Erskine Ferry sailed across 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 ...

from

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 ...

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 ...

. The ferry was also referred to as ''East Ferry of Erskine'' as there was another ferry to

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

a few miles down river, known as ''West Ferry''. It is reputed to be the oldest ferry crossing of the Clyde. The crossing was part of the A740 route from Paisley to Old Kilpatrick. It was established in 1777 and replaced by 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 ...

in 1971.

History

At Erskine, the Clyde was shallow enough to

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

on foot and had been used for this purpose in past centuries. The river was then

dredged Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

to allow large ships to sail upriver 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 ...

. This brought a requirement of a ferry service between Erskine and Old Kilpatrick. Initially, a passenger-only service was available. The Clyde Navigation Trust acquired the service in 1907 and added a vehicle ferry boat to the crossing. The previous owner was the 12th Lord Blantyre.

Boats

There have been many different types of boats used throughout the years. Initially a punt pushed along by poles was used prior to 1832. From 1832 to 1860 a chain ferry replaced the punt; ferry operators pulled on chains to cross the river. A steam-powered ferry was then used until closure. Between 1856 and 1857, Thomas Wingate constructed the first steam-powered ferry called ''Urania''. It was used until the early 1900s. In February 1903, the Paisley and Renfrewshire Gazette newspaper reported on an order placed with Messrs John Reid and Co shipbuilders for a new ferry steamer for the crossing. A third ferry was launched on 16 July 1935, built by Messrs Fleming and Ferguson. The former Renfrew ferry was upgraded in 1962 and served until the new Erskine Bridge opened in 1971.

Service

The service ran from 6am to 10 or 11pm in the summer. During the winter months and on Sundays the service started at 10am. The fare in 1937 was 9 d for a car and driver; this had increased to 2s by 1963. The journey over the Clyde took less than 5 minutes. At one point, connecting ferries from

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

and Glasgow stopped at Erskine Ferry on an hourly basis. A Paisley holiday in March 1912 saw 251 cycles, 75 motor cars and 2,073 foot passengers cross on the ferry.

Accidents

On 18 June 1963, an accident killing two ex-servicemen visiting the

Erskine Hospital Erskine is a veterans care and support charity headquartered in Erskine, Renfrewshire, but operating across the Central Belt of Scotland. It provides a range of services to British Armed Forces, veterans of all ages and their families, who have s ...

occurred at the ferry. The driver of a motor vehicle put his foot on the accelerator instead of the brake, this resulted in the car smashing through the safety barriers on the ferry and into the Clyde, killing the driver and passenger. The two men and car were recovered from the Clyde. One of the men is buried in Erskine, just outside the hospital grounds. A bus full of passengers also crashed through the barriers on 26 July 1946. The vehicle was pulled back on to the ferry and nobody was injured. A man was rescued from the Clyde on 18 January 1953 by the ferry-master. He had cycled down the slipway at Old Kilpatrick and missed the boat, resulting in him ending up in the water.

Ferry Lodge

Ferry Lodge is a

category B listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

used by the ferry operators. The ticket office for foot passengers was on the Old Kilpatrick side: passengers from Old Kilpatrick went through a turnstile to the right of the office (looking towards the ferry), those coming from the Erskine side passed through a turnstile to the left.

Renfrewshire Council 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 ...

sold the building in 1983. Ferry Lodge, which is now a house, was designed by

Sir Robert Smirke Sir Robert Smirke (1 October 1780 – 18 April 1867) was an English architect, one of the leaders of Greek Revival architecture, though he also used other architectural styles. As architect to the Board of Works, he designed several major ...

, the architect of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. There was also an inn nearby. This building is no longer here.

Gallery

File:Erskine Ferry Lodge.jpeg, Ferry Lodge File:Abandoned Erskine Ferry Slipway - geograph.org.uk - 1734075.jpg, Disused ferry slipway File:Gates at Abandoned Erskine Ferry Slipway - geograph.org.uk - 1735558.jpg, Entrance gates to slipway

References

{{River Clyde Ferry transport in Scotland Transport in Renfrewshire Transport in Glasgow 1777 establishments in Scotland 1971 disestablishments in Scotland British companies established in 1777 Transport companies disestablished in 1971 British companies disestablished in 1971 Transport companies established in 1777 Erskine, Renfrewshire