WILLIAM SYMINGTON'S 1829 BRIEF HISTORY 

     In 1829 William Symington drew up the following Brief History which was in essence a transcription of the Memorial dated 1 December 1824 which he submitted with his Petition to Parliament in the following year.  In 1863, James Blaikie published this Brief History as a pamphlet, the content of which I have reproduced below. Blaikie's pamphlet is now an absolute rarity. The copy in the library of the Science Museum at South Kensington is a mere photocopy of an original, bearing the stamp of The Museum of Science and Art Edinburgh and inscribed with the date 2.12.90. The Brief History was published in the 11 May 1889 issue of the Falkirk Herald, page 5, from a copy of Blaikie's pamphlet then held by H. Adolphe Salveson of Grangemouth.

     The list of witnesses recorded for the "First Boat" relates to the Dalswinton steamboat; the list for the "second boat" relates to the two steamboats built for Lord Dundas combined. Plate II is a simple sketch representing the second steamboat for Lord Dundas, the Charlotte Dundas.

     James Blaikie was a pattern maker at Carron Iron Works who made parts for the steamboat experiments  in 1801. He was also responsible for preparing the model steamboat which William Symington demonstrated at the Royal Institution in 1802 and which had so impressed the Duke of Bridgewater. In 1819 he moved to the Calton Iron Foundry in Edinburgh, where he was the manager for many years. From 1838 to 1853, James Blaikie & Sons are listed as iron founders and engineers at the Panmure Foundry, and from 1853 to 1859 they were listed as iron founders at Canongate Foundry in Tolbooth Wynd. [1]

[1] The Post Office Annual Directory 1818-19, Edinburgh, page 294; Ibid, 1823-4, page 123; Ibid, 1833-4, page 8; Ibid, 1834-5, page 9, 1837-8 page10; ibid, 1858-9, page 85

A BRIEF HISTORY

OF

STEAM NAVIGATION.

BY WILLIAM SYMINGTON,

CIVIL-ENGINEER, FALKIRK.

REPRINTED FROM ORIGINAL COPY 

(FALKIRK 1829),

IN POSSESSION OF

JAMES BLAIKIE, LATE OF PANMURE FOUNDRY, EDINBURGH.

1863

A BRIEF

HISTORY OF STEAM NAVIGATION.

   I was born at Leadhills, in the county of Lanark, North Britain, in the year 1764, of not wealthy but respectable parents. I was intended for, and partly educated with a view to the church, but my natural turn for Mechanical Philosophy soon led me to change my object, and to direct my studies to the exercise of the profession of a civil-engineer.

   Having commenced this pursuit, I made several improvements on the steam-engine, for some of which I

procured His Majesty's Letters Patent, and introduced them, with considerable advantage, into different parts

of England and Scotland. In July 1780, I went to Edinburgh, and submitted to the Professors of that University, and to other learned and scientific gentlemen, the model of a carriage which I had invented, and intended to be moved on public roads by the power of steam. Upon this occasion I met the late Patrick Miller, Esq. of Dalswinton, who had been informed not only of my model of a steam-carriage, but of my previous improvements on the steam-engine,

by Mr. James Taylor, a school companion of mine, and who was then tutor in Mr. Miller's family.

   When Mr. Miller called on me at the house of my much respected friend, the late Gilbert Meason, Esq., he was shown the model of the steam-carriage, and Mr. Miller was pleased to say, "It bids fair to improve greatly the commerce of the country, by facilitating conveyance and reducing the rates of carriage.''

   Mr. Miller also mentioned that he had spent much time making experiments as to the propelling of vessels upon water, by using wheels in place of sails or oars. These wheels he had hitherto put in motion by applying the strength of men to the turning of a handle or winch. He said he had also attempted to work them by the power of horses, but none of these powers had sufficiently answered his purpose.

   I stated without hesitation that I believed a steam-engine might be constructed to propel Mr. Miller's boats, by communicating a rotatory motion to the paddles by the alternate action of two ratchet-wheels, in the same manner as proposed in the model of the steam-carriage then before him, which would render altogether unnecessary the aid of a fly-wheel to regulate and equalize the effects of the steam-engine in turning the revolving oars.

