Gourlay Brothers was a

marine engineering Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circl ...

and

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 ...

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 manufacturing steam engines, building engines and boilers for the steam tug ''William Wallace'' in 1829, and in the 1830s building locomotives for the Dundee and Newtyle and the

Arbroath and Forfar Railway The Arbroath and Forfar Railway was a railway that connected Forfar with the port town of Arbroath, in Scotland. It opened in 1838–1839 and it was successful in making an operating profit, but it was always desperately short of capital. It u ...

James Stirling (1800–1876) James Stirling (3 March 1799, Methven – 10 January 1876, Edinburgh) was a Scottish engineer, and brother of Robert Stirling. He originally specialised railway engines and later in dock gates and weirs Life He was born at Cloag Farm ...

was manager of the Dundee Foundry until 1846. In 1846 the Foundry was taken over and renamed Gourlay, Mudie & Co. This company was dissolved in 1853, and then operated as Gourlay Brothers & Co., with four brothers – Alexander, William, Gershom, and Henry Gourlay – as partners. In May 1854, Gourlay's turned to shipbuilding, leasing land at the east end of Marine Parade to use as a slipway. Their first vessels were built for the coastal trade, but they went on to build a number of cargo ships for the Dundee, Perth and London Shipping Company. The business prospered, largely due to the efforts of Henry Gourlay, a member of the

Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland The Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland (IESIS) is a multi-disciplinary professional body and learned society, founded in Scotland, for professional engineers in all disciplines and for those associated with or taking an interes ...

and of the

Institution of Naval Architects The Royal Institution of Naval Architects (also known as RINA) is an international organisation representing naval architects. It is an elite international professional institution based in London. Its members are involved worldwide at all levels ...

. By 1866 Gourlay's had become the largest of the five shipbuilding firms in Dundee, employing about 300 men, and building 14,000 tons of shipping between 1861 and 1867. In 1867 they launched the ''Dundee'' of 1,295 tons, at that time the largest ship built on the Tay. In 1869 Gourlay's leased more land downriver from their yard, which they named Camperdown Dock, enabling even larger ships to be built. In 1871 five vessels were launched, all of more than 1,000 tons. In 1876 seven of the twenty-three ships built in Dundee were launched from Gourlay's yard. However, a serious slump in shipbuilding occurred in the mid-1880s, with Gourlay's building only three ships totalling 4,000 tons in 1885 and 1886. The recovery came with the resumption of international orders; in 1890, Gourlay's built 11,616 tons of shipping, with orders coming from South Africa, South America, India, Russia, Australia, Finland, Turkey and France. Gershom Gourlay, the last of the original partners, retired in 1889, and his sons, Henry Garrett and Charles Gershom Gourlay, with James Gordon Lyon, became the directors of the company. Another slump occurred in the mid-1890s, with 1894 the worst year for orders yet, with only three small paddle-boats built. Ship repairing and refitting helped to provide some employment, but it was not until 1897 that orders begin to rise. Although Gourlay's were pioneers in the use of the

screw propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

, they now gained a reputation for building

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses we ...

s. British railway companies became regular customers, and of the thirty vessels built between 1902 and 1908, nine were for the Great Eastern, the

Great Central The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the L ...

, and the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...

s. Unfortunately, labour relations soured, and between 1902 and 1904 the yard experienced a three-week strike by

joiner A joiner is an artisan and tradesperson who builds things by joining pieces of wood, particularly lighter and more ornamental work than that done by a carpenter, including furniture and the "fittings" of a house, ship, etc. Joiners may work in ...

s, a demarcation dispute, a 14-week strike by engineers, and various minor disputes. In 1904 the yard had been virtually closed, its total output being a 364-ton ship and two tugs. The same year it became a private joint stock company under the name of Gourlay Brothers & Company (Dundee) Ltd. with Charles Gershom Gourlay holding the controlling majority of shares, with Henry, Fanny, Kenneth and William Gourlay, James Lyon and William Fyffe holding lesser amounts. Output for 1905 reached a total of nearly 12,000 tons, and that year also saw the completion of a modernisation programme, with new machinery and complete electrification of the yard. In 1906 Gourlay's launched over 12,600 tons of shipping, its most productive year yet. However the following year output sank to only 6,276 tons. The lack of orders and the expensive modernisation programme led the company into serious debt. This, along with higher prices of raw materials, pushed up the cost of building, shortening profit margins. Demand for new shipping continued to fall and by the end of 1907 orders were few. On 8 June 1908, the company was finally wound up. In May 1909 the equipment of the Yard and Foundry were sold at public auction, and on 23 June 1910, the company was formally dissolved. In its time Gourlay's launched over 200 ships.

Ships constructed

References

{{reflist
National Archives, UK

External links

Dundee City Council Archive: List of Gourlay Shipping
Manufacturing companies established in 1846 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1908 Companies based in Dundee Marine engine manufacturers Defunct shipbuilding companies of Scotland Engine manufacturers of the United Kingdom Defunct companies of Scotland History of Dundee 1846 establishments in Scotland 1908 disestablishments in Scotland British companies disestablished in 1908 British companies established in 1846