a sea-port town of Scotland, in the shire of Renfrew. It is beautifully situated on the south bank of the Firth of Clyde, about twenty-two miles below Glasgow, in latitude 55° 57' 2" N. and longitude 4° 45' 30" W. In front of the town there is a fine and extensive bay, formerly known by the name of the Bay of St Lawrence, from a religious house which anciently stood there. Behind the town the land rises into a picturesque ridge of hills, about eight hundred feet high, between which and the bay Greenock stretches for about two miles and a half along the shore; but its breadth is inconsiderable, although it occasionally ascends to some height up the sides of the mountain chain. Greenock is not exempted from the common fate incident to towns in reference to the origin of their names. Its name is supposed to be derived from the compound Gaelic word Grianaig, grion signifying sun, and aig port or bay. This hypothesis receives support from the circumstance that the bay in which the town is built is directly opposite to the rising sun; and it seems probable that this may have been a station where the Celtic aborigines, who worshipped the sun, hailed its appearance. Others trace the origin of the name to a wide-spreading oak which once grew upon the shore; but this theory has few supporters.

Although Greenock is now the first sea-port of Scotland, it has risen to its present eminence since the union of the kingdoms. Previously to that period it was a mere fishing village, connected with a barony of ancient date under the family of Shaw. In 1589 James VI. granted leave to Shaw, the baron, to erect a place of worship for the convenience of the inhabitants of the district. In 1594 the estates of Shaw were erected into an independent parsonage and vicarage; and these again were in 1636 constituted a parish under the title of the parish of Greenock. As it is to its quays that Greenock owes its prosperity, we shall trace their origin, extension, and present state, together with the commerce thereby carried on, previously to describing the town.

In 1696 and 1700 Sir John Shaw made application to the Scottish parliament for public aid to build a harbour at Greenock; but his applications were unsuccessful. At this period there was only an insignificant landing-place, unfit for the reception of vessels; a disadvantage which the inhabitants felt so much, that in 1707 they agreed with their superior to allow themselves to be assessed at a certain rate to liquidate the expense of building a proper pier and harbour, which work was finished in 1710; and in the same year Greenock was established a custom-house port, and a branch of Port-Glasgow. For the time at which it was erected the work was a formidable undertaking. But although it cost £5555, the whole sum was liquidated in less than thirty years, the trade created by this means not only bringing an accession of wealth, but also of inhabitants. In 1783 the harbour-dues amounted to L111. 4s. 8d., and in 1792 to L812. 9s. Of the original harbours scarcely a vestige remains, successive repairs and new erections having obliterated the traces of them. Six acts of parliament have been obtained for regulating the affairs of the port; the first was passed in 1773, and the sixth in 1817.

A dock was built in 1785, at an expense of L4000; but from the increase of trade, one of more ample dimensions was found indispensable. Meetings were held at various times for the purpose of facilitating this project, and, in 1818, the harbour trustees finally resolved upon carrying it into effect. The work was finished in 1824, at an expense of L20,000; but the harbours and new dry docks, together with the appurtenances thereto belonging, such as the lots of ground where warehouses and sheds might be erected, or which might be laid out as bonding yards for wood, have cost L119,000. These works are considered to be as commodious and elegant as any in the kingdom; and, with the new erection eastward, which has been recently finished, they are in these respects scarcely surpassed anywhere. The following measurements show the extent of the quays, and their accommodation:

| Quay | Feet | |-----------------------|------| | East quay | 331 | | Entrance to harbour | 105 | | Custom-house quay | 1035 | | Entrance to harbour | 105 | | West quay | 425 |

Extreme length from east to west: 2201

Breadth of piers: 60

Along with the town council, commissioners, who are annually elected, manage the affairs of the harbour.

Greenock enjoys coasting and foreign trade to a very considerable extent. Vessels from the Clyde are to be found in every port to which British enterprise has penetrated. The first vessel belonging to this port crossed the Atlantic in 1719; but shortly afterwards the shipping rapidly increased, for the union had now opened up its full prospects to Scottish industry. With such rapidity did Greenock extend her maritime relations, that the jealousy of the traders of London, Liverpool, and Bristol, was excited. They accused the merchants of Greenock and Port-Glasgow of defrauding the revenue; but the charge was triumphantly refuted. The earliest trade seems to have been in herrings, and it is still continued, the amount cured annually averaging about 19,000 barrels. Trading in tobacco was also carried on at a very early period. It was first brought from the colonies, and then exported to the Continent. The Greenland whale-fishing commenced as far back as 1752, but it never rose to be of any importance, and is now discontinued. The disruption of America from Great Britain greatly depressed the commerce of Greenock, for at that period the most considerable trade of the port was with that country. At present the principal intercourse is with the East and West Indies, and with North America. Newfoundland and South America have also employed a considerable quantity of shipping. The gradual increase of trade is shown by the following tables: Account of the Gross Receipt of the Customs at the Port of Greenock, in the Years 1728, 1770, 1802, 1822, 1828, 1831, 1833, and 1834.

