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​Erskine, Bishopton and Inchinnan Community Website

Inchinnan

The Renfrewshire communities of Erskine, Inchinnan and Bishopton lie within superb countryside which is especially scenic and steeped in history. Lying so close to the River Clyde, surrounded by low-lying hills and distant mountains, seasonal transformations can often be dramatic, especially after a heavy fall of snow, which admittedly is becoming rarer these days. Locally, there are endless opportunities for a diverse range of outdoor activities. whether your interests lie in exploring the the area`s heritage, watching the wildlife or photographing the planes at Glasgow Airport, or ships that sail up and down the Clyde. An added advantage is that with the Erskine Bridge within easy reach of all three communities, they also make ideal starting points for exploring the north side of the river, whether on foot or by bike. ​// Information on exploring the Riverside Walkway at Erskine can be viewed here (?) (LINK)*, (to edit)*

This page has been compiled specifically for the EBI Community Website by Brian Moyes of www.clydesideimages.co.uk (LINK)*. 
Please note that all images in this feature belong to the Photographer and all are subject to copyright. (to edit)*

Inchinnan Village

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Included in the above view are part of Inchinnan village with McGill`s bus garage, // (Aerial Pic ? - McGill`s Bus Garage bottom left - heli_9230) (to edit)*

​​The fine examples of early Christian gravestones shown below are currently on display beside the entrance to Inchinnan Parish Church in Old Greenock, housed within an external covered enclosure. They were originally located within an ancient church which stood on the banks of the Black Cart Water, just a short distance from its confluence with the White Cart, south of the River Clyde near Renfrew. Two of the stones are recumbent grave slabs while another  originally formed part of a cross-shaft.

St Conval founded the original church, which was later given to the Knights Templar by King David I (1124-53), in 597AD. This structure was demolished in 1828 and its replacement, built in 1900, was the church subsequently demolished to make way for the airport. The stones were moved to their current location when the old church grounds were swallowed-up during the construction of what is now Glasgow International Airport. A large number of later gravestones and a crypt remain at the original location, now fenced-off, but access to view the site is not usually permitted unless authority is obtained from the airport operators. Two of the early stones now preserved outside Inchinnan Parish Church are recumbent slabs while the other is a shaft and lower section of the head of a monolithic cross. It is thought that they all date from somewhere between the 9th and 11th centuries.

Teucheen Wood

New CALA housing development adjacent to the Teucheen Woods between Inchinnan village and Erskine // A battle was fought at Renfrew in 1164 between a force of 15,000 men under Somerled, who was camped at Inchinnan and a much smaller army led by King Malcolm, quartered in Renfrew. Somerled's army was attacked and defeated as they crossed the river, and records show that the fiercest fighting took place at Teucheen Wood or Blood's Mire, as it is sometimes called. The Teucheen, a wooded height opposite House of Hill (Northbar House) has a large mound on its top. It is said that ploughing here in years gone revealed pieces of bone and fragments of armour. (to edit)*

East towards Renfrew

A number of farms can be found close to Inchinnan with crops and cattle being the main produce.

Above left: A Cyclist heads towards Inchinnan. The Rolls-Royce complex at the Inchinnan Business Park is in the background.

Following the A8 east toward Renfrew, the road passes the runway lights of Glasgow Airport.

Glasgow Airport

You can`t do a feature on Inchinnan without mentioning Glasgow Airport as the village lies just a stone`s throw from the main runway. Just a few years before the pandemic struck, the airport was on track to achieve a record 10 million passengers per year, but the travel industry was already beginning to experience a a downward spiral. Even so, the large-scale regeneration outlined in the Clyde Waterfront & Renfrew Riverside Project is already underway. This includes the Glasgow Airport Investment Area (GAIA) off Abbotsinch Road which is steadily taking shape. This Science Park will include a £56-million Medical Manufacturing Innovation Centre (MMIC) and the £65-million National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland (NMIS). Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District (AMID). (?)* and the surrounding area will be upgraded with a new road network including cycle lanes. (to edit)*

Prior to the pandemic, Renfrewshire held its annual Doors Open Days in September each year with venues across the county, many not normally accessible to the general public, admitting visitors. These included museums, town halls, schools, parks, fire stations, sports centres, theatres, leisure centres and numerous churches including Inchinnan Parish Church which celebrated its 50th Jubilee in 2018. Although the building is only 50 years old, it features splendid furnishings and stained glass windows from the previous 1904 All Hallows Church that was demolished in the 1960s to make way for Glasgow Airport.

