IMMERSIVE COMMUNITY EXHIBITION OPENS UP THE WORLD OF DUMBARTON’S WORLD FAMOUS WILLIAM DENNY & BROTHERS SHIPYARD
‘DENNY SOCIAL’
Scottish Maritime Museum (Denny Tank), Castle Street, Dumbarton
Saturday 26 April – Saturday 9 August
The Scottish Maritime Museum (Denny Tank) and members of Dumbarton community invite everyone to step into the world of William Denny & Brothers, one of the River Clyde’s most innovative shipbuilding institutions, in a new immersive exhibition opening at the Museum on Castle Street on Saturday 26 April.
The community created ‘Denny Social’ exhibition goes on show at the Museum which itself stands on the site of the former shipyard and features the shipyard’s innovative Denny Experiment Tank at its heart.
Through ‘Denny Social’, visitors can explore the social and work life of the people who made the shipyard and the Denny Experiment Tank a centre of maritime engineering excellence from 1844 until 1963.
Interactive displays show how structure and the daily rhythms of the Tank workers were vital to post-war shipbuilding. The rigid schedules of early morning shifts starting at 7.45am and carefully timed tea breaks mirrored the precision required in Denny’s groundbreaking naval architecture work.
Original artefacts and photographs illustrate the strict demarcation between roles, from the blue-collar workers on the Tank floor and the white-collar staff in the offices, from the skilled model makers who crafted miniature vessels to the engineers and scientists who conducted revolutionary hydrodynamic tests.
A community crafted stained-glass artwork sits at the heart of the exhibition. The panel, which was made under the supervision of stained-glass artist Eilidh MacKenzie, takes inspiration from images and stories in the ‘Denny Arkivz’, a ‘scrapbook’ of social events kept by Denny staff as well as the group’s own personal experiences.
Another highlight of the exhibition is ‘Memory Lane’, a collection of stories from the shipyard which would not normally be included in a formal exhibition. It includes oral histories and newly gathered memories from those who worked both in the Tank and wider shipyard. The Museum is keen for visitors to add their own stories of the shipyard to this rich social history.
Created by thirteen members of Dumbarton community with the support of the Museum team and featuring additional stories and anecdotes shared by the wider community through a series of drop in Brew and Blether sessions, the exhibition celebrates the vibrant community that formed at the shipyard and around the Tank.
Visitors will also enjoy seeing how these gatherings evolved from the formal, structured events of earlier decades to the more relaxed post-war events in Dumbarton’s dance halls, on company-organised excursions on the shipyard’s tugboat Snark and memorable performances with the local Amateur Operatic Society.
The exhibition concludes with a look at how the Denny community pulled together through the ‘boom-bust’ cycles of shipbuilding, developing resilience during periods of uncertainty and showing enduring pride in Dumbarton’s maritime innovations.
Though the shipyard closed in 1963, the legacy of these skilled workers lives on in shipping advancements worldwide and in the continuing story of the River Clyde’s industrial heritage.
Entry to the ‘Denny Social’ exhibition, which runs until Saturday 9 August, is included in Museum Admission.
The Scottish Maritime Museum (Denny Tank), on Castle Street, Dumbarton, is open from 10am – 4pm Monday to Saturday.
www.scottishmaritimemuseum.org
Zone Scotland