"Marlborough Hill" in Dundee Harbour - Ref: WC0863
The "Marlborough Hill" was an iron four-masted barque, built by W. H. Potter and Sons of Liverpool in 1885 for the Sailing Ship Marlborough Hill Co., Ltd., also of Liverpool. She had a gross tonnage of 2531 and was 300.5 feet in length.
The "Marlborough Hill" made three recorded visits to Dundee: on 9th March 1888 and on 23rd February 1889, she brought 2443 tons of jute, and on 21st May 1892 she delivered 2363 tons, each time from Calcutta.
Vessels spending over 100 days at sea, which was standard for sailing ships bringing jute to Dundee from the Indian subcontinent, had to withstand the considerable influence of severe weather, as is clear from this Alexander Wilson photograph.
Alexander Wilson who took this photograph, was a supervisor in a Dundee jute mill for over 20 years. He bequeathed much of his collection and £50, to cover the costs involved, to the Free Library Committee of Dundee in 1923.