Sir Archibald Denny, 1st Baronet

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

LLD (1860–1935), was a Scottish naval architect who was owner of the huge Clyde shipbuilding company of

William Denny and Brothers William Denny and Brothers Limited, often referred to simply as Denny, was a Scotland, Scottish shipbuilder, shipbuilding company. History The shipbuilding interests of the Denny family date back to William Denny (born 1779), for whom ships a ...

and was granted a baronetcy in 1913, thereby giving birth to the

Denny baronets There have been three baronetcies created for persons with the surname Denny, one in the Baronetage of England, one in the Baronetage of Ireland and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. As of 2014 two of the creations are extant. The Den ...

of Dumbarton. Unusually as an owner, he also interested himself directly in the design of ships. He was president of the Institute of Marine Engineers. The company, usually simply referred to as Dennys, had the highest output and tonnage of any of the Clyde shipbuilders, ranking them as one of the world’s largest companies at that time.

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award an Archibald Denny Prize annually to the best Naval Architecture student. This was granted in 1912 during Denny's lifetime, and the prize includes money intended for foreign travel.

Life

Denny was born on 7 February 1860, the fourth son of

Peter Denny Peter Denny FRSE LLD (25 October 1821 – 22 August 1895) was a shipbuilder and shipowner based in Dumbarton, Scotland. Parents and education Denny was the son of William Denny (1779–1833) and his wife Christeanne Macintyre. He was first appre ...

of Denny Brothers, shipbuilders in

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

, and his wife Helen Leslie. The family was enormously rich being involved in the then (19th century) very safe industry of shipbuilding. His early education was at Dumbarton Burgh School. In 1874 he was sent to

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

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to complete his education at a private school. Unlike his brothers, Archibald felt a need to stimulate his mind, whilst still involving himself in the family business. He therefore went to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to engage in specific training as a naval architect at the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

. This brought a "hands-on" relationship between shipyard owner and design. He brought a practicality to designs, often absent in competitors, setting them up well for the more commercial elements of ship design. The ''

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'' summarised this as "technical excellence". In 1883 the ownership of the family shipbuilders passed to Archibald (aged only 23). In the same year Archibald took over the shipyard in

Leven, Fife Leven (Pictish language, Pictish; ) is a seaside town in Fife, set in the east Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the coast of the Firth of Forth at the mouth of the River Leven, Fife, River Leven, north-east of the town of Kirkcaldy and ...

, and introduced the world’s first hydromechanical experimentation laboratory: including a large tank for testing the properties of model ships. In 1885 he brought in John Ward to assist in the management, and in 1895 a cousin, Col Leslie Denny. Under Archibald’s control the company began to specialise in ferries and refrigerated ships (

Reefer ship A reefer ship is a refrigerated cargo ship typically used to transport perishable cargo, which require air conditioning, temperature-controlled handling, such as fruits, meat, vegetables, dairy products, and similar items. Description ''Types ...

s). In 1905 the company further broadening seeking and gaining lucrative Admiralty contracts for torpedo-boats,

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s and hospital ships. One branch of the company also began building military fighter aircraft. In 1894 he was elected a fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His proposers were John Henderson, Sir John Murray, Alexander Buchan, and

Alexander Crum Brown Alexander Crum Brown Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (26 March 1838 – 28 October 1922) was a Scottish Organic chemistry, organic chemist. Alexander Crum Brown Road in Edinburgh's King's Buildi ...

. He was awarded honorary doctorates (LLD) from both

(in 1911) and

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

(in 1927). He was created First Baron of Dumbarton in 1913. He was a keen military volunteer and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in first the Dunbartonshire Volunteers then the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. From 1903 to 1905 Denny was president of the

Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland The Institution of Engineers in Scotland (IES) is a multi-disciplinary professional body and learned society, founded in Scotland, for professional engineers in all disciplines and for those associated with or taking an interest in their work. I ...

. In 1912 he was appointed onto the investigatory committee set up by the Board of Trade on the ''Titanic'' disaster which had sent shock waves through the shipbuilding world. The committee did not reach any final conclusions until 1915. He thereafter represented Britain at the International Conference on the Safety of Life at Sea. In 1918 the company became a limited company, William Denny and Brothers Ltd. After a slight dip in orders from 1920 to 1923, things revived with further work from the Admiralty and from

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. Commercial production drifted from ferries to cargo-liners. In 1921 he moved to

to look after the company’s shipping interests in that city. He died in

on 29 May 1935.

