The company's roots can be found in Alexander Stephen (1722–1793) who began shipbuilding at
Burghead on the
Moray Firth in 1750. In 1793 William Stephen (1759–1838), a descendant of his, established a firm of shipbuilders at
Footdee in
Aberdeen. In 1813 another member of the family, again called William (1789–1829), commenced shipbuilding at
Arbroath. In a tragic disaster in 1883, , a steamship, capsized after its launch from the Linthouse yard, and 124 workers lost their lives. In 1968, Stephens was incorporated into
Upper Clyde Shipbuilders and was closed after the latter organisation collapsed in 1971. The engineering and ship repair elements of Alexander Stephen & Sons were not part of the UCS merger and continued until 1976, with the Company eventually wound up in 1982, when the shareholders were repaid. The ship repair business was based at the , which had been purchased from the Clyde Port Authority in 1967. There is no knowledge of the earliest ships built, but the last 153 which were built on the East Coast are recorded. On the Clyde the firm built 697 ships, 147 at the Kelvinhaugh shipyard and the remainder at Linthouse. It was at Stephens shipyard that
Billy Connolly served his apprenticeship as a boilermaker. In 1992, he returned to the site of the now-demolished shipyard he worked at 35 years earlier. "What an extraordinary feeling. I spent a great deal of my life in here. From age 16 to... well, I started at 15. I started my apprenticeship at 16 and finished when I was 21. Stayed till I was 22, and moved along. I finished welding when I was 24. When I came here, as an apprentice, there was six ships being built, right where I'm standing. It was an extraordinary place. A hive of activity. Welders, caulkers, platers, burners, joiners, engineers, electricians. I learned how men talked to one another, and how merciless Glasgow humour can be. It has made an indelible mark on me." His
foreman was Sammy Boyd, but the two biggest influences on him, according to the book written by his wife Pamela, were Jimmy Lucas and Bobby Dalgleish. Jimmy was one of Billy's trainers in the yard who helped him to hone his skills as a welder and a comedian. Part of the site is now occupied by a
Thales Optronics facility, with the former main office building converted into lettable office space by Govan Workspace, called Alexander Stephen House. The A-listed former Engine Shop was salvaged by the
Scottish Maritime Museum in 1991 and rebuilt at its site in
Irvine. ==Ships built by Alexander Stephen and Sons==