Lithgows Limited is a family-owned Scottish company that had a long involvement in

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 ...

, based in Kingston, Port Glasgow, on the River Clyde in

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 ...

. It has a continued involvement in marine resources.

History

Founding

The Company was established by Joseph Russell and his partners Anderson Rodger and William Lithgow who leased the Bay Yard in Port Glasgow from Cunliffe & Dunlop and started trading as Russell & Co. in 1874.University of Glasgow Archives
/ref> In 1879 they purchased the Cartsdyke Mid Yard from J.E. Scott and in 1881 they acquired the Kingston Shipyard from Henry Murray. The partnership was dissolved in 1891: Russell retired, Rodger took the Bay Yard and Lithgow the Kingston and Cartsdyke Yards. In 1900 the Cartsdyke Yard was sold to Greenock Dockyard. Then in 1908 brothers William Lithgow's sons, James and Henry, assumed control; they bought the Bay yard in 1911. The Company then entered a period of expansion by acquisition, buying the Port Glasgow East Yard from ''Robert Duncan & Co'' in 1915 and

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 ...

marine enginebuilders ''David Rowan & Company'' in 1917. In 1918 ''Russell & Company'' was renamed ''Lithgows Ltd''. Further acquisitions included the Inch Yard of ''Dunlop, Bremner'' in 1919 (although it continued to trade under its own name until 1926), the Glen Yard of

William Hamilton and Company William Hamilton and Company was a British shipyard in Port Glasgow, Scotland. The company was bought by Lithgow Ltd., which later became Scott Lithgow and was nationalised as part of British Shipbuilders in 1977. During the Second World War ...

also in 1919 (although it continued to trade under its own name until 1963), steel stockholders ''James Dunlop & Company'' in 1920, the closed yard of ''Murdoch & Murray'' in 1923 (giving them complete ownership of the entire Port Glasgow waterfront from Bay to Inch), the Greenock enginebuilder ''Rankin & Blackmore Ltd'' also in 1923 and the Irvine-based shipbuilder ''Ayrshire Dockyard Ltd'' in 1928. In 1933 the Inch shipyard was sold to National Shipbuilders Security and 'sterilised' for 40 years. Then in 1935 Lithgows took control of the Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company in

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...

although it continued trading as a separate entity. Closures followed: the Bay shipyard was closed and demolished in 1935. The Robert Duncan East Shipyard which had closed in 1931 was reopened under the Lithgows name in 1937.

Post War

In 1949 Sir James Lithgow set up ''Scottish Ore Carriers Ltd''. In 1961 Lithgows took control of '' Ferguson Brothers (Port Glasgow) Ltd.'' at Newark (although it continued to trade as a separate entity). In 1963 the East Yard was merged with

's Glen Yard, so acquiring an Arrol 'Goliath' gantry crane and the David Rowan engine-building subsidiary was merged with Fairfield's enginebuilding to form ''Fairfield Rowan Ltd''. In 1964 the Lithgow enginebuilding subsidiary of ''Rankin & Blackmore'' closed their Eagle Foundry in Greenock. Then in 1965 Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering was placed in receivership. It continued outwith Lithgow control as ''Fairfield (Glasgow) Ltd'' (q.v.). The enginebuilding subsidiary Fairfield Rowan was closed in 1966. In 1966 Lithgows purchased the Inchgreen Drydock from ''Firth of Clyde Drydock Company''. It occupied the site of Lithgows' former Gas works at Inchgreen. In 1967 Lithgows merged with

Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited, often referred to simply as Scotts, was a Scottish shipbuilding company based in Greenock on the River Clyde. In its time in Greenock, Scotts built over 1,250 ships. History John Scott fo ...

to form '' Scott Lithgow Ltd'' although Lithgows traded separately as ''Lithgows (1969) Ltd''. In 1970 Lithgows (1969) Ltd purchased the ''Campbeltown Shipyard Ltd'' and in 1972 the Glen / East Yard was absorbed into the Kingston Yard. In 1977 Scott Lithgow Ltd (and its Scott, Lithgow and Ferguson subsidiaries) were absorbed into the state owned British Shipbuilders. After 1977 Lithgows Ltd remained in family hands and their business interests diversified into hotels, electronics and aquaculture (sold in 2010). From 1981 the former Lithgow Kingston / Glen Yard was operated by ''Scott Lithgow (Offshore) Ltd''. In 1983 the former Lithgow yards at Kingston / Glen were sold to Trafalgar House but were unused after 1987. The yards were partly dismantled in the years 1987 to 1995. In 1996 the Kingston / Glen yards were sold to ''Clydeport plc'' for redevelopment. Then in 1997 Clydeport leased the Inchgreen Drydock to UiE Scotland for ship refitting and the Arrol 'Goliath' Gantry Crane was demolished. Final traces of the Kingston and Glen / East shipyards were all but removed in 2005 and 2006, with only the red main gate of the Glen Yard surviving in late 2015. The Kingston is being redeveloped for residential purposes and the Glen is now the site of a large retail development. Lithgows Ltd returned to shipbuilding in 1996 when they purchased the Buckie Shipyard in eastern Scotland. The shipyard went into administration in August 2013. Lithgows continue to operate the Marine Resources Centre at

Barcaldine, Argyll Barcaldine ( gd, Am Barra Calltainn) is a small settlement in Scotland centred on the historic Barcaldine House and located on the banks of Loch Creran between Oban and Ballachulish. There was formerly a railway station here. Barcaldine Castle ...

, near Oban.

References

External links

A full list of the ships built by the companyNational Library of Scotland: SCOTTISH SCREEN ARCHIVE
(archive films relating to Lithgows and Scott Lithgow shipyards) {{authority control Defunct shipbuilding companies of Scotland Companies based in Inverclyde 1874 establishments in Scotland 1977 disestablishments in Scotland British companies established in 1874 River Clyde British companies disestablished in 1977 British Shipbuilders