On Tuesday 11th March, 30 Friends and their guests enjoyed a very informative presentation and guided tour of Fairfield Heritage in Govan. The heritage centre is housed in the original Headquarters of Fairfield Shipyard and is still surrounded today by shipbuilding in the various buildings of the Naval shipyards, BAE Systems.
We heard from our two very enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteer guides, David and Alan, about the rich history of Fairfield shipbuilding that had spanned over 150 years from 1864. It was hard to believe that the land that the shipyard was built on had once been Fairfield Farm from which the shipyard was named. Our visit started in the wood-panelled, highly decorative Board Room that had been created by some of the company’s craftsmen. It was designed to be impressive with no expense spared to showcase the talents of the workforce and, as a result, to encourage prospective clients to quickly agree to purchase Fairfield’s ships!
After seeing the Board Room, we continued our visit to the different rooms of the heritage centre that displayed all aspects of Fairfield’s story. We found out more about Fairfield’s history; the ships that were designed, commissioned and built; the clever engineers who designed innovative super-efficient engines; and the far from glamourous working conditions of the workforce who toiled out of doors in the all the variations of our Scottish weather.
There was so much to see and learn about, an industry that was so important to Glasgow and the River Clyde, that many of the group said that they would be coming back so they could spend more time studying the wonderful displays!
Many thanks to our guides and all the staff at Fairfield Heritage for making our trip such a success.
