tobacco Lord The Tobacco Lords were a group of Scottish people, Scottish merchants and slave traders who in the 18th century made enormous fortunes by International trade, trading in tobacco. Many became so wealthy that they adopted the lifestyle of aristocr ...

' and Lord Provost of Glasgow who acquired the nearby Mountblow estate (NS 4798 7222) in 1767 and built a mansion house there. Robert came from an old established Dumbartonshire family. The presence of a Roman fort nearby at

and the presence of a bath house at Ferrydyke has led to speculation that a harbour of some sort may have existed in the area to service the fort itself and the requirements of the

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twe ...

infrastructure. Bruce speculates that a ferry across the Clyde once existed here in Roman times. By 1896 the quay had been demolished due to the construction of the

that reclaimed an area of the River Clyde shoreline here as well as building over the quay where it emerged from the land. The stables area was not effected by the railway and they remained in use providing horses to haul canal barges. The name 'Ferrydyke' given to the site records the onetime presence of a ferry as well as suggesting that this quay may have been part of the large numbers of artificial dykes that were built in an effort to deepen the

to permit passage to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

docks by larger ships. Another explanation of the use of the word 'dyke' is that the site stands close to the termination of Graham's Dyke which was another name used for the

. The small village of Ferry Dyke once existed here. The

could be forded at nearby Dumbuck and a well formed 'made' route has been identified of possibly Roman origins. This crossing ceased to be passable once dredging etc took place to deepen the channel.

Workings details

The original

ran from Donald's Quay to the Ferry House at

on a route that made use of the tides to assist the ferry prior to a chain being laid and finally powered vessels being introduced at a different site further up river. By 1863 and probably somewhat earlier, Donald's Quay was no longer in use as a terminus for the Erskine Ferry. The location of the quay close to the canal would have allowed passengers carried on canal boats to easily access the ferry. Bruce records that a sandbank formed in the 18th century that interfered with the passage of the ferry and forced its removal to its final location up river to the east of the Erskine Bridge. The quay was used at one time for the unloading of coal that was then taken to barges waiting at the canal's Ferrydyke Wharf as this avoided the payment of fees at the

Bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

Basin of the

. The 1914 OS map shows for the first time a number of mooring posts running along the northern bank of the canal towards Lock 37 from Ferrydyke bascule bridge that were still present in 1937. The stables below Ferrydyke Bridge are of an unusual construction having a '

walled garden A walled garden is a garden enclosed by high walls, especially when this is done for horticultural rather than security purposes, although originally all gardens may have been enclosed for protection from animal or human intruders. In temperate c ...

' style outward appearance with a large entrance door in keeping with that analogy. Internally some brickwork of a later date survives and to the west stands a building that is more typically stables-like. The variety of buildings present suggest other uses throughout their working life than purely stabling for horses.

The site today

Donald's Quay Light now stands at the approximate site of the end of Donald's Quay and is still in use as a navigation aid for shipping using the River Clyde. The old stables and associated cottages are in a ruinous condition although substantial remains are extant. Two large stone pillars represent the remnants of the footbridge that the railway built to provide access to the Donald's Quay Light. The railway track has been lifted however the sea wall is still present and remains in good condition.

Micro-history

A distance Slab of the Twentieth Legion was found at Ferrydyke at some point before 1684 marking the western termination of the

. A second distance slab was found here in 1758 and excavations have shown that a Roman bath house associated with the nearby Old Kilpatrick Roman fort also once stood at Ferrydyke. It has been suggested that a port serving the fort may once existed in the Old Kilpatrick area.Old Kilpatrick Fort
/ref>

References

Notes

Sources

* Bruce, John (1893). ''History of the Parish of West or Old Kilpatrick''. Glasgow : John Smith & Son. * Hume, John R. (1976). ''The Industrial Archaeology of Scotland. The Lowlands and Borders.'' London : B.T. Batsford. . * Thomas, John (1971). ''A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain : Volume VI. Scotland : The Lowlands and the Borders.'' Newton Abbot : David & Charles. .

External links

Video footage of Donald's Quay stablesFerrydyke Quay and bascule bridge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donald's Quay Bays of Scotland Ports and harbours of Scotland Firth of Clyde Landforms of West Dunbartonshire