   The model then before Mr. Miller, and the description given by me of the manner by which I proposed applying the same power to produce a rotatory motion in the paddle wheels, seemed to convince him of the practicability of applying the steam-engine to the propelling of boats; and he said, with a becoming diffidence as to his knowledge in mechanical powers, that if I should think it possible to construct and work a steam-engine with safety on board of a vessel, he would have an experiment made on a small scale as soon as I could attend to it, and he left it entirely to me to devise the plan of the

steam-engine, the mode of producing rotatory motion, and the placing of the apparatus with safety in the vessel, only stipulating that my whole energy and ability was to be directed to the only end he had in view, that of making the paddle wheels constantly revolve with a sufficient degree of velocity.

   Upon this mutual understanding I proceeded to erect a small steam-engine upon the principle for which I had 

previously procured a patent, having two cylinders of four inches diameter, each making an eighteen inches

stroke. This engine having been constructed by my direction and under my eye, I caused it to be fitted on board a double-keeled vessel then lying upon a piece of water near the house of Dalswinton; and this being done, an experiment was made in the autumn of the year 1788, in presence of Mr. Miller and various other respectable 

persons, and the boat was propelled in a manner that gave such satisfaction that it was immediately determined to commence another experiment upon a more extended scale.

   The second experiment was made on the Forth and Clyde Canal. The machinery was executed at Carron Iron Works under my direction, and was erected in a boat belonging to Mr. Miller which had been previously built and fitted with paddle wheels for the purpose of making experiments, as to the effect of these wheels turned by the labour of men already described.

   I fitted into this boat a steam-engine with two cylinders, each eighteen inches in diameter, and making a three feet stroke; and in the month of October 1789, I took on board Mr. Miller, the late John Adam, Blairadam, John Balfour, Pilrig, Ambrose Tibbets, Esquires, members of the Carron Company; Mr. Taylor, my

school companion, and David Drysdale, residing at Bankside, near Bainsford, an experienced sailor to whom I gave the helm, and in presence of hundreds of spectators who lined the banks of the Canal the boat glided along, propelled at the rate of five miles an hour, and all parties interested declared themselves satisfied with the success of my performance.

   I have herewith produced the original drawing, with an account of the expense of the machinery, which, exclusive of the cost of the boat that previously belonged to Mr. Miller, amounted to £363, 10s, 10d., as certified by the affidavit of Joseph Stainton, Esq., manager of the Carron Company.

   These experiments having been successfully completed, I was fully satisfied that the application of paddle wheels 

was capable of giving a considerable velocity to the motion of vessels, when an impetus was derived from a machine so powerful as the steam engine; but as Mr. Miller, at this period, very unaccountably withdrew himself from public business and devoted his talents to the improvement of his estate of Dalswinton, it was left to me to carry into effect the practical results that had hitherto been ascertained, or still further to improve upon them.

   I at this time was also unfortunately obliged to go to the Wanlockhead Lead Mines to construct machinery upon a large scale, to enable the proprietors to work these mines to advantage; and the attention of all parties connected with the steam-boat experiments, being for a time directed to other important objects, the boat was dismantled, and its machinery laid up in Carron Works; and thus ended the second trial made by me upon Steamboat Navigation.

   In the summer of the year 1800, the late Thomas Lord Dundas of Kerse applied to me, and after alluding to the experiments which I had made eleven years before, expressed a wish that I should employ myself in constructing a vessel capable of being propelled by the power of steam through the Forth and Clyde Canal (of which he was a large proprietor), and of dragging vessels in place of using horses, the power then and still employed in dragging vessels in that canal.

   I accordingly, under the auspices and patronage of that enlightened nobleman, commenced a series of experiments in January 1801, and continued them till April 1803, which cost upwards of £7000, and which produced the happy results now to be described.

