Napier & Miller Ltd. (also Messrs Napier & Miller) were Scottish shipbuilders based at

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 ...

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 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Company history

The company was founded in 1898 at a yard at

Yoker Yoker ( gd, An Eochair) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, on the northern bank of the Clyde east of Clydebank, west of the city centre. From the fourteenth century, the Renfrew Ferry has linked Yoker with Renfrew on the south bank. Althou ...

. In 1906 it moved to a new site a few miles downriver at

after its yard was acquired by the Clyde Navigation Trust to build a new dock (subsequently named Rothesay Dock). During World War I the company built sloops and minesweepers for the Royal Navy, along with merchant ships. It also assembled a number of Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 aircraft. In the 1920s the company built passenger ships and Great Lakes traders for United States, Canadian and Norwegian companies. The company also did contract work for other shipbuilders, for example being subcontracted by A. & J. Inglis to build the hull for the paddle steamer for Buchanan Steamers. During the Great Depression the company went out of business, having built over 120 ships. The last ship was completed in 1930, and the yard was closed, sold, and demolished the following year.

Ships

The company built two double-ended steam passenger ferries for the

Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company The Port Jackson and Manly Steamship Company (PJ&MSC) was a publicly listed company that operated the Manly ferries in Sydney, Australia. After being taken over by Brambles Industries, the ferry service was eventually taken over by the State ...

Limited in Sydney, Australia, launched in 1927 and 1928. They were named ''Dee Why'' and ''Curl Curl'' and were in service until 1968 and 1960 respectively. Their triple-expansion, four-cylinder

reciprocating engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common fea ...

s were built by D & W Henderson.

References

External links

* Defunct shipbuilding companies of Scotland West Dunbartonshire 1898 establishments in Scotland 1930 disestablishments in Scotland {{Scotland-org-stub