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Cutty Sark: A Souvenir Guide to the Story of the Last of the Tea Clippers
It is amazing that Cutty Sark has survived.
Many of the clipper ships that sailed the China Seas with her in the second half of the nineteenth century were wrecked, foundered or were lost in their first few years. Not many lasted more than twenty years. ONly seven saw the twentieth century. By the mid-1920s Cutty Sark was the only one still afloat ...
She is now safely berthed in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, chosen for preservation as a memorial both to the great days of sail and to all those who served in the merchant service. One of the nation's greatest maritime treasures, Cutty Sark is a major attraction in Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site. This is particularly appropriate as her fame spreads far beyond Britain - she is one of the most famous vessels in the world. This is not just because of her history, or even just because of what she represents. It is also because she is the most beautiful of all sailing ships.
Many of the clipper ships that sailed the China Seas with her in the second half of the nineteenth century were wrecked, foundered or were lost in their first few years. Not many lasted more than twenty years. ONly seven saw the twentieth century. By the mid-1920s Cutty Sark was the only one still afloat ...
She is now safely berthed in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, chosen for preservation as a memorial both to the great days of sail and to all those who served in the merchant service. One of the nation's greatest maritime treasures, Cutty Sark is a major attraction in Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site. This is particularly appropriate as her fame spreads far beyond Britain - she is one of the most famous vessels in the world. This is not just because of her history, or even just because of what she represents. It is also because she is the most beautiful of all sailing ships.
- GenresNonfictionHistory
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 18, 2025
As the subtitle indicates, this is a souvenir guide from a museum. The short book does happen to be well written and tells the the story of this ship and others built in a short historic period. There are comparisons with American clipper ships, history of the need for such ships and the history of this particular ship and how it ended up where it is as a museum in its own dry dock in Greenwich. The best thing—fabulous photos.
March 10, 2023
Dr Eric Kentley has provided us with not only a concise history of the Cutty Sark but also given us great detail on The China Tea Trade, The Tea Races, The Rise of the Clippers, The End of the Tea Trade for Sailing Ships and The End of the Clipper Era, all of which put flesh on the bones of, or perhaps more appropriately put boards on the deck of, the Cutty Sark itself. And the whole story is accompanied by some splendid historical and modern illustrations.
The Cutty Sark, named after an 18th-century Scots word for 'short chemise' or 'short undergarment', was commissioned by John Willis, a Scotsman based in London. As shipbuilders for the ship he used Scott & Linton, a company based in the Woodyard at Dumbarton, Scotland, on the banks of the River Leven. And Cutty Sark was a ship of composite construction, that is it had a wrought-iron framework onto which wooden planks were bolted. This resulted in a very strong vessel and one in which the frame took up a very small area of the hull.
Hercules Linton was the designer of the ship and Willis was to pay his firm £16,150 for the completed job. It was begun on 28 January 1869 and was to be completed by July of that year. Unfortunately Scott & Linton ran into financial difficulties, the deadline was missed and work was eventually suspended before Scott & Linton's creditors took over the task and completed it. Cutty Sark was thereafter launched, with little fanfare, on 22 November 1869 before being towed to the Leven shipyard and then Greenock for masting and rigging. She eventually left Scotland on 13 January 1870 and just two weeks later she was taking on her first cargo in London's East India Docks.
In February 1870 she sailed for Shanghai with a general cargo and eight months later she returned with more than 600,000kg of Chinese tea on board. The return journey to London took her 110 days to complete. And in that year Cutty Sark was one of 59 British sailing ships loading tea in China but by 1877 she was one of just nine as more and more tea was being loaded onto steamships rather than sailing ships.
By 1878 it was proving difficult to find enough tea to fill half her hold and Cutty Sark's days as a tea clipper were almost over; she did have one final voyage carrying a tea cargo when, in 1881, she carried Indian tea from Calcutta to Melbourne. Thereafter she continued tramping from port to port with whatever cargoes could be found and she carried such as scrap iron, coal and beer, the last named being transported particularly to Australia.
In 1883 Willis put Cutty Sark into the wool trade, bringing Australian wool to London. But when Willis felt that Cutty Sark was not making the money she once had he put her up for sale in 1895. She was bought by a mercantile clerk, John Richards, but his ownership was short-lived as, after only 16 days as owner, he sold her on for £1,250 to the Lisbon-based company Joaquim Antunes Ferreira & Co. That company renamed her Ferreira.
She remained the Ferreira until she was sold on to Cia de Navegacao de Portugal, Lisbon, and she was once more renamed, this time as Maria do Amparo. By then she had put in at Falmouth and it was there a retired businessman, Wilfred Dowman, recognised her as the Cutty Sark. It was he who saved her for the British nation for he, with the aid of funds from the Courtauld family, eventually purchased her £3,750, very much more than her commercial value, and had her towed back from Portugal after which she was moored in Falmouth Harbour.