   A steam-engine was erected with a cylinder of double power, 22 inches in diameter, and making a four feet stroke, and fitted into a boat adapted to the power of the engine; and after making various experiments, I, in March 1803, took on board of the boat at Lock No. 20 of the canal, the late Lord Dundas, my patron, Archibald Spiers, Esq. of Elderslee, and several gentlemen of their acquaintance, and made the steamboat take in drag two loaded vessels, the Active and Euphemia of Grangemouth, Gow and Espline, masters, each vessel upwards of seventy tons burden, and with great ease they were carried, without the assistance of any horses, through the summit level of this canal to Port-Dundas, a distance of nineteen and a half miles, in six hours, although it blew so strong a breeze right ahead during the whole course of the day, that no other vessel in the canal attempted to move to windward; and this experiment not only satisfied me, but every person who witnessed it, of the utility of steam navigation.

   When it was proposed, however, to the proprietors of the canal, to substitute steamboats in place of drag horses, it was alleged that the undulation created upon the water by the use of the paddle wheels would have the effect of washing down the banks of the canal, and thereby doing a greater injury to the canal itself, than any benefit that could be expected to be derived from the use of such an improvement; and as the proprietors of the canal were entitled to judge of their own affairs, I and the late Lord Dundas, although differing from them in opinion, were bound to submit to their decision; and the result of these experiments was, that I, at the desire of my patron, caused a beautiful model of the steam-engine and boat to be executed with a set of ice breakers attached to it, * which was sent to the house of 

Lord Dundas in Arlington Street, London.

   I was thus a second time thrown upon my own resources in attempting to achieve the much desired and ultimate object of this invention, viz., the application of steam to the general use of navigation, and was with great reluctance obliged to lay up the boat upon which these experiments were tried in a creek of the canal near to Bainsford Drawbridge, where it remained for many years exposed to public view. While lying there, Mr. Henry Bell from Glasgow, who had also witnessed my experiments in 1789, was frequently seen to inspect it, and it was this gentleman who, in conjunction with others, constructed, in the year 1811, the steamboat

*This model was made by the following persons, viz., boat by James Walker, painter, Grangemouth; engine by William Paterson, journeyman watchmaker, Falkirk; boiler, paddle-wheels, etc., by James Blaikie, pattern maker, Carron Iron Works, who fitted in the engine, and generally finished the whole under the immediate superintendence of Mr. Symington. See foot-note at page 14.

   The Comet, which first plied on the river Clyde, and the immense advantages resulting from this exemplification of the invention made it be taken advantage of by the companies who have since so flourishingly prosecuted steam navigation in this country.

   It happened one day during the period that I was employed in constructing the experiments under the patronage of Lord Dundas, viz., in July 1801, that a stranger came to the banks of the canal and requested to see me. He very politely announced himself as Mr. Fulton, a native of North America, and told me that he intended to return to his native country in a few months, but having heard of the steamboat experiments, he could not think of leaving the country without waiting upon me, in the hope of seeing the boat and machinery, and procuring some information as to the principles upon which it was moved. He remarked, that however beneficial such an invention might be to Great Britain, it would certainly be of much more importance to North America, considering the many navigable rivers and lakes in that country, and the ease with which timber could be had, either for building such vessels, or supplying the engine with fuel. He thought fit to say that the usefulness of these vessels in a mercantile point of view could not fail to attract the attention of every observer, and that if he were allowed to carry the plan to North America, it could not but turn out to my advantage; because, if I were inclined, or if my other engagements would permit of it, the making, or at least the superintending the making of such vessels, would naturally fall upon me.

   I was flattered by the stranger's attention, and, in compliance with his earnest- request, caused the engine

fire to be lighted up, and the machinery put in motion. Several persons entered the boat, and, along with Mr. Fulton, were carried from Lock No. 16, where the boat then lay, about four miles west along the canal, and returned to the place of starting in one hour and twenty minutes, to the great astonishment of Mr. Fulton and the other gentlemen present.

