Everything about Wemyss Bay totally explained
Wemyss Bay ("Wemyss" pronounced
weemz /'wi:mz/) is a village on the west Coast of the
Firth of Clyde in the district of
Inverclyde,
Scotland. The name may derive from the
Gaelic uaimh, meaning 'cave'.
Wemyss Bay is adjacent to
Skelmorlie,
North Ayrshire. The villages have always been in separate counties, divided by the Kelly Burn.
Wemyss Bay is the
port for
ferries to
Rothesay on the
Isle of Bute. Passengers from the island can connect to
Glasgow by train, which terminate in the village at the remarkable
Wemyss Bay railway station, noted for its architectural qualities and regarded as one of Scotland's finest railway buildings.
The port is very exposed, so in high winds the ferries must travel up river to
Gourock to dock.
History
Wemyss Bay was created in the early 19th century as a 'marine village' and watering-place by
Robert Wallace of Kelly, whose lands were adjacent to the bay. Wallace became Greenock's first MP and was instrumental in establishing the
penny post.
London merchant James Alexander further developed the area by constructing the first steamboat pier, which was swept away by a gale in 1856. Its successor suffered a similar fate and was replaced by the current railway terminus and pier.
The opening of the railway connection in 1865 brought even grander houses. Among the village's notable residents included
Sir George Burns, who with
Samuel Cunard founded the
British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company (later the
Cunard Line), and his son John (later 1st
Baron Inverclyde) who lived at
Castle Wemyss, which stood high on Wemyss Point above the bay itself. Alan, 4th Baron Inverclyde was briefly married to the actress
June, who was one of
Alfred Hitchcock's earliest leading ladies in the 1927 film .
A memorial on the shore road recalls 'The Gaiter Club', whose members included
Anthony Trollope,
Lord Kelvin,
Lord Palmerston and the
Earl of Shaftesbury.
Neither Castle Wemyss nor
James Salmon's Wemyss House remain, having been demolished in the 1980s and 1940s respectively. Also gone is J.J. Burnet's
episcopal Inverclyde Church, which stood on the shore road of Undercliff Road.
The Castle Wemyss estate and adjoining areas had been sold off in the 1960s to property developers and since then the village has grown considerably, albeit largely a
dormitory settlement for Greenock and Glasgow.
However several of the fine red
sandstone properties remain and are now seen as renovation opportunities. There is a fish and chip shop in the village.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Wemyss Bay'.
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