Lively Largs LMS Railway poster – Chris Meadows – 1923
This vintage Lively Largs poster was produced by the London Midland & Scottish Railway to encourage railway travel to the Scottish seaside resort of Largs. Living and working conditions in Glasgow in the 1920s and 1930s were pretty appalling. The text in the sky on the poster calls on Glaswegians to “Come out of the work-a-day world into Largs.
By the 19th century, Largs had already become a busy and popular seaside town amongst the country’s privileged classes. By 1834 the town already boasted impressive mansions including Netherhall, large hotels and a Victorian Pier. The arrival of the railway to Largs in 1885 brought with it many wealthy businessmen who built some beautiful Victorian homes. The railway also provided easier access to the resort and it soon became extremely popular as a holiday destination for thousands of the Glaswegian working class.
Lively Largs
Largs town sits on the banks of the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire is one of the seaside towns that once formed part of the ‘Costa Del Clyde’. The ‘Costa Del Clyde’ was a string of seaside resorts that included Largs, Troon, Prestwick, Ayr and Helensburgh, on the Clyde Coast, on which thousands of people would descend for their holidays. As the schools shut for summer, it seemed that the whole of Glasgow would jump on to trains at Glasgow Central and head to the Clyde Coast for their annual break.
In the vintage Largs poster image, Chris Meadows has depicted two golfers taking in the view over the bay at Largs. The poster offers a superb view of the beach, promenade and pier on the seafront. A row of buildings on Gallowgate Street starts with the impressive-looking church and spire of St Columba’s Parish Church and finishes at The Largs Pencil monument on the headland jutting into the Firth of Clyde.
The ‘Lively Largs’ poster recommends the Largs destination as the Centre for Clyde Pleasure Sailings. The poster includes two of its LMS steamships on the poster. We’ve tried to track down which of the steamships they would be. However, by 1900 there were over three hundred steamers operating on the Clyde. We are fairly confident that the steamer featured in the Largs poster is the TS Glen Sannox. The steamship with its two funnels and a single mast, we believe, was unique on a ship visiting Largs.
The Glen Sannox was the latest addition to the fleet when it was built in 1925 and appears in the list of vessels operated by the London, Midland &Scottish Railway after the merging of the railways in 1923. Other ships used during this period were the Mercury, Glen Rosa, Jupiter, Juno and Atalanta. Sadly, competition from new forms of holiday travel brought the era to a decline.
Turbine steamers dominated the world’s seas for many years but found little success in coastal or lake ferries, and in this respect, the fleet on the Clyde is unique. The last surviving Turbine Steamer, Queen Mary, was withdrawn from service in 1977. the last of her class worldwide.
In 2015, a charity named ‘Friends of TS Queen Mary‘ was set up to purchase the Queen Mary from a London Dockyard with the intention of restoring it to her former glory. Since taking ownership in 2015, the Charity has raised and invested almost £3M of a £6M GBP target. It is intended that TS Queen Mary will re-open at Glasgow Science Centre, as a heritage destination and education/training centre, where an estimated 150,000 people each year will visit her. If you’d like to donate to ongoing restoration work please visit the Friends of TS Queen Mary website donation page.
More good news for Steamship enthusiasts came in June 2021. In 1974, the PS Waverley was famously gifted to the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS) for £1. Since then, the Waverley Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. charity was set up to own and renovate the ship. After a £7 million rebuild in 2000-2003, the world’s last seagoing paddle steamer was restored to her original 1947 condition. In December 2019, after reaching its £2.3 million target the Waverley had an additional boiler refit allowing it to be returned to steam. 2022 dates haven’t been released yet (Jan 2022) so keep an eye on the waverleyexcursions.co.uk website for more information. And again if anybody would like to donate to the ongoing maintenance costs or help support the Waverley in other ways, here is their Supporting Waverley website page.
Going ‘doon the watter’ on The Firth of Clyde
The era of the Clyde steamer began in 1812, when the Scottish engineer Henry Bell began Europe’s first successful commercial passenger service. The service ran the 25 miles between Glasgow and Greenock and was made in a purpose-built paddle steamer he named Comet. The fare was “four shillings”. The success of Bell’s new service quickly inspired competition. Other services down the Firth of Clyde to Largs, Rothesay, Campbelltown and Inverary soon followed. By 1900, over three hundred steamers were operating on the River Clyde. The competition helped keep fares competitive. Improvements in the railway network and lower train fares meant that many more Glaswegians and their families could enjoy a ride on the Clyde or going “Doon the Watta” as it became known.
Where once sailing on the steamboats of the Clyde was a pastime available to only the wealthiest of Glaswegians and tourists, now the lower middle classes and even the better-paid working classes could take day trips on the Firth of Clyde. The railways and steamers made it easier for Glaswegians to escape the city. The holiday trade on the Clyde coast boomed and soon thousands of people were queuing for buses, trains and boats out of Glasgow on holiday weekends. Trips “doon the watter” meant a boat ride along the River Clyde on a paddle steamer to Helensburgh, Gourock, Largs, Rothesay, Millport and Dunoon It was the highlight of the year for many Glaswegians.
The summer of 1938 saw another boost to the tourism industry around the River Clyde when Britain’s Holidays with Pay Act was introduced. The act, the end of a twenty-year-long campaign, provided the right to one week’s paid holiday per year. At the time for many of Glasgow’s manual workers and labourers, the prospect of spending a week at the beach was simply unachievable. The influx of holidaymakers seeking sun, sand and the Scottish sun led to the growth of towns such as Helensburgh, Gourock, Largs, Rothesay, Dunoon and Millport which developed as seaside resorts and were visited by thousands of holidaymakers year on year.