   Mr. Fulton asked me if I had any objection to his taking notes regarding the form, the size, the construction, etc., of the steamboat and steam apparatus; to which I answered that I had none, as I was of opinion the greater publicity that could be given to a discovery intended for general good so much the better. He accordingly took out a memorandum book, and put several pointed questions to me regarding the general construction and effect of the machinery, which were answered with a wish to be explicit, and Mr. Fulton noted down the answers, and everything that was described to him, and made his own remarks, while the boat was moving along the canal with him and others on board. I never 

heard of him again, till I saw an account of his death in an American newspaper, dated Baltimore, 1818.

   The foregoing detail can be proved by the testimony of respectable witnesses, and there are herewith produced the affidavits of several gentlemen and creditable tradesmen to the truth of the principal averments made by me; and should any part of the narrative be challenged, I am confident of being able to substantiate the same in the most satisfactory manner; but as I mean in this narrative to confine myself strictly to facts, it is unnecessary for me to draw any inference from what has already been stated. I may be permitted, however, to say, that Mr. Fulton's steam

vessel did not make its appearance on the Hudson River earlier than the year 1806, bring several years after I had completed the whole series of my experiments, and some years after Mr. Fulton himself had been on board the Charlotte Dundas steamboat, and had minutely examined her while at work upon the Forth and Clyde Canal, and about eighteen years after I had made my first satisfactory experiment upon steamboats on the lake at Dalswinton.

   Previous to finishing the experiments upon the Forth and Clyde Canal, I went to London, and presented my patron, Lord Dundas, with the model of the steamboat and steam apparatus already described. Upon this occasion his Lordship suggested the propriety of showing the model to his Grace the Duke of Bridgewater, whom he knew to be an ingenious and spirited nobleman, besides being sole proprietor of extensive canals, and who could, if he approved of the invention, adopt it upon his own.

   His Lordship accordingly called upon the Duke and told him that I was in town, and requested that I might be allowed to wait upon his Grace with the model of the steamboat; to which he replied, "That it appeared to him altogether needless to amuse themselves further with anything regarding steamboats, as he could well assure his Lordship they would never be made to answer any useful purpose, having himself, subsequent to the experiments which I made in Scotland, bestowed upon the subject much pains and great expense, without affording the least hope of success; yet, with this impression as to the improbability of utility, he was still willing to see anything new upon the subject," and consented to examine my model.

   I waited upon the Duke next day, and showed and explained the model to him, when he declared that such a vessel as that before him had every appearance of answering the purpose he wished, and pointing to his collection of paintings, which he said had cost him upwards of £100,000, he stated his belief that the advantage which trade might derive at some future period from the use of such steamboats, would many times exceed the value of his excellent gallery of 

pictures; and to shew his conviction of the fact, he gave me an immediate order to build eight such boats for the use of his canal, and pressingly requested me to devote my whole time to the executing of this order with as little delay as possible.

   I then returned to Scotland elated with the prospect of being able in a short time thus to turn my invention to a useful purpose, and satisfactorily completed my last experiment, then only in progress; but, to my great mortification, upon the very day I had finished it, I heard of the much lamented death of that very worthy and enterprising nobleman the Duke of Bridgewater, together with the determination of the proprietors of the Forth and Clyde Canal not to use the 

boats, after the pains that had been taken to perfect them. This so affected me, that probably I did not use that energy I otherwise might have done to introduce my invention to public notice; and perhaps it was from this circumstance that the introduction of steam navigation was postponed in the United Kingdom of Great Britain till after the Americans had taken advantage of it, and carried the invention into general practice.

   I was advised to apply for His Majesty's Letters Patent to cover my invention, which are dated October

1801; but after having put myself to this expense, I discovered that the idea of the application of steam to the propelling of boats, is much earlier than my time.

   So far back as the year 1736, Jonathan Hulls of England procured a patent for the propelling of boats by steam, conform to a plan which he published, with a copy of his patent. This boat, however, was unfit for any useful purpose, in consequence of the imperfection of the steam-engine, and the awkward manner of applying the power. That ingenious machine was not then brought to such a degree of perfection as to be capable of being used for the production of rotatory motion in a manner sufficient for the propelling of boats, and I humbly presume to say, but with perfect confidence in the truth of what I say, that I am the first individual who ever effectually applied the power of the steam-engine to the propelling of vessels, without saying anything of my original invention of the steam-carriage.

