Details

Name

William Denny and Brothers

Brief Biography

1844 - 1968, Scottish

Occupation

Ship Builders; Shipping Company

Description

The firm was founded by brothers William Denny Junior, Alexander Denny and Peter Denny in 1844. In 1849 Alexander retired and another brother, James Denny, was admitted and the firm took on the name William Denny and Brothers. They moved from the Woodyard Shipyard in Dumbarton to a new yard on the east bank of the River Leven. William Denny III came to work in the company at this point, and it is he who was behind the first ocean-going steam ship along with many other technical innovations that established the Denny name. In 1939 the company was made public. During WWII, their main output was warships and merchant ships. In the post war period the work mainly consisted of deep sea merchant ships, short sea ferries, excursion craft, Scottish fishery protection cruisers and a frigate. They built all types of ships but were particularly well known as producers of fine cross-channel steamships and ferries and had the highest output of any Clyde shipbuilder in terms of numbers of vessels built (a total in excess of 22,000).

Peter Denny developed the companies interests in ship owning and operation, with principal interests in the British & Burmese Steam Navigation Company, Glasgow, the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company and La Platense Flotilla. They were one of the first commercial shipyards in the world to have their own experimental testing tank. This is now open to the public as a museum. They were also pioneers in development of the ship's stabiliser in conjunction with Edinburgh-based Brown Brothers and Co. Denny and also undertook pioneering experimental work in hovercraft and helicopter-type aircraft. A subsidiary company, Denny & Company, also based in Dumbarton, manufactured a wide range of types of steam and diesel marine engines.

From 1947 to 1961 the yard made ten large ferries in response to the nationalisation of the railway system. Other ferries were made for the Isle of Wight and Channel Islands along with other companies in and around the UK. They manufactured some of the early roll-on/roll off ferries in the late 50s. In 1959 the yard was modernised but remained unable to compete for bulk carrier orders. William Denny & Company went into voluntary liquidation in 1963.