Old Photograph Paddle Steamer Lucy Ashton River Clyde Scotland

Old photograph of the paddle steamer Lucy Ashton on the River Clyde near Glasgow, Scotland. The 271 ton Lucy Ashton was launched on May 24 1888 by T.B.Seath at Rutherglen. She began on the Holy Loch run but later became more familiar on the Gareloch service from Craigendoran, for which she was built. She remained on the Clyde throughout both world wars. One of the Waverley Steamers, she took her name from a character in Sir Walter Scott’s novel, The Bride of Lammermuir. The vessel provided a vital lifeline for rural communities before the days of buses and cars. Thomas Bollen Seath started his own shipbuilding yard at Meadowside, Partick at the mouth of the river Kelvin in 1853 and in 1856 moved to Rutherglen. He designed and built the first of six of what were to become known as Cluthas, small steamships of shallow draft marine omnibuses that ferried workmen up and down river. Seath built steamships for Loch Lomond and Loch Maree, Windermere and Ullswater. He also provided luxurious steam yachts, most notably The Fairy for the King of Burma and the Little Eastern for the King of Siam, both commissioned in 1872. Almost all of the ships he produced were iron-hulled and this proved to be a factor in their longevity. Thomas Bollen Seath was a major influence in the design and production of high quality small ships which were renowned throughout the world.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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