Find your way around Greenock
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As well as Greenock, Gourock and Port Glasgow, the street map covers the Inverclyde villages of Kilmacolm, Inverkip and Wemyss Bay at the slightly larger scale of 1:10,000 (6 inches to 1 mile). To order by post direct from the publisher, please click on the 'Map Ordering' button on the left.
Situated on the south bank of the River Clyde as it becomes the Firth of Clyde, Greenock was, until comparatively recently, the sixth largest town (or city) in Scotland. Once best known for its shipbuilding and sugar refining industries, it lies 22 miles downstream from the City of Glasgow, much of the town lying on steep north-facing slopes which command magnificent views of the Argyll mountains and Dunbartonshire hills across the water.
Greenock, then a small fishing village, became the centre of a separate parish in 1592, formerly having been located in the parish of Inverkip. The resulting parish church, one of the first post-Reformation churches in Scotland, still stands, although relocated to another site to make way for the needs of industry. Over the following centuries, Greenock and Cartsdyke, its near neighbour prospered as ports, gaining burgh charters in 1635 and 1669 respectively. Following the Union of Parliaments in 1707, trade increased, and, in 1832, Greenock became a Parliamentary Burgh. Prior to this, in 1818, David Reid was responsible for the spacious, grid-iron layout of the town's 'west end', one of the finest residential districts in Scotland.
During the 19th century, the town's population rose rapidly, firstly because of prosperity gained through trade with the Americas, and later associated with the advent of the railways, industrialisation and large-scale dock construction. The population reached its peak of 81,123 inhabitants in 1921; since that date there has been a relentless decline through out-migration; by 2001, the number of residents had fallen to 45,467.
Although the town still has a large container port (the Clydeport Container Terminal) and some active docks, more employment is today to be found in the electronics and service industries. The most extensive industrial complex, in the Spango Valley on the road to Inverkip, has been developed over the years by IBM, the computer firm. On the riverfront are a number of large offices and call centres, situated in landscaped grounds which were once the scene of heavy industry.
Some of the old dock system has been preserved for future recreational use, and the waterfront is now the site of a major leisure centre and a campus of the James Watt College. Further west is the Greenock Esplanade, one of the finest (and most tasteful) seafront promenades in Britain.
Greenock is the administrative centre for Inverclyde, an all-purpose local authority. The town is a good shopping centre, although perhaps not as extensive as one might expect from the town's size; this is probably due to the fact that the town and Inverclyde generally is situated on something of a promontory with no immediate catchment area to the west and north. In addition, it has excellent motorway and electric rail links to Glasgow and the rest of the country.
Custom House - More than any other Greenock building, the town's classical customs house (pictured on left) recalls past maritime wealth. Built in 1818, and designed by the renowned architect William Burn, it forms the centrepiece of current waterfront improvements and houses an interesting museum devoted to the work of HM Customs & Excise over the years.
Old West Kirk - This 16th century church, situated at the east end of the Greenock Esplanade, is an interesting example of stone-by-stone relocation, necessitated by the expansion of Harland and Wolff's shipyard in the 1920s.
McLean Museum and Art Gallery - Towards the west end of the town, amid a fine collection of 19th century architecture, is the McLean Museum and Art Gallery with its displays on local history, the great James Watt, ship and engine models, etc. Nearby also are the Watt Library which specialises in local history and in the provision of assistance to genealogists and the Sheriff Courthouse, a baronial masterpiece reminiscent of Morgan Academy, Dundee, by the same architects.
Municipal Buildings - Greenock's great 19th century wealth is perhaps epitomised in the town's Municipal Buildings, the tower of which, known as the Victoria Tower, rises to around 250 feet. The impressive interior is matched by deorative richness within, all designed by the architects, H & D Barclay and completed in 1886. It is a great pity that the nearby 1970s buildings of Clyde Square come nowhere near to matching the architectural excellence of the Municipal Buildings.
Dutch Gable House - Round the corner, in William Street, is the Dutch Gable House, a well restored building of 1755. Opposite, and three years older, is Greenock's oldest surviving housing.
Free French Memorial - Perhaps Greenock's best known view is that looking down to Gourock with the Free French Memorial in the foreground (pictured on the front of R P A Smith's Greenock, Gourock, Port Glasgow Street Plan - see far top right of this web page). The memorial itself commemorates the members of the Free French Navy who were stationed on the Clyde during the Second World War.
Information and Advice Centre - Although Greenock does not possess a tourist information centre, there is a Council-run Information and Advice Centre in Clyde Square, opposite the Municipal Buildings.
Leisure and Recreation
Waterfront Leisure Complex - By the Clyde is Greenock's state-of-the-art leisure centre comprising swimming pool, ice rink, gymnasium, health suite, etc. Nearby is a modern four-screen cinema and there are three other leisure centres in the town - at Nelson Street, Bridgend Road (Lady Octavia) and Ravenscraig.
Greenock Arts Guild Theatre - Situated in Campbell Street, a long-established musical, dramatic and arts venue.
Golf Courses - The town has two golf courses, one municipal, and one operated by a private club. The Greenock Golf Club can be found in the west end of the town, while the Whinhill public golf course is located to the south, around the Whinhill Reservoir.
Football Ground - Cappielow Park is the home of Greenock Morton Football Club.
R P A Smith's local map also covers the towns and former burghs of Gourock and Port Glasgow. Further information on these places can be obtained by clicking the relevant buttons on the upper left.
January 2008
R P A Smith's range of Street Plans covers the following towns and villages in Inverclyde and Renfrewshire (so far):
BARRHEAD
Brookfield
Busby
CLARKSTON
Eaglesham
Elderslie
GIFFNOCK
GOUROCK
GREENOCK
Howwood
Inverkip
JOHNSTONE
Kilbarchan
Kilmacolm
LINWOOD
Lochwinnoch
Neilston
NEWTON MEARNS
PAISLEY
PORT GLASGOW
Thornliebank
Uplawmoor
Waterfoot
Wemyss Bay
