Shipbuilding From the mid 18th century to the early 19th century Dumbarton's main industry was
glassmaking. As the glass industry declined the town became a major centre for
shipbuilding and remained so well into the 20th century. There were many shipbuilding yards, although a number of them were later absorbed by larger yards. A great many ships were built in the town, the most famous of which is probably the
Cutty Sark which was built by
Scott & Linton, she was one of the final
Tea Clippers to be built, and one of the fastest. The ship is the last survivor of its type and can be seen today at
dry dock in
Greenwich, London.
William Denny and Brothers engine designed by
Robert Napier, from PS
Leven (1823), on display at the
Scottish Maritime Museum with the statue of
Peter Denny in front The last major Dumbarton shipyard was
William Denny and Brothers which closed in 1963, and the remaining smaller yards followed over the next few decades. Until recently, the old Denny's shipyard tender
The Second Snark was still in use on the
Firth of Clyde as a
passenger ferry and cruise boat. Denny's was an innovative company that had a reputation for research and development; high-pressure turbines and hull stabilisation were two areas where they were highly respected. They even built an early design of helicopter in 1909 and in their final years they were involved in hovercraft development in the form of the Denny D2 Hoverbus. A film clip of this vessel on its maiden trip to
Oban exists in the Scottish Film Archive. The last surviving part of the Denny's shipbuilding company is the
Denny Ship Model Experiment Tank which forms part of the
Scottish Maritime Museum. This was the first commercial ship model testing tank built in the world and it retains many original features today: a water tank as long as a football pitch, clay moulding beds for casting wax model ship hulls and the original Victorian machinery used for shaping models. During the Second World War
Blackburn Aircraft were to produce Sunderland flying boats from a factory adjacent to Denny's shipyard. There is still a shipyard on the river Leven, Sandpoint Marina. A statue of the shipbuilder and shipowner,
Peter Denny, stands outside the
Municipal Buildings.
Whisky grain distillery.
Whisky production has become a major industry in the town. In 1936 Canadian distilling company
Hiram Walker bought over the Glasgow-based distiller
George Ballantine & Son Ltd. In 1938 they built a large grain whisky distillery on the river Leven (on the site of the Archibald McMillan shipyard) named the Inverleven distillery. As a result, the town became known as a major centre of the
whisky industry in the mid to late 20th century. The distillery at the height of its production was the largest grain distillery in Europe. Hiram Walker itself was acquired by
Allied Breweries in 1988 to form Allied Distillers, itself becoming part of
Allied Domecq before eventually being taken over in 2005 by the French-based alcohol giant
Pernod Ricard. The large Dumbarton distillery had been mothballed since 2002 and not long after the Pernod-Ricard takeover the giant red-brick buildings of the Dumbarton '
Ballantine's' distillery which had dominated the town for over sixty years were earmarked for demolition and redevelopment, the remains of the distillery were demolished throughout January and February 2017. The site was redeveloped mostly into new housing and flats. Starting with just six individuals, this has risen to close to 100 birds today. It had 3 stills and also made
gin.
Transport Dumbarton is situated on the main
A82 road, linking
Glasgow to the western
Scottish Highlands and is a short distance from
Balloch pier, where cruises can be taken on
Loch Lomond. Dumbarton is also served by three railway stations:
Dumbarton Central,
Dumbarton East and
Dalreoch railway station. All three stations are on the
North Clyde Line, and link
Helensburgh in the west and through
Glasgow Queen Street to
Edinburgh Waverley in the east.
Media Nation Radio Scotland, the local commercial radio station for
West Dunbartonshire is based in the town, having moved from
Clydebank in 2016. It formerly was named
Dumbarton Festival Radio,
Castle Rock FM until 2003, and then
Your Radio until 2020. The town has two local weekly newspapers,
The Lennox Herald and
The Dumbarton Reporter. == Culture ==