![Hercules Linton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Hercules_Linton.jpg)
Hercules Linton (1 January 1837 – 15 May 1900) was a Scottish
surveyor,
designer
A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans.
In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...
,
shipbuilder
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...
,
antiquarian and local
councillor
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
, best known as the designer of the ''
Cutty Sark
''Cutty Sark'' is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Leven, Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, coming at the end of a long period ...
'' and partner in the yard of
Scott and Linton, which built her.
He was born in
Inverbervie
Inverbervie (from gd, Inbhir Biorbhaidh or ''Biorbhaigh'', "mouth of the River Bervie") is a small town on the north-east coast of Scotland, south of Stonehaven.
Etymology
The name ''Inverbervie'' involves the Gaelic ''Inbhir Biorbhaigh'', ...
,
the Mearns
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, Scotland. In 1855 on his nineteenth birthday, Hercules Linton was apprenticed to
Alexander Hall and Sons, who were the leading shipbuilders in
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
and whose
schooner ''
Scottish Maid'' (1839) with its sharp bow and entry helped coin the term
Aberdeen Bow. Linton progressed through his apprenticeship and eventually rose to a senior position at Alexander Hall and Sons.
Eventually he left Alexander Hall and Sons to become a
Lloyd's Register
Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...
Surveyor based at the Lloyds offices in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
. He subsequently moved to the Liverpool Underwriters Registry where from early in 1862 he was assisting John Jordan, the Chief Surveyor. It is thought that he left the Liverpool Underwriters Association in May 1864 but still associated on a freelance basis.
Scott and Linton shipbuilders
In May 1868, Linton entered into a
shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...
partnership with
William Dundas Scott to form the firm of Scott & Linton, shipbuilders of
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 ...
, on the
River Leven near its junction with the
River Clyde.
Approximately £600 of the £1200 capital to set up the business was provided by Scott's father. The rest was a borrowing against Linton's life insurance policy and some cash. Hercules Linton managed the design and shipbuilding and William Scott managed the
counting house
A counting house, or counting room, was traditionally an office in which the financial books of a business were kept. It was also the place that the business received appointments and correspondence relating to demands for payment.
As the use of ...
and engineering.
In May 1868 Scott & Linton rented part of the Woodyard. The yard was previously occupied by
Denny's
Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some of the locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,700 restaurants in many countries.
Description
Originally opened as a coffee shop under t ...
until they moved across the river Leven upon expiry of their lease. However, the lack of business experience in the two partners showed as early as August. Correspondence between Scott and his father shows that cash flow problems emerged during the building of their first order, the small iron steamship ''Camel'', for which there appeared to be no contracted stage payments during the build. Work had to be completed in October and the completed vessel delivered to J. Bibby & Co in
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
at which point Scott & Linton would then receive the full purchase price of £980.
''Cutty Sark'' and John Willis
![Hercules Linton's memorial plaque in Inverbervie](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Hercules_Linton%27s_memorial_plaque_in_Inverbervie.JPG)
The agreement to build the ''Cutty Sark'' was signed by
John 'Jock' Willis (also known as 'White Hat' Willis) on 1 February 1869 with a contracted completion date six months later on 30 July 1869. Willis had been an experienced
shipmaster
A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...
in his father's business and now was also an experienced ship owner on his own account. How Willis found and selected Scott & Linton to design and build a state of the art extreme
clipper is not known. Linton certainly had many contacts made through his career as a respected surveyor and probably also did design work as surveyors often did at that time. Linton's experience gained at Alexander Hall & Sons probably contributed to his design skills.
On the surface it seems Willis must have been taking a risk but he used all his business experience to negotiate an agreement which provided a high degree of protection. Willis with his practical experience also approved the drawings and specifications. The agreement provided for a payment of a deposit to Scott & Linton upon signature followed by seven stage payments as the construction progressed. However, there were also penalty clauses.
''Cutty Sark'' was contracted for at a price of £17 per ton but if the tonnage exceeded 950 tons there would be no extra payment. The price of £17 per ton was extremely competitive and given the total lack of experience in building a
composite
Composite or compositing may refer to:
Materials
* Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances
** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts
** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials
...
clipper ship of anything close to the size and complexity of ''Cutty Sark'' makes one wonder how the price was calculated to win the order and yet still make a profit. The completed vessel was to be delivered by 30 July 1869 with a penalty of £5 per day to be paid by Scott & Linton for every day of delay unless the delays were due to changes in specification or labour strikes. If Scott and Linton were unable to complete then Willis had the right to enter the yard and finish the work paying for materials out of the withheld stage payments.
