Ginger - Greenock, UK
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 55° 56.808 W 004° 45.126
30U E 390581 N 6201544
A galvanized steel wire sculpture of the cart horse named Ginger is located in a plaza between Cathcart Street, Dalrymple Street, and Rue End Street in Greenock, Scotland, UK.
Waymark Code: WM185JW
Location: Southern Scotland, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/04/2023
Views: 0
Ginger is a 3.5 meter high steel wire sculpture of a cart horse named Ginger. The sculpture was created by Andy Scott and unveiled in February 2011. Ginger is depicted standing on a 6' high stone base with it's left front hoof raised.
The sculpture of Ginger was inspired by the opening paragraph of the novel Dancing at the Rascal Fair by the American author Ivan Doig. He describes an event reported in the fictitious newspaper the Glasgow Caledonian:
"Yesterday morning, while a horse and cart were conveying a thousandweight of sugar on the quay at Albert Harbour, one of the cartwheels caught a mooring stanchion, which caused the laden conveyance and its draft animal to fall over into the water. The poor
creature made desperate efforts to free itself and was successful in casting off all the harness except the collar, which, being attached to the shafts of the sunken cart, held its head under water until it was drowned. The dead animal and the cart were raised during the forenoon by the Greenock harbour diver.
--Glasgow Caledonian, October 23, 1889"
An aluminum plaque was subsequently added to the base. It is inscribed with the background of the sculpture and the origin of the term horsepower. It is inscribed:
“Ginger”
and Horsepower
Sculptor
Andy Scott
The Andy Scott sculpture of “Ginger the Horse” is a tribute to the activities and people that influenced the history and development of Greenock. Powerful work horses laboured in the shipyards and pulled laden carts to and from the harbours and quaysides past this spot to factories and mills on the hillside. Reliable horses were loved and rewarded by their masters as they represented the primary source of the cartier’s income.
In his acclaimed novel, Dancing at the Rascal Fair, portraying Scottish emigration to America, author Ivan Doig describes how on the 23rd of October 1889, some 500 yards from here, “Ginger” the horse was conveying sugar on the quay at Albert Harbour when one of the cartwheels caught a mooring stanchion, causing the cart and animal to fall into the water where the magnificent creature drowned. The owner was inconsolable in his grief for his beloved horse and the sudden loss of his livelihood.
The term “horsepower” is more meaningful to Greenock than any other town. It was the measure of power introduced by world-famous Greenock born engineer, James Watt (1736-1819) whose birthplace was at William Street, 100 metres west of this statue. He markedly increased the efficiency of the Newcomen steam engine effectively replacing the horse and creating a portable source of energy for powering machines that could be used anywhere, ushering in the industrial revolution and radically changing the face of Britain and the world. “Ginger” honours all the hardworking men and horses who helped build the wealth that shaped Greenock as a world-renowned trading port and cradle of shipbuilding excellence.
1st Place winner for Sculpture in the Ex Arte Equinus 5 Equine Art Competition 2012.