History
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Origins[edit]
In 1170 Baldwin de Bigres, Sheriff of Lanark, granted a stretch of land to the monks of Paisley Abbey. This land was described as "The pennyland between the rivulets Kip and Daff". Pennyland is an old Scots word of Norse origin which is used to describe a small piece of land, the rent for which is one penny per year.
The area granted to the monks in 1170 equates to much of the north section of today's village, from the bridge over the Daff on Main Street, near Inverkip Hotel to the old bridge over the River Kip at Bridgend Cottages. Extending to the coast at the old bridge at Kip Marina and probably as far inland as the railway line.
Inverkip was made a burgh of barony before the Act of Union in 1707, with the parish containing all of Gourock, Wemyss Bay, Skelmorlie and part of Greenock.
Inverkip Church[edit]
Inverkip Parish Church
By 1188, the monks had built a church on the site of the present old graveyard, at what is now the junction of Langhouse Road and Millhouse Road. This small church (known as Auld Kirk) served the entire Christian population between Kilmacolm and Largs for around 400 years. The existing (derelict) mausoleum of the Shaw-Stewarts stands on the site of the original church and incorporates some of its structure. The Christians of Greenock presented a petition to the Crown for a church of their own. This resulted in the opening in 1591 of the kirk in Greenock, later known as the Old West Kirk, and brought to an end the regular 5.5 miles (8.9 km) each way treks by Sunday worshipers from Greenock to Inverkip. A journey which must have been very demanding, given the terrain and the absence of proper roads during that period. In 1594 the lands of Greenock, Finnart, and Spangock were assigned to the new parish of Greenock, and by 1636 Greenock parish included Easter in Greenock and various other lands.
The present church building on Langhouse Road was completed in 1805, reputedly to a plan by the civil engineer Thomas Telford, but there is no evidence to support this and the design of Inverkip Church is quite different from the known 'Telford Kirks' which were built during the same period. The church building is described by Historic Environment Scotland as "2-storey type; simple Renaissance with upper windows round-headed; open belfry at front gable; (1804-5). Clock on pediment several of windows blocked up, but fenestration pattern kept in black & white".
The church hall and manse were built during the 1960s and stand across Langhouse Road from the church itself. The old manse (now known as Kirkbrae House) is also on Langhouse Road, between the original and present churches. It was built in 1730 and is now a private residence.[citation needed]
Ardgowan[edit]
Ardgowan House with the Firth of Clyde beyond. Viewed from Bargane Hill.
By the 13th century, a castle had been built at what is now Ardgowan House. This early castle changed hands between the Scots and the English during the Wars of Independence. Robert The Bruce fought here for both sides during this period. The land was acquired by the Stewarts in 1390 and they built the existing castle during the 15th century. Contained in the gardens of Ardgowan House and away from the public eye, it consists of a three-storey square keep with a garret. The main entrance is at first floor level and is accessed by an external stairway. The castle was abandoned as a residence when Ardgowan House was built by the Shaw-Stewarts in 1799–1801. Following construction of Ardgowan House, the first proper road to Greenock was constructed by Sir John Shaw Stewart and opened in 1803.
Ardgowan House served as a military hospital during both world wars and has the distinction of being the first Scottish military hospital to be damaged by German bombs. The damage was slight and no casualties were recorded, but many windows at the house were smashed.
Witchcraft and witch hunts[edit]
Inverkip was a hotbed of witchcraft activity for half a century from 1640 to 1690. The Ministers of the parish at the time, the Rev John Hamilton (1626 to 1664) and Rev Alexander Leslie (1665 to 1684) were noted as being ‘zealous persecutors of witches’. A Royal Enquiry into the Inverkip witch hunts, which have been compared to those at Salem, was led by Archibald Stewart of Blackhall. During this enquiry 18 year old Marie Lamont was tried as a witch before the Commission, Sir Archibald and the Rev John Hamilton. Marie confessed that ‘Jean King, Kattie Scott, Janet Holm, herself and sundry others, met together in the mirk, at the bucht-gait of Ardgowan whar, the devil was with them in the shape of a black man with cloven feet, and directit them to fetch whyte sand fre the shore, and cast it about yetts of Ardgowan and about the ministers hous’. Marie was found guilty of witchcraft and burned at the stake, the fate of the others is not known.
A local verse recalls another notable character during this period:
"In Auld Kirk the witches ride thick
And in Dunrod they dwell;
But the greatest loon amang them a'
Is Auld Dunrod himsel'."
'Auld Dunrod' was the last of the Lindsay family of Dunrod Castle. As the result of a dissolute life he lost all his possessions and fell into the black arts. Local reputation had it that he was in league with the devil, and he died in mysterious circumstances in a barn belonging to one of his former tenant farmers. Nothing now remains of the castle which stood at the foot of Dunrod Hill.
Shaws water scheme[edit]
A valve house on the Cut, with Inverkip beyond
Commissioned by Sir Michael Shaw Stewart, 5th Baronet and designed by industrialist Robert Thom of Rothesay, this grand water supply scheme in the hills behind the village was completed in 1827. It entailed the damming of Shaws Water (a small stream on the other side of the hills from Greenock) to create what is now known as Loch Thom. The Greenock Cut was also created to supply water from the loch, around the hills, to the town of Greenock for domestic and industrial purposes.