The site of the original church, which stands on the west bank of the Black Cart Water and looks right down the airport`s main runway, always attracts a steady stream of visitors, many keen to learn about the local history, with a band of friendly volunteers on hand to answer any questions, but most people just want to watch the aviation-related activity at close quarters from a unique angle.

Although it`s a bit distant, and depending on the time of day and / or weather conditions can prove problematical. one of the best vantage points from Inchinnan village is the grassy area in Freeland Drive at the top of the footpath which climbs from the A8 opposite the India Tyres building. There`s even a bench to make yourself comfortable. 

The site on which Glasgow International Airport now stands was previously occupied by a military airfield, known for most of its operational life as HMS Sanderling. Initially Abbotsinch Airfield was an RAF base first occupied by No 602 Squadron (City of Glasgow) Auxiliary Air Force which transferred from Moorpark Aerodrome, Renfrew, in 1933. Between May and October 1939, the unit flew Supermarine Spitfires from Abbotsinch, but relocated to southern England by August of the following year and played a pivotal role in the Battle of Britain. In 1940 a joint services Torpedo Training Unit was formed at thge airfield to train both Royal Air Force and Royal Navy crews. On 11 August 1943 the RAF vacated the airfield and Abbotsinch became Royal Navy Air Station HMS Sanderling. After the war it became a large storage and maintenance facility, as well as playing host to squadrons of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. Fleet Air Arm aircraft such as the Grumman Avenger, Hawker Sea Hawk, de Havilland Sea Venom and Fairey Gannet were kept here in large numbers while awaiting disposal. The Royal Navy left Abbotsinch in October 1963 and the site was incorporated into the new Glasgow Airport which opened in May 1966.​

Spitfire F.21 LA198 which hangs from the ceiling within the city`s Art Gallery and Museum above giraffes, moose and elephants is understandably one of Kelvingrove`s most popular exhibits. Although this particular aircraft never saw action during the Second World War, it served with 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron at Abbotsinch between 1947 and 1949. (to edit)*

On 22 July 1949 the aircraft crashed on the runway and sustained damage which relegated it to Gate Guard duties at various RAF bases. It was returned to the City of Glasgow by Parliamentary Approval in 1998, and following a lengthy restoration period at the Museum of Flight in East Fortune, the iconic aircraft was presented to Kelvingrove.​ 

The sculpture on the right, honouring ​602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, is one of eight by environmental artist Kenny Munro which sit atop pillars lining the main path through Clyde View Park in Renfrew. Celebrating aspects of the area`s rich history, each sculpture is enclosed in a stainless steel sphere and accompanied by an information plaque. Other sculptures feature shipbuilding, engineering, a famous aviator, and the Beardmore factory at Inchinnan which produced aircraft and massive airships including the R34. (See below).

The above sculpture is one of nine by environmental artist and filmmaker Kenny Munro which line one side of the main path through Clyde View Park in Renfrew. Kenny, who trained at Edinburgh College of Art and Royal College of Art, has designed many public art works in Scotland. ​

Bridges

The Inchinnan bascule bridge at Renfrew, known locally as the `Swing Bridge` is just one of many such structures built by the famous engineering company founded by Sir William Arrol (1839–1913). Arrol was born at Houston in Renfrewshire and despite leaving school at 9 years of age to work in a cotton mill and later as a blacksmith he attended night school where he learned the principles of civil engineering.

