A LONG map spans the wall in the former offices of Fairfield's on Govan Road pinpointing the more than 40 shipyards which once dotted the Upper Clyde.

This was the heyday of shipbuilding on the river in the early years of the 20th Century, when Glasgow was the 'second city of the Empire', the powerhouse of the nation, and entire communities depended on the industry to earn a living.

Fast forward to today and there are only three yards left.

"Not just the number of yards but fact that they were all driven by engineering is a surprise to most people," explains Pat Cassidy, managing director of Govan Workspace, as we walk around the recently refurbished offices.

"People think of this area as all about shipbuilding but these were the greatest engineers in the world."

The elegant, A-listed red sandstone building is a local landmark, with the imposing doorway managers and dignitaries walked through still flanked by carvings of Neptune and mermaids.

When it was built, it was arguably the most prestigious shipbuilding concern in the world.

This was where first class Cunard liners The Campania and the Luciana were built, where 10,000 men worked in its heyday and where Jimmy Reid led the legendary Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-In, when the Conservative Government of the time tried to pull the plug on the yard.

It has taken five years and nearly £6 million to restore the offices to their former glory, revealing trompe l'oeil, paintwork, teak and mahogany panelling, mosaic flooring and marble work.

Now, some of the space is available to rent to businesses, while the ground floor houses a heritage centre, celebrating 150 years of shipbuilding in Govan.

"The story of shipbuilding has never been told in Govan. Indeed it hasn't really been told in Glasgow," says Pat.

"This building went up in 1890 but the shipyard goes back even further, to 1864. It was originally Randolph & Elder, then Fairfield Shipbuilding, Upper Clyde Shipbuilders, Govan Shipbuilders, Kaverner and now BAE Systems."

Walking through the heritage centre we stop at an immaculately preserved model of a compound steam engine, made in 1879.

"That made the whole thing," says Pat. "People think about the shipbuilding side of what went on here but it was actually marine engineering that was so important. Engineers decided, let's build ships as well as make the engines for them."

Glass cases house artefacts documenting the history of Govan, some belonged to Fairfield, others have come from Glasgow Museums and many items have been donated by local families.

"People have come in with some fabulous things," says Pat. "A whole collection of fantastic pictures from the launch of the Empress of Britain in 1955, all press standard. They have rescued these things over the years, because most of it ended up being skipped."

One of the modern additions to the displays is a digital history of Govan, made by Glasgow School of Art, retold in elaborate computer graphics.

It was in the early 1860s that marine engineer John Elder chose a site at Fairfield farm in the village of Govan to lay out what would become the world famous shipyard. It would radically transform the rural hamlet and eventually raise Govan's population to more than 90,000.

At its heart, the business was based on engineering excellence.

By the end of the 19th Century, Fairfield had built some of the fastest and largest passenger ships of the day for Cunard and other lines and, during the first half of the 20th Century, Fairfield was synonymous with the finest achievements of Clydeside industry, including building the Empress of Britain and the tragic Empress of Ireland.

After the Second World War, Fairfield, along with other UK shipyards, enjoyed a boom period. But shipbuilding methods were changing, with riveting making way for welded pre-fabrication.

As the years went by, competition from overseas saw orders drop dramatically on Clydeside.

BAE Systems is now the last remaining yard, building support ships, Type 45 destroyers and the major portions of both Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.

"In years gone by, men worked long hours, life was pretty tough," says Pat, explaining that until 1919 men worked a 54-hour week with unpaid holidays.

"They started work at 6am and were outside summer and winter, it was a hard way to earn a living.

"We all romanticise about it but, when you talk to people who worked in shipbuilding, they will tell you how difficult it was.

"If you had someone who worked in the bowels of a ship on a Glasgow January day and had to hold a rivet gun all day, which weighed a ton, it was a hard job. These men were unbelievably skilled, they took tremendous pride in what they did."

Visit www.fairfieldgovan.co.uk/heritage. To rent business space at Fairfield call 0141 445 2340 or visit www.govanworkspace.co.uk.

angela.mcmanus@ eveningtimes.co.uk