| Year | Tons | |------|------| | 1728 | 15,291 | | 1770 | 57,336 | | 1802 | 211,087 | | 1822 | 263,464 | | 1828 | 455,596 | | 1831 | 592,008 | | 1833 | 450,425 | | 1834 | 482,138 |

Account of the Number and Tonnage of Vessels entered Inwards, and Cleared Outwards, to Foreign Parts, with Cargoes, in the Year ending 5th January 1784, till 1835.

| Year | British | Foreign | British | Foreign | |------|---------|---------|---------|---------| | | No. | Tons. | No. | Tons. | | 1784 | 52 | 6,569 | 4 | 530 | | 1794 | 89 | 14,807 | 17 | 3357 | | 1804 | 165 | 30,802 | 25 | 5120 | | 1814 | 163 | 40,447 | 5 | 1007 | | 1824 | 188 | 46,162 | 11 | 3054 | | 1827 | 196 | 53,898 | 8 | 2380 | | 1829 | 210 | 52,721 | 13 | 3806 | | 1831 | 199 | 49,887 | 15 | 4100 | | 1833 | 268 | 66,638 | 16 | 3632 | | 1834 | 277 | 69,843 | 10 | 2073 | | 1835 | 255 | 67,716 | 21 | 5552 |

Although the coasting trade has diminished somewhat since 1812, it still gives employment to a number of men, and also to a fair amount of tonnage.

Account of the Declared Value of British and Irish Goods exported from Greenock to Foreign Parts, in the Year ending 5th January 1831, till 1835.

| Year | Value | |------|-------| | 1831 | £1,493,405 | | 1832 | £1,662,251 | | 1833 | £1,452,334 | | 1834 | £1,459,086 | | 1835 | £1,376,526 |

Previously to 1751, Greenock, like other burghs of barony, was vested in the hands of the lord of the manor, or aron. The town was now, by a charter from Sir John Shaw, enabled to elect a regular magistracy, consisting of two bailies, a treasurer, and six councillors, possessed of various powers.

Although Greenock has a somewhat irregular appearance, it contains several elegant streets, and many excellent buildings. The town is stretching towards the west, where of late years the most spacious streets have been erected. A number of beautiful villas are scattered from east to west, and along the heights behind the town, from which the view is striking. Amongst the public structures which deserve to be noticed is the custom-house. It is situated in the centre of the quay, where it is seen to much advantage. The structure is handsomely built in the Grecian style; the portico, in particular, is considered very elegant. It was erected in 1818, at a cost of £30,000. The Tontine is a substantial and handsome building, containing one large hall and many small rooms. It was erected in 1801, at an expense of £10,000. Nearly opposite to this elegant house stand the Exchange Buildings, which were finished in 1814, at a cost of £7000. They contain, besides two spacious assembly-rooms, a coffee-room, which is excellently conducted; and on the western side is the Greenock Bank, which was instituted in 1785, and has ever since issued notes. Besides this bank there are other two banking establishments. The town-hall and public offices were built in 1765, after a plan by James Watt. A public office is connected with this structure. Amongst other public buildings there is an hospital or infirmary, erected in 1809, by the charity of the inhabitants. In connection with this establishment it may be mentioned, that the medical faculty of Greenock were in 1820 incorporated into a body under the name of the Greenock Medical and Chirurgical Association. In 1810 the jail or bridewell was built. It is situated in a fine open space enclosed by a wall, and is the only place appropriated to the reception of criminals. In 1820 a new coffee-room was erected. It is conducted upon the same liberal principles as the other one connected with the Exchange. In 1828 a gas-work was constructed at an expense of £8731. One of the most extraordinary works of the kind to be met with in any country is that by which the town is plentifully supplied with water, and machinery to a considerable extent is impelled. This consists of an immense artificial lake or reservoir situated in the bosom of the neighbouring alpine region, formed by turning the course of a number of small streams, and making them pour their waters into a hollow basin prepared for their reception. From this "Caspian" an aqueduct passes off along the mountain range, and for several miles it runs at an elevation of five hundred feet above the level of the sea. In the vicinity of the town it pours down a torrent of water in successive falls, and impels a number of mills erected on its course. The whole length of the aqueduct is six and a half miles; the great reservoir covers 294 imperial acres of land; and there is a compensation reservoir covering forty acres of ground, besides other smaller basins. A series of self-acting sluices have been constructed in a most ingenious manner, by which not only is all danger of an overflow taking place obviated, but every drop of water, even during the greatest floods, is preserved. The whole of this magnificent public work, including two expensive filters, was planned by Mr Thom, an ingenious engineer, and executed under his directions at an expense of L52,000.