In 1863 he joined a company in Glasgow that specialised in bridge building and by 1872 he had established his own business in the east end of the city. He expanded it to incorporate the Parkhead Crane Works and in the years that followed, even after Arrol had died, his company built some of the best known bridges in the British Isles. Structures included both Forth Bridges, the Tay Railway Bridge of 1887, Tower Bridge in London, the Middlesborough Transporter Bridge, and bridges over the Humber and River Severn. //  The White Cart and Black Cart Water meet west of Renfrew to form the River Cart where early travellers crossed by ford and later by ferry. In 1759 a nine-arch stone bridge was built across both rivers, and in 1786 an adjacent canal with a swing bridge was cut to allow ships to bypass the bridge without lowering their masts. The nine-arch stone bridge was destroyed by flood in 1809 and later replaced by two bridges. The current bascule bridge which dates from 1923 ended the requirement for the swing bridge over the canal. (to edit)*

The view above / below (?)* is looking south towards the confluence of the White and Black Cart Waters. The Inchinnan Bascule Bridge over the White Cart is on the left and the stone bridge over the Black Cart is clearly visible on the right. Originally, a single bridge with nine arches, built in 1759, spanned both rivers, as well as an adjacent canal, roughly where the tree-topped island in the centre of the above photo lies. Remnants of the bridge`s foundations can still be seen at low-water. // These river crossings were on the busy main route from Glasgow to Greenock and to recoup the cost of the bridge`s construction a toll was levied on passengers, coaches and carts apart from mail coaches which were exempt. This bridge, however, collapsed during a severe flood in 1809.

Its replacement, the present-day one, was completed in 1812 and again a toll system operated. A toll-house was erected near the centre of the bridge and it continued to collect money until about 1874, when the cost of building the bridge was repaid and the tolls abolished. That was also the theory behind the toll system on the Erskine Bridge when it opened almost a century later. Tolls would be collected for 20 years by which time it was expected that revenue raised from motorists using the bridge would be sufficient to pay the construction costs. Rather than the tolls being abolished as originally announced, however, it was found that the capital raised fell far short of the required amount and as a result the tolls not only continued in place but were raised. Fortunately, after years of protest the unpopular tolls were finally abolished in 2006. (to edit)*

Normandy Hotel grounds etc ​Conival`s // Argyll`s Stone // Just east of the bascule bridge, now within the grounds of the Normandy Hotel, are the Argyll Stone and St Conval`s Chariot. One of the moss-covered boulders is the pediment and the other the base of a cross said to have been erected to the memory of St Conval who is thought to be buried at nearby Inchinnan. // The stones were moved to their current location, which was part of the Blythswood Estate, sometime prior to 1836 and this cast-iron Gothic ornamental fence was erected to protect them.

The location of the remaining parts of the cross has not been established. Water from the hollow in the cross-base, St Conval's Chariot, was thought to have healing and medicinal properties and even more bizarrely, the saint is said to have crossed the sea on the stone from Ireland. The pediment, the Argyll Stone, got its name as Archibald Campbell, the 9th Earl of Argyll, supposedly rested here after his capture at Inchinnan on 18 June 1685. At the time of the Monmouth Rebellion against James VII, Argyll was General of the forces which invaded Scotland in support of the failed rebellion, from 17 April 1685. Argyll was later executed in Edinburgh and his remains interred in the city`s Greyfriars kirkyard. (to edit)*.

​St Conval was one of the major founders of monasticism in the British Isles. According to legend, he was a son of an Irish prince and a spiritual student of Saint Kentigern (St Mungo) who became patron saint of Glasgow. One day as he stood on the edge of the Irish sea he asked for God‘s guidance for his life. The stone on which he was standing broke loose and carried him to Inchinnan where a chapel stands to commemorate the event. In the 10th century, 300 years after his death, Irish monks based at Inchinnan in Renfrewshire founded a series of churches in his name on the south bank of the river Clyde. These churches form the basis of the parishes that we know today. ​Somerled, the Lord of the Isles, was initially the Regulus, or King, of Kintyre. His name is a common one amongst the Vikings who had over-run the Northern and Western Isles of Scotland and the Isle of Man. 

