Discovering Denny
Words by Annie Jordan & Photos by Jim Stevens
The Denny Ship Model Experimental Tank in Dumbarton, known locally as the Denny Tank, is part of the Scottish Maritime Museum.
To my shame, I had passed the building my entire life, but never visited, writing it off as too scientific for me…
What a missed opportunity!
Thanks to Clydesider, I finally got to visit the Denny Tank and would encourage readers to do so, particularly if you live in Dumbarton… Chances are, it’s part of your family history!
West Dunbartonshire has a rich shipbuilding heritage: ‘Clyde-built’ is a badge of honour because of our world-dominating expertise in this field.
The Denny Tank pays tribute to this genius.
On my arrival, I recognised a fellow visitor: “Wow,” she enthused, “so much knowledge…my Dad was a marine engineer and they were pioneers here on the Clyde. So interesting!”
My curiosity was suitably piqued.
But who was Denny?
The name Denny features prominently in Dumbarton – the Denny Civic Theatre is a well-known local venue for music, drama and dance; the Peter Denny statue stands in front of the Municipal Building, and, most importantly, beautiful Levengrove Park was gifted to the town in 1885 by William Denny and fellow shipbuilder John MacMillan.
Chris Woodland, commercial manager from the Scottish Maritime Museum, urged me to explore the museum first.
“The Denny family were way ahead of their time,“ he said, piquing my curiosity further. “You’ll see… Helicopters, hovercrafts, you name it!”
But the Denny name is synonymous with shipbuilding.
William Denny, a joiner to trade, partnered with Archibald McLachlan to open Woodyard Shipyard in 1814.
All of Denny’s six sons joined him and in 1844, William Denny and brothers was founded.
They flourished and expanded, and the Leven shipyard was created. A successful venture, it continued to operate until 1963.
In the Denny Tank, a model and map of old Dumbarton lets visitors see the full extent of the Leven shipyard which stretched out in front of Dumbarton Rock.
From the upstairs windows, visitors can get a spectacular view of the castle and envisage where the yard was.
So, what is the Denny Tank?
Standing in a prominent position just off Glasgow Road, the now museum was once used to test ships
Opening in 1882 it was the first commercial, non-naval test tank in the whole world – the mother of all test tanks in fact!
Building this experimental tank was a bold and revolutionary move from Denny and bros.
As they could only build medium-sized vessels in their yard, a test tank would give them a competitive edge over their rivals and make them financially viable for years to come.
Visitors, naval architects and marine engineers would come from all over the world to learn from the Denny tank… “If you build it, they will come…” and they did!
Constructed following the plans of prominent naval architect, William Froude, the building itself is WOW.
The tank is massive, the size of an international swimming pool, although it doesn’t look it from the road.
I was blown away not only by its scale but also by its position as a top world class facility.
Naval architects designed ships and compared the best hull shapes here.
However, hydrodynamics involved the contact of the ship with water, friction, the movement of the vessel through water, the effect of waves, turbulence, not to mention the hull’s surface.
There were many factors to consider before you could build a successful ship and at the Denny Tank, you could assess all this using a scale model, usually made out of wax: much more cost effective than testing a full-sized ship.
They also tested propellers and paddle wheels for big steamers and the Denny Tank became famous for the bulbous bow.
So why visit?
For me, the answer is simple, we should support our local museums: they represent our proud past and we should all learn about and protect our local heritage.
Shipbuilding was HUGE on the Clyde and we should do our utmost to celebrate it. We desperately need a shipbuilding museum in Clydebank too.
Chris Woodland and I discussed the value of museums: “They are a great place to meet and spend time with family and friends, they provide an effective way of learning together: mums, dads, grandparents become tour guides and teachers, while young ones become inquisitive and learn through experiencing the past.
“Museums are full of interesting stories that provide inspiration.”
I agreed a museum is all about storytelling and would love to see real figures like William Denny, the Superintendent and some of the workers from the past, just like those in Inverary Jail.
Chris agreed this brings history to life but would need more funding to achieve.
“If we had a wishlist, we would love a ground floor visitor centre as the building is currently inaccessible to wheelchair users…We have many ideas how to change this, but it all requires funding.”
He told me the Denny Tank has taken awhile to recover from Covid but have resumed workshops with school groups, and under-fives, ‘Little Guppies’ club.
They also engaged in the STEM Lego Challenge and are starting after school clubs and workshops involving Lego.
Right on cue, a child leaving with his grandad told me his favourite thing was the Lego.
What is there to see?
Plenty. The Denny Tank is like stepping back in time.
It is as if the workers have just gone home for the night and will resume work tomorrow.
On the first floor, apart from the tank itself, there are storyboards, propellers, model ships, the wave machine.
Tools are on the ground floor plus QR codes to scan and a listening station where you can hear the stories of former employees, including one who said it was “the happiest place he ever worked.”
On the upper floor, there is the Superintendent’s office, the tracing office with famous deacon boxes containing hundreds of ship designs from yesteryear, a storeroom and a pop-up museum space.
When I visited the ‘Chariots of Steam’ model ships collection made by Lachie Stewart, gold-medal winning athlete from the Vale, was on display. His attention to detail and intricate work astounded me.
‘Following the Lights’ is their latest exhibition.
It celebrates the remarkable history of lighthouses, their keepers and engineers and will run until May 29.
Chris explained how museums are working together to encourage more visitors.
The Denny Tank is well connected to Dumbarton Castle and there is a discount available if visiting both.
It is also connected with Love Loch Lomond and again certain discounts apply.
Nationally, they are part of the wider Go Industrial museum network with discounts for Summerlee, Auchendrain and other industrial museums: A very exciting initiative.
Chris added: “Our aim is to get people visiting museums.
“People are not out and about as much as before so we need to encourage them to visit.
“We have a vintage tearoom here from Wednesday to Saturday, operated by the charity Alternatives, their homemade scones are delicious.
“You can even come to the tearoom for a cuppa without visiting the museum.”
Do visit the Denny Tank.
Discover Denny, Dumbarton, shipbuilding, and Hydro-Dynamics…oh and play Lego and eat a scone!
Better still, become a ‘Museum member’ and visit as often as you would like!
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