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Ramage & Ferguson was a Scottish shipbuilder active from 1877 to 1934, who specialised in luxurysteam yachts, usually with steel hulls and timber decks. They also made several notablewindjammers, including the five-mastedKøbenhavn.
The company was formed in May 1877 in the outer harbour area of theWater of Leith on the west side of the Shore inLeith, backing onto the then relatively new Victoria Dock. Ships were launched into the Water of Leith, greatly limiting the maximum size of ship capable of launch. Production moved from iron to steel in 1880 and major expansions were made in 1892. The company gained a reputation for building luxury steam yachts for wealthy customers. They also builttrampsteamships, and various medium-sized ships for the East India trade.[1]
The "Ferguson" of Ramage & Ferguson is elusive and seems to have been a silent and unidentified partner. Probably the funder of the venture, there is some indication that Ferguson may have beenRobert McNair Ferguson or connected to him in some way.
In theFirst World War the company built twohospital ships for theAdmiralty.
In 1918 their yard manager,Henry Robb, left to form his own rival shipbuilding company in Leith. In 1934 Ramage & Ferguson got into financial difficulty, and Henry Robb & Sons bought out Ramage & Ferguson as a secondary yard. The yard was used up until the 1970s, and cleared of buildings in 1985. The slipway remained intact until around 1995 when it was built over to form a section of theWater of Leith Walkway. The position is still visible from the eastern bank.
Richard Ramage was born on 28 June 1834 in or nearGlasgow. He was apprenticed toWilliam Denny and Brothers inDumbarton around 1848, where he learnt his skills as a shipbuilder. In 1877 he moved to Edinburgh and founded Ramage & Ferguson.
In 1900 he was living at The Hawthorns, 212 Ferry Road, in Leith.[2] By this time he had retired and passed the business to his son, Alexander Gulliland Ramage.
Richard Ramage died on 16 July 1920, and is buried inWarriston Cemetery. The grave is on the sloping diagonal path leading from the lower vaults to the now-sealed eastern entrance.
Alexander Gulliland Ramage is thought to have been born in or near Glasgow around 1870. He was the son of Richard Ramage and his wife, Elizabeth Ogilvie Gulliland (b.1836). He took over from his father Richard Ramage as partner and managing director of Ramage & Ferguson around 1895. His younger brother John Thomson Ramage (1885–1933) acted as his assistant and design engineer.
In 1899 he was elected a fellow of theRoyal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers wereBruce Peebles,Ralph Stockman,Robert McNair Ferguson, and SirFrancis Grant Ogilvie.[3] At this time he lived at 9 Derby Street in theNewhaven district of Edinburgh.[2]
By 1910 he was living in a larger house at 8 Western Terrace in Edinburgh's West End.[4] He lived at Lochcote Cottage nearTorphichen.[5] He wrote a book,The Dynamics of Thought and Impulse, which was published in 1924. He died at Lochcote Cottage on 21 February 1954.
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