In 1153 two kings, David I of Scotland and Olaf of Mann both died. There was much confusion and discord as a result and Somerled took his chance, making offensive moves against both Scotland and Mann and the Isle of Man. Somerled landed at Renfrew in 1164 during a campaign aimed at asserting his authority over the seaways off the west coast of Scotland. A local force attacked his men from behind a smokescreen and killed him, bringing to an end Norse influence on the Clyde. (additional shots req`d)*

Inchinnan Business Park

Beardmore & Beardmore Cottages // Clyde View Park memorials etc // (Pics: India Tyres sunrise 0008 // // Aerial RRoyce 9129 // Bcart 5402 - poss seaplane? (Glw Apt Feb 2020) // (Replace RH shot below 0318 /18 April 20012)* Beardmore Memorial Dalmuir/ etc*

Beardmore`s info // ​The Inchinnan-built airship R34 which set several records in July 1919. Nicknamed `Tiny`, HMA (His Majesty's Airship) R34,​ at just under 196 metres, was enormous - well over twice the length of an Airbus A380, currently the world`s largest passenger plane. The state-of-the-art airship was powered by five engines, each of 275 horse power. William Beardmore & Co, one of the most diverse and enterprising heavy engineering companies on Clydeside, was awarded the R34 construction contract. By 1916, the company`s 15,000 strong workforce was turning out ships, aircraft and a range of vehicles specifically for the Government in the war effort. Beardmore had already established itself as an airship manufacturer and had a purpose-built construction facility at Inchinnan on the south side of the River Clyde, close to the present-day Glasgow Airport. 

The site of 600 acres, which also ​had its own hydrogen production plant, was acquired here because the company`s main complex at Dalmuir on the opposite, Clydebank side was in an industrialised zone surrounded by tenement housing. Inchinnan had already successfully completed the smaller R24 and R27 airships before the R34 project began. A massive shed, similar to that at Cardington,  Bedfordshire, enabled construction to take place and protected the workers and evolving structure from the elements. The company also provided decent accommodation  for its employees, the small estate unimaginatively named Beardmore Cottages. Most of these houses survived the passage of time and are still occupied today.​
​
Kenny Munro // the construction of the R34 and other airships. ​​Beardmore also built various winged aircraft and was one of several companies contracted to build the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c single-engine, two-seater biplane. Early versions of the type entered squadron service with the Royal Flying Corps in 1912 and the B.E.2 continued to serve throughout the First World War. It was initially used as a front-line reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber but modified as a single-seater it proved effective as a night fighter, destroying several German airships. Around 3,500 were manufactured in all, serving in a variety of roles which included reconnaissance, light bomber, night fighter, trainer, and coastal patrol aircraft.  // (to edit)*

​​William Beardmore and Company vacated the Inchinnan site in 1922 and the land was subsequently purchased by India Tyres. The new owners were able to  utilise part of the original shed as a rubber mill, as well as a store for raw materials. In 1930, the India of Inchinnan building was commissioned to serve as the company`s flagship office. ​Following a multi-million pound refurbishment in 2003 after a period of neglect, India of Inchinnan was taken over by software firm Graham Technology. Today the building is home to several businesses.  Prior to the COVID outbreak, the R34 Restaurant on the ground floor, was open to the public. The India of Inchinnan building was designed by Thomas Wallis (1873–1953), the founder of Wallis, Gilbert and Partners, a British architectural partnership responsible for the design of many Art Deco buildings in the UK in the 1920s and 1930s. Among the best known are the Albion Motor Car Company works in Scotstoun, Glasgow, plus the Wrigley`s Factory, Victoria Coach Station and the Hoover Factory in London. India of Inchinnan showcases many of the typical traits associated with Art Deco. Red, black and green tiles tie in with the corporate colours of the building’s original tenants and spell out the company’s logo within a terrazzo floor in the entrance vestibule. The original structure has been extended to feature supports and an airship-inspired roof that covers the offices of the various businesses within. (more historical info if required)* // (to edit)*

