Jump to content




MAID OF MORVEN 1824


MAID OF MORVEN 1824

This, folks, was how 'ferry-services' to the Hebrides began, away back around 1820 or so.  I produced this pencil sketch of the 'Maid of Morven' to illustrate an article that I wrote concerning a Gaelic account of the ship by the Rev. Dr Norman MacLeod in 1829.  It shows her off Morvern, as MacLeod describes her, bearing down on a little boat (the equivalent of the later 'red boats') with passengers waiting to go aboard for the voyage to the Broomielaw.  The 'Maid' was tiny compared with today's 'Clansman'.  The vibrations of the wooden 'Maid', suffering the effects of wind and wave and steam engine, were a good bit worse than those of the 'Clansman', and the facilities were not quite as 'porsh'.   Even so, she took great men like Mendelssohn and Wordsworth and Joseph Turner to Staffa on cruises in the early 1830s.  Count yourselves lucky with CalMac - an' dinna girn!




    Donald E. Meek
    Mar 18 2010 06:31 PM
    It might be worth observing that this painting is a complete reconstruction, with no original photographs to guide me!  No cameras then, though we have Turner's impressionistic painting of Fingal's Cave!  It is based on what is known (to me, at least) of the design of early steamships from the 1820s, and on the information supplied in the 1829 Gaelic story by Dr MacLeod.  This is the earliest account known to me, composed by a Gaelic speaker, of what it was like to sail in a steamship of this kind from Morvern to Glasgow, and it is extremely valuable for that reason.  The picture is also meant to be a humorous cartoon.  MacLeod portrays the 'Maid of Morven' as haughty, unpredictable and dangerous, and some of the speakers in his story compare her very unfavourably with earlier sailing-ships.  The steamship goes against natural forces like the wind, and has something evil about her.  Those were common sentiments across the UK at the time.  We should also note that, in retrospect, the 'earlier generation' of vessels is always better than the current one!  MacLeod's speakers describe the 'Maid' as ugly and ungainly - just what some of us might say about present-day car-ferries, compared with the old motor-vessels like the 1955 'Claymore' which we are seemingly so fond of!  Enjoy the scene.  :cheers: :crazy2: :crazy2:  See 'Review of Scottish Culture', Vol. 20 (2008) for my article, if you want to know more about the voyage and all the 'towerists' who were on board even then!  :cheers: Donald
    :cheers: Love the shape of that boat Donald...another showing lots of interesting bits and well drawn too !!!
    Debra  :cheers: :crazy2: :crazy2:

    Donald E. Meek
    Mar 18 2010 08:50 PM
    Thanks so much, Debra.  It is all very much imaginary, though the main textbooks have been consulted, as usual!  The 'Maid' looks like a big duck, doesn't she, bearing down on that wee wren in the water?   That's what I wanted to get across.  Even then, people were complaining about the wake from the paddles, the bow-wave that threatened to capsize the wee boat....and so on.  :whistle: Nothing changes in that respect!  Thanks again for your lovely comments.  Will get round them shortly!  Packing at the moment for the Tiree safari!  Donald

    quiet waters
    Mar 20 2010 02:27 AM
    my sister is named after a boat of the same name that my father sailed on in the early 50's, think i'm right in saying that theres a pic of her on here somewhere, no idea if this ship inspired the name ?
    joseph turner, now those are big paintings,  :cheers: :cheers:

    Donald E. Meek
    Mar 20 2010 10:40 AM
    Thanks, gentlemen.  Quiet Waters, I suspect that the name 'Maid of Morven' was used by other vessels later, both large and small.  Aye, Westword, Turner was a bit of an artist like ourselves, and was a very precise man before he got into all his fancy, impressionistic, modern stuff, back in the 1830s. :cheers: ;)  So he painted an impression of the 'Maid of Morven' close to Staffa. Staffa is like a big lump of burning peat, glowing brightly in the gloom, and the 'Maid' is like a factory lum, belching smoke.  I think he was trying to say something about the horrors of industry and the wonderful beauty of Fingal's Cave.  However, I am very disappointed that he didn't give us a properly detailed depiction of the good ship, but, then, artists are artists, aren't they?  There's no knowing what they'll get up to next!  Ochone, ochone...!!!!!  :cheers: :crazy2: :crazy2: 8) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) Donald