Henry James Bell. was born in the village of Torphichen, West Lothian, his early working life was as a stone mason, millwright, ship modeller, apprentice engineer and carpenter.
7th April 1767 saw the birth of Henry Bell (and me ... in 1951).
Henry James Bell. was born in the village of Torphichen, West Lothian, his early working life was as a stone mason, millwright, ship modeller, apprentice engineer and carpenter.
He first began to make the case for investment in steam-powered navigation as early as 1800 when he submitted proposals to the Admiralty. Despite support from figures such as Admiral Nelson, these overtures were largely ignored by the establishment.
Around 1806-7, capitalizing on the growing popularity of sea bathing, Henry Bell and his wife Margaret, moved to Helensburgh. They built and operated the town’s saltwater baths and the former Baths Hotel. Bell also served as the first Lord Provost.
During this time, he redoubled his efforts to demonstrate the potential of steamships.
Most ships until the early 19th century were powered by sail. The first successful attempt to build a steamboat was by the Marquis de Jouffroy D’Abbans in France, 1783. His Pyroscaphe successfully sailed on the River Saône, but further progress was hampered by a lack of funds and the French Revolution.
In North America, John Fitch succeeded in producing a viable paddle steamer in 1790. It transported passengers between Philadelphia and Trenton, New Jersey. But the venture failed to attract enough passengers.
James Rumsey worked in both North America and England on his ideas, supported by Benjamin Franklin. However, Rumsey died unexpectedly in 1792 and his designs were never fully realized.
Advances continued into the early 19th century when Lord Dundas, Governor of the Proprietors of the Forth and Clyde Navigation commissioned William Symington to build a steam-propelled towboat for the canal in 1801. You may remember my previous posts about Charlotte Dundas the first sailings of which were successful but short-lived due to fears that backwash from the boat would damage the canal.
Henry Bell was not only aware of the developments of steam-powered vessels in America but was in contact with Robert Fulton. Bell’s experiments and trials to build his own paddle steamer began in 1809.
According to the Greenock Telegraph, he used an experimental steam engine to heat his swimming pool, before transferring the technology to the Comet project.
Comet was built in Port Glasgow by John Wood & Sons of Port Glasgow and launched in 1812. It was recorded as 40 feet long, with a 10½ foot beam with small projections on either side to cover the paddles. It had a cargo capacity of 25 tons. The wooden vessel was propelled by a steam engine of 4 horse power built by the engineer John Robertson and boiler by David Napier.
Bell named the vessel Comet after the Great Comet of 1811, a celestial event in which a comet passed by the earth and was visible to the naked eye for 260 days.
When Comet entered service on the Clyde from 15th August 1812, she was the only steamship in operation. Passengers were carried between Port Glasgow and Helensburgh. In 1816, Bell improved their journey further by building a pier at Helensburgh.
Steam propulsion offered great advantages over sail as vessels could navigate against wind and tide. The benefits of this pioneering approach were soon clear. By 1819, there were 25 steamships on the Clyde, bringing major advances in the transport of passengers and cargo by sea.
Comet, along with its many competitors, continued to ply the main routes on the Clyde for eight years before moving to the Forth. Then, from September 1819, it took on a new Glasgow to Fort William service, passing through the Crinan Canal.
For the more open waters of the west coast, Bell required a larger, more powerful vessel so Comet was lengthened to 73 feet 10 inches and installed with a new 14hp engine. The original engine (which was supposedly sold for re-use in a brewery in Greenock!) is now w on display in the London Science Museum.
The new west coast route initially proved successful. However, in December 1820, Comet experienced groundings at Ardgour and Corpach before continuing to Oban in an unseaworthy state.
Following repairs, Comet set sail once again on 15 December 1820 but was soon wrecked at Craignish Point. The ship is believed to have split in half just west of Crinan. A navigational error had caused it to run aground in the fast tidal waters of the Dorus Mor
Thankfully, Comet was carrying no passengers at the time of its loss, apart from Henry Bell himself. He and the crew managed to scramble safely ashore.
Pics are of Bell and an illustration of the Comet passing Dumbarton Castle while sailing on the Clyde.
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