Greenock

Port and administrative headquarters of Inverclyde, western Scotland, on the southern shore of the part of the Firth of Clyde which runs northwest to southeast to meet the River Clyde; population (2001) 45,500. Traditionally associated with industries such as shipbuilding, engineering, chemicals, and sugar refining, the area now has computer and electronics enterprises. It was the birthplace of the engineer and inventor James Watt, who gave his name to the measurement of power.

The town's public buildings include the custom house (1818). The McLean Museum and Art Gallery houses items relating to the career of James Watt and to the shipping history of the town. The resited (in 1920) Old West Kirk, dating from 1591, contains windows by William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and was the first church built after the Reformation.

The Free French naval base was at Greenock (1940–45); there is a memorial at Lyle Hill to the men of the Free French forces who died in the Battle of the Atlantic.

The town stretches along the river front for nearly 6 km/4 mi. The deep-water facilities of Greenock stimulated the movement of the centre of shipping activity downstream from Glasgow. The Clydeport authority plan to convert the former Scott Lithgow shipyard at nearby Port Glasgow into a retail and residential complex. Shipbuilding capacity is still retained via Clydeport container terminal.