Alexander Knox, Brewer of Crawfurdsdyke

These stones once marked the burying place of the family of Alexander Knox of Crawfurdsdyke.  Alexander Knox was a brewer and owned the large brewery in Crawfurdsdyke or Cartsdyke, which he took over in the early 1760s.  He was born in Glasgow in 1722, the son of Alexander Knox and Ann Duncanson.  In 1762 he married Mary Allason, the sister of tobacco trader William Allason of Virginia and half sister of Robert Allason of Port Glasgow.  He corresponded regularly with William Allason, keeping him up to date about family members here in Scotland.  Alexander Knox died in February 1774.

Alexander's wife Mary managed to keep the business going with the help of advice from her brother in law, James Knox, bookseller in Glasgow, until her son Alexander (1763-1789) was of an age to take over.  Alexander unfortunately died young, and his brother James (1771- c1800) then took over the running the brewery.  Mary died in 1790.  James Knox sent books and periodicals out to William Allason in Virginia.

The brewery was a very successful enterprise.  James Knox was a respected merchant in Crawfurdsdyke, which at that time was separate from Greenock.  He was one of the first members when a corps of local volunteers was instituted in 1794 and was appointed as a lieutenant.  He also kept up a correspondence with his uncle William Allason in Virginia.  (Read more about the Allason family here.)

In his book Old Greenock, George Williamson states that the inscription on the stone "is the only Latin inscription in the churchyard".  It reads -

1769

Hoc

Est solum sepulchrale

Alexandri Knox

Cer(e)visiarii in Vico

Crawfurdsdyke

Patet

In longitudinem Octo

In latitudinem totidem

Hoc est

Sexaginta quatuor

Quadratos pedes

Williamson translates this as " The burial-place of Alexander Knox, Maltman (or Brewer) in the village of Carwfurdsdyke … it is 8 feet in length, the same in breadth, or 64 square feet".  

Old West Kirk - illustration from Old Greenock by George Williamson

They can now be found on the south wall of the Old West Kirk, Esplanade, Greenock.  The church and burial ground once stood at the north end of Nicolson Street, Greenock.  

When that land was needed for an extension to the Harland & Wolff shipyard, the building was taken down and rebuilt on its present site in the 1920s.

The Crawfurdsdyke Brewery was once situated across from the old quay at Cartsdyke.  After James Knox's death it was taken over by James Watt (no relation to the famous engineer).  This James Watt was Provost of Greenock 1834-1837.

Alexander Allason - slave ship captain

Another Allason brother was involved in the trans-Atlantic trade - Alexander (Sandy) Allason (1739-1769) was the master of the ship Dalrymple part owned by the Liverpool merchant and slave trader William Davenport.  Alexander kept up correspondence with his brothers in Port Glasgow and Virginia.  He made several voyages for Davenport, but died on the Dalrymple's fifth voyage in 1769 he was succeeded as captain by Patrick Fairweather.

Detail from sign at Greenbank House, Clarkston

The Dalrymple would sail from Liverpool with a cargo of beads, cloth, iron, cowrie shells, guns and other goods which were traded for slaves, ivory (often called elephant's teeth) and palm oil at Old Calabar in what is now Nigeria.  These slaves were then taken to the West Indies to work on the sugar plantations.  They were sold in exchanged for rum, sugar and molasses which would be taken back to Liverpool and sold there.

William Davenport, Liverpool

William Davenport (1725-1797) was apprenticed to William Whaley Liverpool merchant, becoming a freeman of Liverpool in 1749 trading as a grocer and wine merchant.  He later went into partnership with members of the Earle family of Liverpool.

View of Liverpool

Davenport immersed himself in business becoming involved in the slave trade.  He traded in glass beads from Europe, at that time Venice was an important centre in the production of beads and these were highly prized in trading ventures with the west coast of Africa.  Cowrie shells from the Maldives were another important trading commodity, they were used for decoration and as a form of currency in certain parts of Africa.  Copper rods and fancy fabrics like silk and chintz were also in great demand.  Each trading port had its own particular needs which were eagerly supplied by British merchants in return for slaves.

Davenport was part owner of the slave-ship Dalrymple on which Alexander Allason was master, he also part owned other ships such as the King of Prussia.  Many Liverpool merchants were involved in the slave trade either directly or through partnerships with those who were.  Old Calabar was an important African port for trade in slaves who would then be packed into ships to be sold in the West Indies for plantation work.  There, cargoes of rum, sugar, coffee and indigo would be bought for the return journey to Liverpool and other ports in Britain.

slave ship

Slaves were shackled and forced into overcrowded hold for the journey to the West Indies.  Disease was rife and many tried to commit suicide by jumping overboard.  Women and children were held separately from the men, but in equally appalling conditions.  However sick slaves did not make for profit and many ships carried surgeons on board to deal with outbreaks of disease.

Here's a description of a slave ship on the Mersey by Ramsay Muir -

     "This was the slaver, with its rakish build designed for swift sailing so as to minimize the loss by death among the human cargo during the horrors of the middle passage from West Africa to the West Indies, and with its low 'tween-decks fitted with close-set benches and chains, and its loose chain across the deck, under which the ankle-chains of the slaves were passed when they were brought up for exercise to the music of the whistling lash." 

William Davenport was just one of many British merchants involved in the slave trade.  Slavery was finally abolished in Britain in 1833.

The Davenport Papers, held by Liverpool Maritime Museum were brought to light in an episode of the BBC's Antiques Road Show in 2001.