. , viewed from the site of the original harbour which was
infilled, and formed Coronation Park in 1937.
Origins The origins of Port Glasgow go back to the construction by Sir George Maxwell between 1450 and 1477 of the "New Werke of Finlastoun", which became
Newark Castle. At a good anchorage near the castle, a small fishing hamlet known as
Newark formed, like other scattered hamlets along the shores of the
River Clyde. After 1589 the village of
Greenock formed just under to the west of Newark, and gradually became a market town with growing fishing and sea trade, although it had only a jetty in the bay to unload ships. Since seagoing ships could not go further up the Clyde due to sandbanks and shallows, the
Glasgow merchants such as the
Tobacco Lords wanted harbour access, but got into arguments with Greenock over harbour dues and warehouses. They put a bid in for the Easter Greenock estate for a harbour, but were outbid and the lands became the
Barony of Cartsburn. They then negotiated with Sir Patrick Maxwell of Newark Estate, and in 1668 he agreed to
feu (lease) to the City of Glasgow of land to the west of the castle, for payment of 1,300
merks and an annual
feu duty of four merks. Construction of piers and
breakwaters enclosing the
harbour began promptly, and Newport Glasgow was constituted as a free port. Trade prospered quickly, and by 1710 Newport Glasgow had the principal Clyde
custom house, initially in Customhouse Lane, then after 1754 in a new building constructed on the west quay of the harbour. Through that century the town became known simply as Port Glasgow. Ships, mostly owned by Glasgow merchants, imported tobacco, sugar, rum, cotton and mahogany from the
Americas, as well as timber, iron and hemp from the
Baltic. These goods were then taken by road to Glasgow, as was market garden produce from farms around Port Glasgow. A change began in 1773 when the
Lang Dyke was constructed to deepen the upper river, and ships increasingly went upriver straight to Glasgow. In 1830, the custom house collected £243,349 3s 1d in revenue, but after that income from the port declined, while by then Greenock had its own customs house. In the 1690s, the
grid-iron street layout, which still forms much of the town centre today, was laid out.
Shipbuilding now occupies the site of McGill's shipyard. The Bay Yard, in front of Gourock Ropeworks, built the tall ship
Glenlee. In 1780, Thomas McGill set up one of the first shipyards in the area, located near
Newark castle. By the 19th century, Port Glasgow had become a centre of shipbuilding. The
Comet was built in the town in 1812 and was the first commercial
steam vessel in Europe. A replica of the Comet was built in 1962 to mark the 150th anniversary. It, and a
plaque commemorating the actual site of construction, were situated in Port Glasgow town centre in 1973. , Europe's first commercially successful steamboat, was built in Port Glasgow, and a replica of her made by shipyard apprentices was on display in the town centre until its demolition in 2023. The
Town Buildings were completed in 1815 and Port Glasgow became a parliamentary
burgh in 1832, but around this time, the River Clyde up to Glasgow was deepened and new road and rail links meant that the town was no longer needed much as a port. The
shipbuilding industry then took over as the main source of employment and prosperity. Port Glasgow has been responsible for about a quarter of the total tonnage of ships launched on the Clyde, and also dealt in scrapping old ships, most notably the French liner ''L'atlantique'', the burnt out wreck of which was broken up in the yard of Smith & Houston. However, as with most of Inverclyde's industry, the shipbuilding industry has all but gone and only
Ferguson Marine, which was nationalised in 2019, remains in the town today.
Regeneration The former Gourock Ropeworks building, built as a sugar refinery in 1866, was redeveloped as luxury flats in 2006, and a retail park has been laid out adjacent to the town centre. Ferguson Shipyard - geograph.org.uk - 307737.jpg|Ferguson's shipyard gate, before demolition in 2015/16 Ferguson's shipyard - geograph.org.uk - 1166906.jpg|Ferguson's shipyard gatehouse before demolition in 2016 The Glen Yard - geograph.org.uk - 1608628.jpg|Scott Lithgow's Glen Yard in 1986 (site is now a retail park) ==Transport==