Greenock is divided into five parishes, which are respectively termed the West, the Middle, the East, the South, and the North. The first comprehends the western part of the town and the greater part of the country district. The church is situated close by the shore, in the midst of an extensive burying ground. It is built nearly in the form of a cross, and has a small belfry on the west side. The Middle Parish, which was formed out of the above in 1741, is confined entirely to the town. The church, which was finished in 1761, stands in a small square, fronting a street which descends to the mid quay. The architecture is plain but elegant, and the fabric is surmounted by a very handsome spire, 146 feet in height. The East Parish church is a very humble place of worship, having been originally built in 1774 only as a chapel of ease. It was constituted a parish church in 1809. The South and the North Parishes were formed in 1833. Besides these places of worship, there are a number of dissenting meeting-houses; one belonging to the Original Burgher Associate Synod, built at Cartsdyke in the neighbourhood of Greenock in 1745, and re-constructed in 1828; a meeting-house of the United Associate Synod, built in 1758, in Market Street, but abandoned in 1802 for a more commodious house; another erected in Union Street in the year 1835; another in the same communion reared in 1791; and a Gaelic chapel of ease erected in the same year. The other meeting-houses or chapels are, one Congregational Union, commenced in 1800; a Relief, in 1807; a Methodist, in 1814; a Roman Catholic, in 1815; a Baptist, in 1821; a chapel of ease, in 1823; and an Episcopal, in 1824. In 1834 a chapel was built for a sect called Irvingites. Greenock is well circumstanced with regard to education. It has a grammar-school master and a teacher of mathematics, under the control of the magistrates; but the places in which they teach are rented from private individuals. It has however excellent accommodation for teaching the children of the poor, besides a school of industry for girls. A library was instituted in 1783, which now contains seven thousand volumes. But the progress of literature in Greenock has not been equal to its other improvements; for although frequent attempts have been made to institute literary and philosophical societies, none have succeeded, and at present the town is destitute of any thing of the kind deserving such a title. There are numerous charitable institutions, both for the relief of those at home and for sending aid to foreign countries. A newspaper was established in 1802, entitled the Greenock Advertiser; and another in 1833, entitled the Greenock Intelligencer. Both are now published twice a week.

Greenock possesses manufactures of some extent, the principal of which, however, are connected with the commercial pursuits of the port. Ship-building, in which line of business there are five or six establishments, is carried on with much success. There are three patent slips, one large enough to admit a vessel of 400 tons register; but the other two are of smaller dimensions. Boat-building is also a considerable branch of trade; and in connection with these naval works are several extensive roperies and sail-cloth manufactories. Another prominent branch of business is sugar-refining, which is here prosecuted to a greater extent than anywhere else in Scotland. The first house was erected in 1765, and there are now eleven. Straw-hat making is also successfully carried on; and the manufacture of hats from rye-straw, in imitation of Leghorn bonnets, has been here brought to high perfection. Amongst the other manufactures are those of silk and felt hats, pottery ware, flint glass, steam-engines, glass bottles, chain cables, and iron work; and there are likewise four breweries, two tanneries, two soap and candle works, besides other smaller establishments too common in towns of this size to require particular mention. Greenock was the birth-place of the illustrious James Watt, the great improver of the steam-engine. To perpetuate the memory of this great man, it is intended to erect a monument to his memory, for which purpose a subscription has been raised. To this sum the son of Mr Watt has added L3000, to be appropriated to building a library, in which is to be placed a statue of Watt by Chantrey. The population of this town amounted in 1821 to 22,088, and in 1831 to 27,571, exclusive of about 3000 seamen.