''Cutty Sark'' was to be built to Lloyd's A1 classification and in addition to the regular visits from the Lloyd's surveyors, Willis had one of his experienced skippers, Captain
George Moodie
George Birrell Moodie (22 October 1872 – 4 June 1954) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the early years of the Victorian Football League (VFL).
A strongly built yet durable ruck shepherd, Moodi ...
, superintend the construction prior to taking command of ''Cutty Sark'' upon completion. Captain Moodie was said to be very particular regarding the quality of the materials used in the construction and only accepted the best quality materials and workmanship which all added to the cost (this may have contributed to why the ''Cutty Sark'' is still in existence today).
During the construction the Lloyd's surveyors wanted additional strengthening around the bilges and other areas. Agreement was eventually reached with Lloyd's but not before causing a delay which in turn delayed the receipt of stage payments, affected cash flow and reduced the profit by causing Scott & Linton to absorb the extra cost of labour and materials to comply with the negotiated additions.
The problems with the surveyors were made worse by the fact that Linton's father Alexander Linton was one of the Lloyd's surveyors involved. He was normally based in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
but in May 1869 he was temporarily seconded 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 ...
due to the resident Lloyd's surveyor's involvement in a shipyard accident.
Financial problems
Cash flow problems were such that all work in the Scott & Linton yard was suspended in the first week of September. Rather than apply for the company to be liquidated, the creditors met and decided to complete some or all of the outstanding contracts and a financial agreement was reached with
William Denny & Bros
William Denny and Brothers Limited, often referred to simply as Denny, was a Scottish shipbuilding company.
History
The shipbuilding interests of the Denny family date back to William Denny (born 1779), for whom ships are recorded being buil ...
to complete the ships. ''Cutty Sark'' was eventually launched on 22 November 1869, nearly five months late, by Captain Moodie's wife. ''Cutty Sark'' was then moved to Denny's yard on the other side of the
River Leven to have her masts installed and on 20 December towed down the
River Clyde to
Greenock to have a specialist firm install her running rigging.
In the midst of the collapse of his business, Linton's wife gave birth to a baby son in October 1869 but soon after Linton was forced to hand over his house to the creditors. After everything was finished and final costs taken into account, the creditors were owed even more money than the amount outstanding when they made the ill-advised decision to complete the three ships.
Linton in later years
![Hercules Linton's tombstone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Hercules_Linton%27s_tombstone.JPG)
After the troubles at Scott & Linton, Linton joined
Gourlay Brothers
Gourlay Brothers was a marine engineering and shipbuilding company based in Dundee, Scotland. It existed between 1846 and 1908.
Company history
The company had its origins in the Dundee Foundry, founded in 1791. By 1820 the foundry was manufac ...
as assistant manager at their yard in
Camperdown,
Dundee.
In December, 1869 Linton took a job as head of the modelling and design department at
Leckie, Wood and Munro who were shipbuilders and engineers. At the beginning of April 1870 he resigned due to his involvement with a new firm of shipbuilders Morton, Wyld & Co. who started operations at the yard previously occupied by Scott & Linton. However, in November 1870 they also went bankrupt.
Linton was appointed a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in November 1876.
He went south to
Woolston, Hampshire
Woolston is a suburb of Southampton, Hampshire, located on the eastern bank of the River Itchen. It is bounded by the River Itchen, Sholing, Peartree Green, Itchen and Weston.
The area has a strong maritime and aviation history. The former ...
in 1880 and eventually left to go to
Montrose where his tenth and last child, a daughter was born in December 1884. Linton's wife Marjory died in January 1885 which affected him deeply.
In 1895 he was living in
Inverbervie
Inverbervie (from gd, Inbhir Biorbhaidh or ''Biorbhaigh'', "mouth of the River Bervie") is a small town on the north-east coast of Scotland, south of Stonehaven.
Etymology
The name ''Inverbervie'' involves the Gaelic ''Inbhir Biorbhaigh'', ...
and in November of that year was elected to the Town Council.
Hercules Linton was aged 64 when he died on 15 May 1900 due to heart trouble. His grave in Inverbervie parish churchyard is extremely modest.
References
Sources
* ''The Cutty Sark, Her Designer and Builder'', HERCULES LINTON, 1836-1900. Author Robert E. Brettle. Published in 1969 by W. Heffer & Sons, Cambridge, England.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linton, Hercules
Boat and ship designers
Scottish designers
Scottish surveyors
Scottish shipbuilders
Scottish antiquarians
Councillors in Aberdeenshire
People from Kincardine and Mearns
1837 births
1900 deaths
19th-century Scottish businesspeople