   While advancing this pretension, I am confident in being able to maintain it; but, at the same time, I am far from wishing to detract from the merit of any of the ingenious men who have laboured in the same department. Much is due to Jonathan Hulls, and perhaps it is impossible to expect greater progress to have been made in the invention at the time he wrote. Much merit is also due to my first patron, Mr. Miller, to whom the country is much indebted for the improvements he made upon boats and wheels; but it was I alone who invented a steam-engine, and actually applied 

it to the propelling of boats.          

   Although I hesitate not to declare that the improved engine of Messrs. Watt and Bolton has now deservedly

superseded any other, it is I who have thus first put

upon something like a firm basis the great principle, as it were before but dreamt of, that this mighty agent could 

be rendered subservient to the purposes of navigation.

   It would be quite unnecessary for me to make any allusion to the advantages which the public now derives from this invention—they are obvious and great; and every class of society travelling for pleasure or commerce avail themselves of the certainty and despatch it affords.

   Names of Witnesses to the facts in the foregoing 

history, viz: —

                                    FIRST BOAT

RICHARD YOUNG, Gardener, Dalswinton, now Grocer, Edinburgh.

ALEXANDER CARLAW, Engineer.

                                    SECOND BOAT.

JOSEPH STAINTON, Esq., Manager, Carron Iron Works.

HENRY STAINTON, Esq., Depute Manager, Carron Iron Works.

WILLIAM BLAIKIE, Pattern Maker.

JAMES BLAIKIE, Pattern Maker.

ROBERT WEIR, Engineman.

ALEXANDER HART, Ship-Carpenter, Grangemouth.

JOHN ALLAN, Ship Carpenter, Grangemouth.

J. ESPLINE, Shipmaster*

  *The above witnesses are all deceased with the exception of James Blaikie, late of Panmure Foundry, who came in 1819 from Carron, to Shotts Foundry, Edinburgh, of which he was many years manager and is now (1863) in the eighty-third year of his age.

                                          AFFIDAVIT BY ALEXANDER SCLANDERS.

   Alexander Sclanders, Boat Builder, residing at Lock No. 16, on the Forth and Clyde Canal, in the County of Stirling, in that part of the United Kingdom called Scotland, maketh oath and saith, that in the month of March Eighteen hundred and three years, he was employed by William Symington, Civil Engineer, to be helmsman on board the Charlotte Dundas steam boat, in a trip made from Windford Lock along the summit level of the Canal to Port-Dundas, the distance being 19 ½ miles, and which was performed in six hours, dragging two loaded vessels, the Active and the Euphemia of Grangemouth. Messrs. Gow and Espline, Masters, although it blew a strong breeze right ahead while on the passage, so much so that no other vessels of any description could move to the windward in the canal that day.

ALEXANDER SCLANDERS.

   Sworn at Falkirk, in the county of Stirling, upon 

the twentieth day of September in the year One 

thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven, before me, 

one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the county 

of Stirling.

W. COUBROUGH, J.P.

LIST OF PLATES.

                                    PLATE I.

   A lateral Section of the original Steamboat invented 

by W. Symington, in 1787, and exemplified at Dal-

swinton, 1788.

   AA. Cylinders, B. Boiler, C. Funnel, DD. Paddle 

Wheels, E. Connecting Chains, FF. Ratchet-Wheels 

for communicating motion to the Paddles, GG. Lower 

Piston Rods. H. Beam.

                                    PLATE II.

Represents the second experiment made by W. Syming

ton on the Forth and Clyde Canal, in 1801-2 and 1803.

   A. Cylinder, B. Boiler, C. Steam-pipe. D. Con-

denser. E. Funnel, F. Paddle-Wheel, G. Piston Rod. 

H. Crank.