The scheme was still in use as recently as 1971, at which time it was made obsolete by the boring of a tunnel through Whinhill.
Cholera outbreak[edit]
1849 was a disastrous year for the village; not only did the crops fail, but one third of the population died due to an outbreak of cholera.[citation needed]
Smuggling[edit]
During the late 18th century and early 19th century, the village was noted for smuggling activities involving the illicit transfer of alcohol, tea and tobacco from vessels heading up the Firth of Clyde to the ports of Greenock and Port Glasgow.
One well known case is that of Thomas Finnie, a local milkman, whose tale is recorded in the records of the Innerkip Society:
Early in the morning of the 22nd of December, 1809, about 6 am, Thomas Spence, Supervisor of Excise in Greenock, could have been seen – suitably armed with pistol, etc – riding through the slush to Inverkip accompanied by two other officers. Almost exhausted and perished with the cold after their unusual errand they espied Thomas Finnie’s milk cart. They lay in wait near the Daff burn and when Thomas had reached that point on his way to the “big house” with his morning delivery, the command to halt came from Spence. Mr Spence immediately searched the cart and in addition to the usual and necessary commodity of milk, he found three casks of Highland whisky containing in all 30 gallons. The horse, cart, milk and whisky and, of course, Thomas, were seized and taken in charge when, suddenly, Spence spotted Robert Cochrane some distance off. Cochrane was also searched and his cart was found to contain 50 gallons of Whisky. Both carts, their contents and their owners were marched on to Greenock Bridewell.
Railway[edit]
Inverkip Railway Station
Further information: Inverkip railway station
1865 saw the opening of the Port Glasgow to Wemyss Bay line by the Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway Company, with the trains being operated by the Caledonian Railway Company. A station was opened at Inverkip in 1867 and this resulted in the transformation of Inverkip from a rural agricultural village community to being more of a seaside resort busy with railway trippers from Greenock and Glasgow. A jetty near the present day War Memorial served ferry boats which tendered to the passing Paddle Steamers. The railway line was electrified in 1967 and has been served by EMUs (Electric Multiple Units) of various classes since then. The line was made single track at this time, which resulted in Inverkip station being reduced to a single platform and losing its bridges across the line. A new footbridge across the line was opened in 2014, with a lift to provide wheelchair access as there was insufficient space for ramp access on the downhill side.
Energy supplies[edit]
By 1900 a gas supply was piped to the village from Bankfoot, which was the home farm of Ardgowan Estate and which is located around a mile outside the village on the road to Greenock. The 1913 OS 25 inch map shows a gasometer at the farm
Electricity arrived in the village in 1932, supplied from the Hydro scheme in nearby Skelmorlie.
World War II[edit]
Tank Traps, Ardgowan Point
The mouth of Kip Water was excavated in 1940 by the Army Royal Engineers Unit to enable the storage of barges. After the war, this excavated area became a popular bathing and boating area with locals and day-trippers alike.
Two large concrete blocks on the beach nearby are probably tank traps, a relic of this time.
Kip Marina now stands on the site of the WWII excavation.
The army built and occupied 28 houses in Daff Avenue at this time. These houses survive today and can be seen just off Main Street at Langhouse Road.
Housing[edit]
Glebe Road houses
From 1951-1957 Renfrewshire County Council built the Crawford Lane and Glebe Road housing scheme. This development lies on the high ground at Langhouse Road, behind the present church building. This provided much needed affordable, good quality housing to local people in the immediate post-WWII years.
Since the 1980s the village has seen many large private housing developments completed, including off Langhouse Road, Swallow Brae, Kip Marina and several at the 'Hill Farm' site off Finnockbog Road. Further housing developments are planned at the former power station site.
The village now serves largely as a dormitory to Greenock and the major towns beyond.
Road transport[edit]
The A78 Inverkip Bypass
The village stands on the A78 coast road which runs from Greenock to Monkton, near Prestwick Airport. Main Street was the A78 road until the bypass opened in the early 1970s.
The single carriageway bypass road was designed with wide margins to provide long sight lines and to enable future construction of a dual carriageway if traffic demanded it. Evidence of this can be seen at the flyover at the power station access road, which is dual carriageway, with just one side being used.
Despite the bypass, Main Street is still congested due to the presence of many parked cars.
Inverkip power station[edit]
Inverkip Power Station
Inverkip power station was an oil-fired power station which was constructed during the 1970s and demolished between 2010 and 2015. Due to the increase in oil prices as a result of the 1973 Oil Crisis, the station was never used commercially to full capacity (except during the UK miners' strike (1984–85)). Power generation stopped in 1988 and the station was kept in reserve before being mothballed in the late 1990s. It was decommissioned in 2006. at which time some of the equipment was sold and transferred to other power stations around the country.
The 774-foot (236 m) chimney was the tallest free standing structure in Scotland and the third tallest in the UK when it was built in 1976.
Population[edit]
Since its origins, the village population has grown from around 200 to around 3300 (2016 projection). The population of the village has doubled since the 1980s housing boom.
As of 2025 the population of Inverkip has risen to c.3500.[citation needed]
In 2022 the Scottish Government updated the legislation governing classification of settlements. With a population over 3000, Inverkip is now classified as an 'accessible small town'.
The murder of Margaret Fleming took place in Inverkip in 1999-2000.
