Ramage & Ferguson Explained

Ramage & Ferguson was a Scottish shipbuilder active from 1877 to 1934, who specialised in luxury steam-yachts usually with steel hulls and timber decks. They also made several notable windjammers including the stunning five-masted København.

History

The company was formed in May 1877 in the outer harbour area of the Water of Leith on the west side of the Shore in Leith, backing onto the then relatively new Victoria Dock. Ships were launched into the Water of Leith, greatly limiting the maximum size of ship capable of launch. Production moved from iron to steel in 1880 and major expansions were made in 1892. The company quickly gained a reputation for creating luxury steam yachts for the rich and famous. They also made tramp steamers and various mid-sized vessels for East India service.[1]

The "Ferguson" of Ramage & Ferguson is elusive and appears to have been a silent (and anonymous) partner. Probably the funder of the venture, there is some indication that Ferguson may have been Robert McNair Ferguson or connected to him in some way.

In the First World War the company made two hospital ships for the Admiralty.

In 1918 their yard manager, Henry Robb, left to form his own rival shipbuilding company.

Ramage & Ferguson got into financial difficulty in 1934 and was bought over by Henry Robb & Sons, an existing shipbuilder in Leith, as a secondary yard. The yard was used up until the 1970s and cleared of buildings in 1985. The slipway remained intact until around 1995 when it was built over to form a section of the Water of Leith Walkway. The position is still visible from the eastern bank.

Richard Ramage

He was born on 28 June 1834 in or near Glasgow.

He was apprenticed to William Denny and Brothers in Dumbarton around 1848, where he learnt his skills as a shipbuilder. In 1877 he moved to Edinburgh and founded Ramage & Ferguson. The identity of Ferguson is elusive.

In 1900 he was living at The Hawthorns, 212 Ferry Road in Leith.[2] By this time he had retired and passed the business to his son, Alexander Gulliland Ramage.

He died on 16 July 1920 and is buried in Warriston Cemetery. The grave lies on the sloping diagonal path leading from the lower vaults to the now-sealed eastern entrance.

Alexander Gulliland Ramage

He is thought to have been born in or near Glasgow around 1870. He was the son of Richard Ramage and his wife, Elizabeth Ogilvie Gulliland (b.1836).

He took over from his father Richard Ramage as partner and managing director of Ramage & Ferguson around 1895. His younger brother John Thomson Ramage (1885-1933) acted as his assistant and design engineer.

In 1899 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Bruce Peebles, Ralph Stockman, Robert McNair Ferguson, and Sir Francis Grant Ogilvie.[3] At this time he lived at 9 Derby Street in the Newhaven district of Edinburgh.[2]

By 1910 he was living in a larger house at 8 Western Terrace in Edinburgh's West End.[4]

He lived at Lochcote Cottage near Torphichen.[5]

He was author of "The Dynamics of Thought and Impulse" (1924)

He died at Lochcote Cottage on 21 February 1954.

Ships of Note

see[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ramage and Ferguson - Graces Guide.
  2. Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1900
  3. Book: Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002. July 2006. The Royal Society of Edinburgh. 0-902-198-84-X.
  4. Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1910
  5. News: Issue 23529. The Edinburgh Gazette. 18 February 1994. 392. 27 June 2023.
  6. Web site: Home | TheLoftsman | Author.
  7. Scotsman (newspaper) 24 March 2021
  8. Web site: uboat.net. HMS Rosabelle. 29 September 2021.
  9. Sporting intelligence - Yachting . 15 January 1903 . 8 . 36978.
  10. East Donyland Rowhedge review of SY Lorena

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