After receiving some mail from a visitor to the site asking if i knew the story behind the saying "who hung the monkey" and it's reply of "who boiled the bell" I decided to ask for some input as to the reasons for these remarks - the best of which are shown below.
"Who hung the monkey ?" would be shouted to the Greenock boys by those from the Port. This was a reference to the time of the Napoleonic Wars when the whole country was on edge fearing a French invasion, but not knowing where it would occur. A merchant ship arrived in Greenock and the pet monkey on board dressed in a French sailors uniform started a panic in the town. The monkey was removed from the ships company paraded through the town and hanged, much to the amusement of the inhabitants of PG.
The Greenock boys' reply to this taunt was to shout back "Who boiled the bell ?". This was a reference to the Kirk Bell in Port Glasgow that had cracked. Bells are expensive so, having an abundance of tar in barrels for the sailing ships in the town harbour at that time, someone had the bright idea of repairing the cracked bell with tar. The repair failed miserably so the good people of the Port then tried to remove the tar by boiling the bell, and the inhabitant's of Greenock had a good laugh about it for years.
I have heard similar monkey stories from other towns around the coast of GB, I think Newcastle was one, but only Port Glasgow boiled the bell so I think there may some truth in both these tales.
Another tale of taunts which may or may not interest you concerns the weather vane on top of the PG Town's Buildings, a fully rigged sailing ship. The people of Port Glasgow were very proud of this ship, and the building, it must have been some structure in it's day compared to the rest of the town buildings at that time.
Inside the mid Kirk in Greenock is a small rigged sailing ship or gabbart, not quite in the same league as the one in PG. Port people would taunt Greenock people about their "gilded gabbart" whilst showing off our own magnificent sailing ship.
David
I think it was from my grandfather, James Morris, that I learned of thesaying " who hung the monkey ?", and the response of "who boiled the bell?"
The explanation of this as I understand it, was to do with the great rivalryin those days between Port Glasgow and Greenock.
The origin was, that at one time Greenock (people) hung a monkey in the mistaken belief that it was a French spy, and were ridiculed for this afterwards by the Port people.
Some time later in Port Glasgow the town bell ( in the clock tower), wasn't sounding the way it should. The Town Council decided to bring the bell down and boil it, believing it would resolve the problem. Needless to say it didn't do a thing to improve the sound of the bell, and in turn they were laughed at.
So thereafter, Port people would taunt Greenockians with the saying " Who hung the monkey?' and the Greenockians would answer back with "Who boiled the bell?".
Jim
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This page last modified on Thursday, January 18, 2007