When Bowman died in 1936 Cutty Sark made her final sea voyage, under tow, to her new home in Greenhithe. Then, after a variety of uses and being anchored off Deptford as part of the Festival of Britain, she was eventually towed to Greenwich, where she remains as a major tourist attraction.
She was restored to how she appeared in 1872 and is now preserved as a permanent memorial to the Merchant Navy, and particularly to those seamen lost in the two world wars. And Eric Kentley has provided a fitting history from her conception to the extensive restoration that has been undertaken to secure her enduring fame.
The Cutty Sark, named after an 18th-century Scots word for 'short chemise' or 'short undergarment', was commissioned by John Willis, a Scotsman based in London. As shipbuilders for the ship he used Scott & Linton, a company based in the Woodyard at Dumbarton, Scotland, on the banks of the River Leven. And Cutty Sark was a ship of composite construction, that is it had a wrought-iron framework onto which wooden planks were bolted. This resulted in a very strong vessel and one in which the frame took up a very small area of the hull.
Hercules Linton was the designer of the ship and Willis was to pay his firm £16,150 for the completed job. It was begun on 28 January 1869 and was to be completed by July of that year. Unfortunately Scott & Linton ran into financial difficulties, the deadline was missed and work was eventually suspended before Scott & Linton's creditors took over the task and completed it. Cutty Sark was thereafter launched, with little fanfare, on 22 November 1869 before being towed to the Leven shipyard and then Greenock for masting and rigging. She eventually left Scotland on 13 January 1870 and just two weeks later she was taking on her first cargo in London's East India Docks.
In February 1870 she sailed for Shanghai with a general cargo and eight months later she returned with more than 600,000kg of Chinese tea on board. The return journey to London took her 110 days to complete. And in that year Cutty Sark was one of 59 British sailing ships loading tea in China but by 1877 she was one of just nine as more and more tea was being loaded onto steamships rather than sailing ships.
By 1878 it was proving difficult to find enough tea to fill half her hold and Cutty Sark's days as a tea clipper were almost over; she did have one final voyage carrying a tea cargo when, in 1881, she carried Indian tea from Calcutta to Melbourne. Thereafter she continued tramping from port to port with whatever cargoes could be found and she carried such as scrap iron, coal and beer, the last named being transported particularly to Australia.
In 1883 Willis put Cutty Sark into the wool trade, bringing Australian wool to London. But when Willis felt that Cutty Sark was not making the money she once had he put her up for sale in 1895. She was bought by a mercantile clerk, John Richards, but his ownership was short-lived as, after only 16 days as owner, he sold her on for £1,250 to the Lisbon-based company Joaquim Antunes Ferreira & Co. That company renamed her Ferreira.
She remained the Ferreira until she was sold on to Cia de Navegacao de Portugal, Lisbon, and she was once more renamed, this time as Maria do Amparo. By then she had put in at Falmouth and it was there a retired businessman, Wilfred Dowman, recognised her as the Cutty Sark. It was he who saved her for the British nation for he, with the aid of funds from the Courtauld family, eventually purchased her £3,750, very much more than her commercial value, and had her towed back from Portugal after which she was moored in Falmouth Harbour.
When Bowman died in 1936 Cutty Sark made her final sea voyage, under tow, to her new home in Greenhithe. Then, after a variety of uses and being anchored off Deptford as part of the Festival of Britain, she was eventually towed to Greenwich, where she remains as a major tourist attraction.
She was restored to how she appeared in 1872 and is now preserved as a permanent memorial to the Merchant Navy, and particularly to those seamen lost in the two world wars. And Eric Kentley has provided a fitting history from her conception to the extensive restoration that has been undertaken to secure her enduring fame.
November 10, 2018
Well, this was very interesting. I've never been much of a ships girl, but I learnt more about Cutty Sark's voyages than about keeping ships. It was incredible that she practically sailed all around the world. She made trips everywhere; China, Portugal, Australia, the US, Hong Kong, Mozambique... you name it. And she not only transported tea, she had several types of cargo and survived countless of storms and two World Wars. It's truly amazing that she is still standing, and not even a fire destroyed it, the fire brigade acted quickly and we can still enjoy her in all her beauty. It's an extraordinary visit to be honest, and the book complements the visit marvelously.
December 26, 2018
This is the story of the Cutty and her time, from her origins as a tea transport to her dismissal and time with the Portuguese navy. The fierce competition against the steam ships took her to new roads in Australia where she became famous. This is a wonderful guide for your visit to the ship, before or after, because it tells us in an easy way about her and the many details of her past. I really liked that they explained her curious name and the legend that explains her figurehead.
May 25, 2015
Well written and engaging guidebook. There are fantastic artwork and illustrations to accompany the text. Just the right amount of information to be knowledgeable without being tedious.
March 18, 2015
An excellent history of the Cutty Sark. The one thing it's missing is some deck plans.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews