Govan is situated at the confluence of the rivers Clyde and Kelvin. It was once surrounded by fertile lands and woods. The place name of Govan has its roots in Gaelic with similar words found in Celtic and Welsh (Britons). Gofan, Gowain, Gwvane, Govaine, Gohan and Goven translate to mean Smith or Land of the Smith. Govan may have been named for its reputation as an area where metal was worked. Indeed the presence of Doomster Hill and the round shaped graveyard of Govan Old Parish Church would suggest that there was a community long before the Romans arrived. The ecclesiastical history of Govan dates back to the early monastery founded by Constantine around 565 AD. Constantine was a contemporary of Columba and Kentigern. He was reputed to be a Cornish King, although recent historians prefer Irish or Scottish origins. The date of his martyrdom was around 596. It was not until around 1147 that the name of Govan was historically recorded when King David 1 gave to the Church of Glasgu, "Guven" with its 'marches free and clear for ever'. It was during this period that the church in Govan was made a prebend (an associated church) of Glasgow Cathedral in or around 1153.
Changing economic conditions after World War Two led to a dramatic decline in the shipbuilding industry. Many of the yards were forced to close through lack of orders, and today only one remains operative - the yard that was formerly Fairfield's. However, even during the industry's heyday, work at the yards was not always steady. The following extract was taken from the message on a postcard, postmarked 1904; However, the influence of the shipbuilding industry is a profound one that is still felt today. The large number of local landmarks which are the legacy of the yard owners, and the yards and docks themselves, all serve as visible reminders of the burgh's shipbuilding heritage.
The site of the graving docks in Govan was initially home to the burgh's first Free Church. When the church moved to new premises in Summertown Road the old building was converted into a theatre. Afterwards it became a third-rate music hall, and later a lodging house for Russian soldiers who were sent to man the Peter the Great. Three graving or dry docks were then constructed on the site, and were used to carry out work on those parts of ships that were usually submerged.
The nearest dock to Govan Road could take two ships.
Soon after the turn of the 19th century, Govan developed a comprehensive network of electric trams, powered by overhead cables. These replaced the earlier horse-drawn omnibuses.
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Govan was primarily a fishing and farming community, although by the 16th Century there were extensive coal mine workings in the Craigton and Drumoyne areas. The village grew as new trades and crafts were established such as weaving, silk manufacture, pottery, and the dyeing of cotton. The Govan Weavers Society was formed in 1756 as a guild of master weavers. The Society held an annual parade on the first Friday of June, known as Govan Fair Day.
After the treaty of Union in 1707 and the increase in the tobacco trade with America, Glasgow merchants realised the need to bring the raw materials of commerce closer to the city. In 1759, the Clyde Navigation Act was passed and the task of deepening the river began, allowing larger ships to make their way up the Clyde to the city centre. Exploiting the natural resources of the river, Govan grew steadily from then on, and by the begining of the nineteenth century was a village of about 2,500 people. Most of its population were weavers and salmon fishers. Improvements to the steam engine and the spread of the Industrial Revolution were to change Govan dramatically.
In 1841, Robert Napier laid out his shipyard and the first of the Cunarders was launched. In the decades that followed other yards were laid out, Govan mushroomed and came to the forefront of the Industrial Revolution. During the 68 years from 1836 to 1904, Govan expanded dramatically from a village of 2,122 people to a town of 90,908 people. In 1864, in recognition of its importance as a centre of commerce and industry, Govan, a 'town' of some 9058 people, was granted Burgh status by the Sheriff of Lanarkshire. A Lord Provost was elected and and a Town Clerk and a Chief Medical Officer were appointed. The Govan Coat of Arms with the motto ''Nihil sine Labore' - 'Nothing without Labour' was adopted. Soon row upon row of tenements were constructed to provide accommodation for the new workforce.
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As the industries grew, waves of Irish immigrants and Gaelic speaking Highlanders moved to Govan to meet the ever increasing demand for a larger work force. Govan became the fifth largest Burgh in Scotland and stretched from Kelvinside to Cathcart.
"Tuesday the 20th was the latest date appointed by the Admiralty for the reciept of tenders for the two new battleships from Clyde, Barrow and Tyne firms, so I suppose it will not be long now ere we know what to expect here. Nothing else is offering at present, and William thinks it will be the fate of the firm one way or the other now. Great distress is feared this winter."
