The tomb of Patrick Miller of Dalswinton, Greyfriars Kirkyard

Patrick Miller of Dalswinton, just north of Dumfries (1731–1815) was a Scottish banker, shareholder in the

Carron Company The Carron Company was an ironworks established in 1759 on the banks of the River Carron near Falkirk, in Stirlingshire, Scotland. After initial problems, the company was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom. T ...

engineering works and inventor. Miller is buried in a tomb against the southern wall of

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a num ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

Early life

Miller was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, the third son of William Miller of Glenlee, and his wife, Janet Hamilton. After attending the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, he decided to take up banking as his trade, since the Scottish economy was growing.

Career

By November 1760, Miller became partners with William Ramsay of Barnton, merchants and bankers, in

. In 1767, he was elected to the court of the

Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by th ...

where he implemented a number of reforms, particularly the introduction of note exchange, whereby the bank agreed to accept notes of its competitors. Thanks to his improvements, the bank successfully endured a banking crisis in 1772. In his final years, he served as Deputy Governor of the

; he was succeeded by Adam Rolland of Gask FRSE upon his death.

Invention and naval pursuits

While looking after shipping interests overseas, Miller experienced firsthand the dangers of piracy on his ocean voyages. These brushes with privateers combined with his time on the ocean sparked a lifelong interest in

ordnance Ordnance may refer to: Military and defense *Materiel in military logistics, including weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment. **The military branch responsible for supplying and developing these items, e.g., the Unit ...

and

naval architecture Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the engineering design process, shipbuilding, maintenance, and ...

Warship

He attempted to interest various European navies in his design for a super warship, but only Sweden showed any notable interest; their great naval architect Chapman called it the "English (sic) sea-spook". The Swedish king

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

, as thanks for the actual vessel, Experiment of Leith, that Miller sent him, despatched Miller seeds of the swede in a magnificent snuff-box, featuring marine illustrations, now in the collection of the

Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, London.Box
(With images of the box),

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

. Retrieved 19 October 2014

Pleasure boats

Miller was particularly interested in multiple-hulled pleasure boats propelled by cranked paddle wheels placed between the hulls. On seeing a steam-carriage model made by the engineer

William Symington William Symington (1764–1831) was a Scottish engineer and inventor, and the builder of the first practical steamboat, the Charlotte Dundas. Early life Symington was born in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, to a family he described as ...

(or on the suggestion of Symington's friend James Taylor), he got Symington to build his patented steam engine with its drive into a twin-hulled pleasure boat. This was successfully tried out on Dalswinton Loch near Miller's house on 14 October 1788. The next year a larger engine was fitted to a long twin-hull paddle boat and tried on the

Forth and Clyde Canal The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allowe ...

. After initial problems of paddle wheels breaking up on 2 December, the vessel travelled some distance along the canal on 26 December and 27 December 1789. Miller abandoned the project due to the rising expenses of the venture.

Charlotte Dundas

Ten years later, Lord Dundas restarted Symington's work on a steamboat, leading to the famous

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses we ...

, '' Charlotte Dundas''.

References

*Charles Dawson, "Patrick Miller's 'Sea Spook'", ''The Mariner's Mirror'', Vol. 88, No.1, Feb. 2002, page 95.

External links

Video footage of Dalswinton LochVideo footage of the first ever steam powered vessel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Patrick 18th-century Scottish businesspeople Scottish inventors British naval architects 1731 births 1815 deaths Scottish bankers Bank of Scotland people People from Dumfries and Galloway Alumni of the University of Glasgow Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard