The University Marine Biological Station Millport (UMBSM) was a

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

institution located on the island of

Great Cumbrae Great Cumbrae ( sco, Muckle Cumbrae; gd, Cumaradh Mòr; also known as Great Cumbrae Island, Cumbrae or the Isle of Cumbrae) is the larger of the two islands known as The Cumbraes in the lower Firth of Clyde in western Scotland. The island is s ...

in the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and run by the University of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(of which it was a central academic body). It closed in 2013 and is now Millport Field Centre, run by the

Field Studies Council Field Studies Council is an educational charity based in the UK, which offers opportunities for people to learn about and engage with the outdoors. History It was established as the Council for the Promotion of Field Studies in 1943 with the ...

. Located just outside the town, it had an extensive curriculum and research programme, with an influx of students throughout the academic year. A Museum and Aquarium (named after the founder, David Robertson) were open to visitors. In May 2003, the station took delivery of the Macduff-built, 22-metre marine

research vessel A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

RV ''Aora''. The station also functioned as a Meteorological Office Weather Station and Admiralty Tide Monitor.

History

Marine Biological Station, Millport - geograph

''The Ark'', an lighter, was fitted out as a floating laboratory by the father of modern

oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

, Sir John Murray. She formed the Scottish Marine Station for 12 years from 1884. In 1885 she was moved from Granton and drawn up on the shore at Port Loy, Cumbrae. She attracted a stream of distinguished scientists, drawn by the richness of the fauna and flora of the Firth of Clyde, but closed in 1903. In Millport, an amateur naturalist, David Robertson, was encouraged by meeting

Anton Dohrn Felix Anton Dohrn FRS FRSE (29 December 1840 – 26 September 1909) was a prominent German Darwinist and the founder and first director of the first zoological research station in the world, the Stazione Zoologica in Naples, Italy. He worked ...

and by the wealth of findings from the

Challenger expedition The ''Challenger'' expedition of 1872–1876 was a scientific program that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography. The expedition was named after the naval vessel that undertook the trip, . The expedition, initiated by Wil ...

. In 1894 he formed a committee to build a marine station in Millport and took over ''The Ark''. Millport Marine Biological Station was opened in 1897 by Sir John Murray. ''The Ark'' was totally destroyed by a great storm on the night of 20 January 1900. On 21 July 1904 ''Scotia'', the ship of Dr

William Speirs Bruce William Speirs Bruce (1 August 1867 – 28 October 1921) was a British Natural history, naturalist, polar region, polar scientist and Oceanography, oceanographer who organized and led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE, 1902–04) ...

Scottish National Antarctic Expedition The Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE), 1902–1904, was organised and led by William Speirs Bruce, a natural scientist and former medical student from the University of Edinburgh. Although overshadowed in terms of prestige by Robe ...

, returned to her first Scottish landing site, on the Isle of Cumbrae. From this beginning the station was gradually built up to its present size. The original building proved too small for the purpose and an architectural copy was built alongside. From 1966 to 1987 the station ran under the Directorship of Ronald Ian Currie

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

who was responsible for the creation of RV ''Challenger'' and RV ''Calanus''. In December 2012 it was announced that the University Marine Biological Station Millport would be forced to close after the

Higher Education Funding Council for England The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, which was responsible for the distribution of funding for higher education to universities and further education colleges in Engla ...

withdrew the grant of 400,000 pounds that it gave to the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

to run the station. UMBSM closed on 31 October 2013. Ownership was transferred to the

on 1 January 2014. In May 2014 a four-million-pound package of funding was announced that is intended to allow a comprehensive programme of development and refurbishment to be completed over five years. In 2020 the centre was shortlisted for a Nature of Scotland Business Award for their work connecting visitors with the island’s coasts and waters.

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:FSC Millport (formerly University Marine Biological Station Millport) Educational institutions established in 1885 Buildings and structures in North Ayrshire Education in North Ayrshire Science and technology in Scotland Former colleges of the University of London Marine biological stations Field studies centres in the United Kingdom The Cumbraes Firth of Clyde 1885 establishments in Scotland Oceanographic organizations Scientific organisations based in the United Kingdom

History

See also

References

External links