More sage advice from auld Greenock (1895)
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Smothering as a sleep-aid
Tag: Greenock
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Surprise Tatties!
A recipe from Greenock, 1909.
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Erskine Ferry Fares
he Erskine Ferry was an important part of the Glasgow to Greenock trade route and was the oldest ferry on the Clyde, started in 1777. Here are the tolls for the year 1845. Roughly equivalent to 50p per foot passenger and £15 for a four wheeled carriage.
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Greenock Whisky Fire of 1903
In 1903, Ardgowan Distillery in Greenock caught fire. Storage casks burst sending a wave of flaming whisky down the street and set fire to a stream leading to a flour mill, which then exploded. A “raging flood of fire” chased people down the street.
Greenock had so many underground streams that flaming whisky raced under houses and streets. People began throwing furniture and belongings into the street at the first sign of fire, but the wave of flaming spirit crashed into them adding to the fires.
The warehouses had 800,000 gallons of whisky which all caught fire. The flood traveled over a kilometre through the town before entering the harbour. Water was hard to collect as the streams were on fire. It took more than 400 people to fight the fires.
7 people died, five were children under 16yrs old. Damages totaled £80,000– roughly equivalent to £10million today. Another warehouse with 2 million gallons caught fire but was thankfully extinguished in time.
The event was almost repeated during the blitz of 1941. After bombs hit the distillery flaming whisky poured down the same street creating “a sea of fire”.