Family

He was married to Margaret Tulloch, daughter of John Tulloch, in 1885. They lived at Braehead House in Dumbarton. They had five sons and one daughter. Their eldest son, Maurice Edward Denny (1886–1965) took partnership in

in 1911. On the death of his father Archibald he became the 2nd Baronet.

Ships built under Archibald Denny

See *SS ''Princess Henrietta'' (1888) (for Belgium) *PS ''Princess Josephine'' (1888) *PS ''Leopold II'' (1888) *PS ''Duchess of Hamilton'' (1890) *PS ''Princess Victoria'' (1890) built as the

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

Ferry *PS ''Princess May'' built as a sister ship to ''Victoria'' due to increased ferry demand (1892) *'' TSS Duke of York (1894)'' a ferry serving

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

*TSS ''Seaford'' (1894) a cross-channel ferry which sunk in 1895 *TSS ''Sussex'' (1895) to replace the Seaford *TSS ''Dover'' (1895) *TSS ''Calais'' (1895) *TSS ''Lord Hamilton'' (1895) *SS ''Lord Warden'' (1896) *PS ''Walton Belle'' (1897) *'' Shamrock I'' a manganese-bronze yacht for Sir

Thomas Lipton Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1st Baronet (10 May 18482 October 1931) was a Scotsman of Irish parentage who was a self-made man, as company founder of Lipton Tea, merchant, philanthropist and yachtsman who lost 5 straight America's Cup races. ...

launched in 1900 *SS ''Bavarian'' (1899) a troopship for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

as part of the Boer War effort *SY ''Lystistrata'' (1900) for the New York newspaper magnate,

James Gordon Bennett Jr. James Gordon Bennett Jr. (May 10, 1841May 14, 1918) was an American publisher. He was the publisher of the ''New York Herald'', founded by his father, James Gordon Bennett Sr. (1795–1872), who emigrated from Scotland. He was generally known as ...

*''Shamrock II'' (1900) a lower specification luxury yacht to sister Shamrock I for Sir

*SS ''Duchess of Argyll'' (1906) *SS '' Sir Trevredyn Wynne'' a train ferry for the Bengal-Nagpur Railway in India (1909) *TB ''Lady Inchcape'' (1909) *TSS ''Riviera'' (1911) *TSS ''King Edward'' (1911) *TSS ''Queen Alexandria'' (1911) *TSS ''Brighton'' (1912) as the Newhaven to

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

ferry *TSS ''Princess Maud'' (1912) as the

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

ferry *TSS ''Londonderry'' (1912) as the

Heysham Heysham ( ) is a coastal village in the Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, overlooking Morecambe Bay. It is a ferry port, with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland, and the site of two nuclear power stations. History Of historic ...

ferry *TSS ''Paris'' (1913) as a sister ship to TSS ''Brighton'', one of the first ferries to achieve 25 knots *SS ''Rotomahana'' (1913) a liner (the first in mild steel) *SS ''Buenos Ayres'' (1913) a liner *TSS ''Scot'' (1913) *TSS ''Reva'' (1913) a troopship bringing troops from India *TSS ''Otaki'' (1913) for

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

the first merchant ship with turbines *TSS ''Chinduin'' (1913) *TSS ''Infanta Isobel De Barton'' (1913) for

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

*TSS ''Loongana'' (1913) for

*TSS ''Queen'' (1913) channel ferry *TSSs ''Onward'', ''Invicta'', ''Victoria'', and ''Empress'' (1914) a fleet of ferries serving the

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

route *TSS ''Curraghmore'' (1920) *TSS ''Fishbourne'' (1927) a car ferry *SS ''Beaverburn'' (1928) *TSS ''Canterbury'' (1929) *MS ''Loch Fyne'' (1931)

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denny, Archibald 1860 births 1935 deaths People from Dumbarton British naval architects Scottish shipbuilders Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Presidents of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland 19th-century Scottish businesspeople 20th-century Scottish businesspeople