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Summary

Description

1912. Cast iron flywheel and anvil from the Comet arranged as a centenary memorial to Henry Bell, who designed the ship in 1812.

Statement of Special Interest

The flywheel is from the original engine of the Comet, the first sea-going steam-operated vessel in Europe, and the anvil was used by Henry Bell, who designed the ship. These artefacts were erected as a sculptural memorial in 1912 on the centenary of the ship. They were presented to the town council by R and W McMurrich whose grandfather had been a blacksmith to Henry Bell.

In 1812 Henry Bell, Former Lord Provost, designed the Comet which ran the first commercial passenger paddle steamer route from Glasgow to Helensburgh. Bell's achievement was acknowledged during his lifetime - a government white paper of 1822 credits him for the first practicable steamship, while the Clyde Navigation Trust made him an annuity of £50 to recognise his contribution to shipping and trade. A full size replica of the Comet is on display at Port Glasgow where the original was built by John Wood and Company.

In 1816 Bell built the first pier in Helensburgh to service the Comet on the site of the current pier (listed at category B, LB52502). Bell's importance to Helensburgh and the Clyde as a whole is recognised by the naming of Bell Street after him in Helensburgh, an obelisk erected to his memory in 1838 in Bowling and another in 1872 on the Helensburgh esplanade (LB34743, category B), as well as this flywheel and anvil.

The flywheel and anvil was previously located in the Hermitage Park on Sinclair Street. It was moved to the East Esplanade around 2009.

Statutory address and listed building record revised in 2019. Previously listed as 'Sinclair Street, Hermitage Park, Flywheel and Anvil'.

References

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