The earliest record of shipbuilding in Irvine dates
from 1759, and this activity continued for almost
200 years, until 1936. In 1759, John Webb
started a shipyard at the Brae. In 1791, "three master shipbuilders"
are recorded by the Statistical Account, though only one was to survive;
they were Gilkison, Mair & Co (at the Brae) and Martins and Munns
on or near the later timber yard. In 1814 Gilkison Thomson
& Co occupied the yard, launching their biggest ship
ever, the 309-ton 'Montreal', and, in 1819, the 169-ton 'Jean', which
became the first ship of the Allan transatlantic shipping line. Charles
Samson of Laurel Bank took over the site in the 1830s and built tea
clippers. Peter Murchie then took over the site and developed
two berths to enable two ships to be built at the
same time. Thereafter, Calderwood & Co from Ardrossan, followed
by a cooperative of local workmen took over the shipyard, but with
limited success. Clark Marr & Co took over, but at a time when
steel was starting to replace wood, followed by Ebenezer Ballantyne.
The 1888 sale of assets raised £315 (see shipping
notes). McGill & Co took over in 1886, employing
30-50 men, with a new dock capable of taking vessels
up to 100ft in length. John H Gilmour then owned
the yard from 1892 to 1894, one of his boats being the Clyde canal
steamer 'Fairy Queen'. From 1898 to 1904, the site was occupied by
Irvine Shipbuilding & Engineering, their 1899
production being 12 vessels totalling 3,410 tons. In 1912 the Council
took over the by-then unused shipyard and leased it to Mackie
& Thomson, who had sold their Govan shipyard to Harland
& Wolff. The shipyard was extended, leading to an influx of workers,
and a 1920 housing programme. War work kept the shipyard busy in 1914-18.
At its peak in the 1920s, the shipyard employed 2,-3,000
men. In 1920, two Clan line ships were launched, each of 7,600 tons,
the largest ever built in Irvine. In 1928, the Irvine yard was taken
over by Sir J & H Lithgow, and the last Irvine-built vessels,
the 'Coulmore' and the 'Coulbeg', cargo ships which had been lying
on the stocks for five years, found purchasers and were launched,
in 1936. Thereafter, Ayrshire Dockyard Company Ltd
developed the shipyard to carry out ship repair work,
advertising (1935) a "Modern slipway for repairs for vessels
up to 280ft long by 60ft beam and 2,000 tons displacement". During
the Second World War, work included the servicing of landing craft.
Then ADC Ltd diversified into steel sections for post-war homes, ship
repairing ended in 1959, and the company was renamed Ayrshire Metal
Products Ltd in 1961.