Airship R34 was built at Inchinnan in Renfrewshire in 1919. It was one of a series of hydrogen filled balloons supported by an innovative, lightweight internal, duralumin structure. R34 first flew on 14 March 1919 and was delivered to her service base at East Fortune near Edinburgh on 30 May of the same year. R34 made her first endurance trip of 56 hours over the Baltic on the 17 to 20 June. After the end of WWI, although it had never been intended as a passenger carrier, extra accommodation was arranged by slinging hammocks in the keel walkway while hot food was provided by cooking on a plate welded to the engine exhaust pipe! R34, became the first aircraft to make an East-to-West crossing of the Atlantic Ocean on 2 July 1919 and arrived at Mineola, Long Island, United States on 6 July after a flight of 108 hours with virtually no fuel left. As the landing party in the US had no experience of handling large rigid airships, Major EM Pritchard jumped by parachute and so became the first person to reach American soil by air from Europe. This was the first East-West crossing of the Atlantic and was done two weeks after the Transatlantic flight of Alcock and Brown in a modified World War I Vickers Vimy bomber. Also on board R34 was the first airborne stowaway, William Bannatyne from Newcastle (plus his cat, Whoopsie!). Bannatyne had been one of the crew members scheduled to stay behind to save weight but made the journey anyway! The return journey to Pulham in Norfolk was from 10 to 13 July and took 75 hours. Following several disastrous airship crashes by other airships, and the growth of the aircraft industry, production of airships ended. A company making a range of rubber products occupied the original airship factories at Inchinnan from 1927 to 1981. The India Rubber Company made vehicle tyres and other products and undertook a major role during World War II (1939-1945). ​(to edit)*

​William Beardmore and Company was an engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active between about 1890 and 1930 and at its peak employed about 40,000 people. It was founded and owned by William Beardmore, later Lord Invernairn, after whom was named the Beardmore Glacier in Antarctica, one of the largest glaciers in the world. By 1896 the works covered an area of 25 acres (100,000 square metres) and was the largest steelworks in Scotland, specialising in the manufacture of steel forgings for the shipbuilding industry of the River Clyde.

The local factory of Beardmore's made a series of biplanes during the first world war. This included the Sopwith "Pup" which was particularly successful as its folding wings enabled deployment at sea on the earliest aircraft carriers. The company also built and ran the Inchinnan Airship Constructional Station at Inchinnan in Renfrewshire. It produced the airships R27, R32, R34 and R36.

India Tyres

​280806 India Tyres sunrise

Rolls-Royce

Clyde View Park in Renfrew is the first new park to be built in the West of Scotland for many years. It extends to 7 acres and features fountains, paths, cycleways, children's play areas, a tennis court, picnic areas, artwork and green space including an otter's holt and a riverside walkway. It has been designed to encourage natural wildlife, and flora and fauna. Its name "Clyde View" was chosen following a competition for local residents. The park is part of the regeneration of the River Clyde from Braehead to Renfrew Town Centre which is transforming a total of 185 acres of brownfield land (previously occupied by the coal fired Braehead power station which was demolished in the early 1990s). Around 2000 homes are being built in the area along with other leisure facilities. A riverside walkway connects the huge Braehead retail park, the Xscape leisure centre and the Clyde View Park looking across the river to the shipyards on the northern bank of the river Clyde at Scotstoun. // Formally opened in June 2005, the park has a number of sculptures including a row of eight small models mounted on pedestals by artist Kenny Munro. They all have links to the history of the area with plaques attached to the pedestals providing historical details. (to edit)* View of R/abt from Freelands. *

Unfortunately Emirates` scheduled A380 service between Glasgow and Dubai was short-lived.

The Business Park`s wide boulevards are popular with joggers and there`s even a reed-fringed duck pond to encourage wildlife.

Every year, particularly during the autumn migration, sizeable flocks of various species gather in the fields adjacent to the Black and White Cart Waters and on the surrounding farmland. Most problematical for aircraft are geese, crows, wood pigeons, lapwings and large groups of starlings. // Whooper Swans used to overwinter here in numbers reaching around 200-300 birds in years gone by, but this amount has drastically reduced. So far this Nowadays, a dozen or more together is a good count. (to edit)*

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