Elder Park was presented to the Burgh of Govan in 1885 by Mrs Elder in memory of her late husband, who had owned the shipbuilding yard that eventually became Fairfield's. Opening day was declared a public holiday and a parade marched from Paisley Road Toll to the park gates through streets decorated with flags and bunting. The Elder Park Model Yacht Club, founded two years later, used the newly created pond for its club events, including an open regattta and regular matches against other Glasgow clubs. In 1890 an area at the western end of the park was set aside to house a deer which had been brought to Scotland from Japan. Two fallow deer from Arran were added and later, in 1896, a guanaco (a type of llama), which came from Patagonia. Now gone, the bandstand at Elder Park was a focal point for the local community. As well as army bands (both regular and territorial), there were a number of local burgh and works bands who played there. Govan also played host to visiting outfits which travelled from places such as Airdrie and Kilsyth. The Salvation Army came to Scotland in 1879 and in the early days was greeted with jeers and mud and stone throwing. However, public relations gradually improved and the Govan Citadel Band was regarded awith great respect. It was considered to be one of the foremost bands in the army.
In addition to donating a park to the burgh, John Elder's widow also provided the local library, the Elder Cottage Hospital, and the Elder Memorial Chapel in Partick's Western Infirmary.
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Govan owed much of its prosperity to the shipbuilding yards that established themselves along the Clyde beside it, and companies such as Fairfield's were major employers in the burgh. Founded in 1834 by Randolph and Cunliffe, the Fairfield Yard has changed ownership several times. It still operates today - as Bae Systems - although the workforce is a fraction of its former number. Using the tramlines, the Fairfield train ran along Govan Road to the yard, carrying workers from the railway sidings of the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway at Govan Cross.
In addition to the local shipbuilding yards, the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society's works at Shieldhall also employed many local people. Founded in 1868, the SCWS initially established itself as a wholesaler supplying smaller retail societies. However, because manufacturers proved so unreliable, the society began to undertake production work for itself. As this enterprise expanded, new premises were required. SCWS production began with the aquisition of a tailoring business in 1881. A cabinet factory and boot and shoe manufacturing works followed, and at this stage the Shieldhall site was acquired. In addition to the works in Govan, the SCWS was active all over Scotland. Flour milling took place in Edinburgh and Leith, and the Regent Mills on the River Kelvin at Partick Bridge produced 'Lofty Peak' flour. The Ettrick Tweed Mill (Selkirk) and Falkirk Linen Factory were subsequently acquired to provide cloth for the Shieldhall clothing factories.
At one time Govan had several churches serving different denominations, although many of these buildings have now been demolished. The Church of St Mary's at Govan Cross was built in 1873 to accomodate a congregation formed as part of Dr Robert Buchanan's Church Extension Movement. Before the building was constructed services were held in Govan Town Hall in Robert Street. St Mary's has since united with two other congregations, most recently in 1982, and is now known as the New Govan Church. The site of Old Govan Parish Church is a historic one. In the middle of the sixth century, St Constantine founded a manastery on or near the site, and there have been churches dedicated to him there ever since. In the 1880's it was proposed to replace the church with a new one. Old Govan Parish Church was dismantled brick by brick, and rebuilt in Golspie Street as Elderpark Church. The building which replaced the Old Govan Parish Church was dedicated in 1888 and is still standing today. Govan Parish was not confined to the south of the Clyde, where it stretched from Polmadie in the east to Renfrew in the west, but also took in areas on the north bank of the river. People living in Partick, who were in the Established Church of Scotland, had to take a ferry over the Clyde in order to worship.
Hill's Trust School was the legacy of Abraham Hill, who had been born in Govan and became a successful merchant in Wolverhampton. In 1757 he bequeathed a trust fund to buy land in the Govan area. The income from this land was to be paid to the Govan schoolmaster to educate children from the poorest local families. Somewhat undemocratically, preference was to be given to pupils named Hill!
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The Govan High School was built in Langlands Road in 1910 and survived until the 1960's when it was gutted by fire. A new health clinic was built on the site and a replacement school erected in Ardnish Street, off Shieldhall Road.
John Aitken had a particular interest in the poor of Govan and played an important role in the area as a doctor. By the age of 21 he was a 'Licentiate of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons' and immediately set up practice in Govan. He subsequently became the local police surgeon and Burgh Medical Officer, and also provided medical services for the collieries at Ibrox and Drumoyne.
Individuals such as William Pearce and John Elder played important roles in bringing prosperity to Govan. Although much of the work provided by the industries that they controlled was undoubtedly unpleasant and underpaid, the local community understood the importance of such businessmen to the burgh.
William Pearce became the sole owner of the Fairfield's yard after the death of John Elder, and like his predecessor invested some of his fortune in philanthropic concerns. The institute was erected in the early 1900's as a community centre providing a range of different facilities. These included men's and women's reading rooms and clubs, a library, a gymnasium, 'retiring rooms', and cooking and laundry departments. The Pearce Institute remains an active community centre today.
The Lyceum Music Hall opened in style in 1899 with a performance of Carmen by the Carl Rosa Opera Company. The growing popularity of 'cinematographic entertainments' meant that many theatres were converted into cinemas and the Lyceum became a full-time picture house by 1923. After the building was burnt down in the thirties, a new cinema, built in typical art deco style, was opened seating two thousand people. The building is now devoted to bingo-playing.
At the peak of cinema fever, Govan had the choice of four venues; the Elder, Lyceum, Plaza and Vogue. In addition to these, three more cinemas were on the burgh's boundaries, while the subway meant that another half-dozen picture houses were within easy reach in Partick. The Vogue Cinema was situated were Langlands Road and Crossloan Road met. Its owner, George Singleton, ran an empire of seven cinemas, including the Vogue. This fine building has now been demolished and flats occupy the site.
Princes Dock (originally to be called Cessnock Dock) was built on the lands of Cessnock on a site which had previously been used as a market garden. Work began in 1890, and Govan Road had to be realigned to accomodate the development. It was formally opened in 1897 by the Duchess of York. The dock was used to export coal from the Lanarkshire pits and to import iron ore and limestone from elsewhere.
The 130-ton crane pointed to the three inner basins of Princes Dock. it was used to load locomotives from the North British loco works in Polmadie onto ships which then transported them all over the world. In July 1971 the main quays were closed down, sheds flattened, cranes removed, and the basins (except for the canting basin) infilled with rubble from demolished tenements, and the St Enoch Station and Hotel. The site was redeveloped by the Scottish Development Agency for the Glasgow Garden Festival in 1988.
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John Irwin's store was in Govan Road at the corner of Helen Street, and later became a branch of the Glasgow South Cooperative Society. As was quite common, there was a dental surgery above the shop and there was advertising boards posted on each street corner - a common sight in the days before a dentist had to be qualified. Advertising by dentists was banned for a long time and has only been reintroduced recently.
In addition to cross-Clyde ferry services, 'up and down' ferries operated along the river under the management of the Clyde Navigation Trust. They began in 1884 with four small steamers, of a type known as Cluthas, and became so popular that by 1896 twelve passenger vessels were sailing between Stockwell Bridge and Whiteinch. The ten stopping places on the route included Govan (Highland Lane)
and Linthouse. The vessels were called 'penny steamers' because of the fare they charged, which undercut that of the horse-drawn trams. However, they were hit badly by the advent of the electric trams, and the last run was on 30 November 1903.
Ships that berthed at Govan also travelled international routes. Vessels belonging to the Donaldson Line sailed to America and eventually dominated the Scotland-Canada run.
It was important for the people of Govan to be able to cross the Clyde as there were shipyards on both sides of the river, and some residents of the town worked in the mills in Partick. When passengers disembarked from the ferry at Govan in the 1800's, they made their way up to Govan Cross via Water Row, at that time lined on the west side with white washed cottages. Around here was the Ferrie-Bot inn. John McNaire, assisted by his wife, Janet Dunlop, kept it and also owned the ferry. After the sermon at Govan Parish Church on Sundays, the kirk bell was rung to warn the ferryman to prepare his boat, so that Partick passengers could be ferried back home. At the time of their demolition in 1911, the burgh was a thriving industrial centre, with a population of almost 100,000 and the appearance of a prosperous, independent town.
The earliest ferries were ordinary rowing boats, but as the size and volume of traffic crossing the Clyde increased, mechanically powered vessels were required. The steam ferry dragged itself accross the river via two submerged chains connected to sprocket wheels on board which were turned by the ferry's engines. The more advanced ferry used a deck that could be raised or lowered through a range of fourteen feet so as to be at the same level as the quay at any state of the tide. It was introduced in 1890 and crossed from Barclay Curle's shipyard at Whiteinch to Stephen's Shipyard at Linthouse.
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In 1912, Govan was annexed to Glasgow. Many Govanites thought that it should have been the other way around.
Heavy engineering industries and the Clydeside shipyards continued to employ tens of thousands of men and women, but as the orders for new ships decreased and the prosperity of the traditional industries levelled-off, the growth of Govan slowed. After World War 2, the decline of shipbuilding and the general demise of the heavy engineering industries brought a fall in the population of Govan. With the redevelopment of the old shipyards and the slum clearance programmes of the 1960's, streets were realigned or they sometimes disappeared completely as the face of Govan began to change.
Govan was one of the earliest of the city's Comprehensive Development Areas, its first Housing Association, the Central Govan Housing Association was 21 years old in 1993, and pioneered new initiatives in urban planning.
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