Glasgow Necropolis
On the hill above Glasgow Cathedral lies one of the biggest tourist attractions in Glasgow, a massive collection of obelisks, monuments, statues and mausoleums. Glasgow’s city of the dead, the Necropolis is the final resting ground for thousands of Glasgow’s who’s who from the city’s heyday. The main entrance to the Necropolis is via the Bridge of Sighs from the Cathedral Precinct, following the winding pathways around and up to the top of the second highest hill in Glasgow.
Originally the hill which now houses the dead was called Fir Park, the name referring to the Scots Firs planted on the rocky hillside facing the Cathedral after the land had been bought by the Merchant’s House in 1650. By the early 1800s the fir trees began to die and were replaced with elms and willows, converting the area to a Victorian Park. In 1825 the Necropolis began to take shape when the dominating monument to John Knox was erected at the top of the hill (more on John Knox below). The Bridge of Sighs over the Molendinar Burn was finished in 1833, a year after the first burial at the Necropolis. After several extensions in the late 19th century, the Necropolis has grown to its current size of 37 acres (15 ha).
Designed as an interdenominational burial ground, the first burial at the Necropolis was a local Jewish jeweller by the name of Joseph Levi, with the first Christian burial the following year. The Necropolis is a memorial to the men and women who made Glasgow the ‘Second City of the Empire’, and having financed the Victorian resurgence of the city, they spared little expense in their final resting places. The tombs, monuments and architecture of the burial ground were designed by major architects and sculptors of the time, such as Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson, Charles Rennie Macintosh, John Bryce, David Hamilton and JT Rochead, creating a testimony to the wealth of the merchants in a plethora of styles. The some 50,000 people buried in approximately 3,500 tombs make up pretty much every single eminent Glaswegian of the time.
Just like Kelvingrove Park, the Glasgow Necropolis also has a Heritage Trail you can pick up at any Glasgow Museum and follow the route around the most interesting bits of the burial ground. The Heritage Trail takes about an hour and 45 minutes (if you’re walking at a leisurely pace) and contains 35 key sites of interest. Highly suggest grabbing a copy of the leaflet and taking the walk on a sunny day.
Glasgow Trivia #28: The tallest monument at the Glasgow Necropolis was also the first erected there, back in 1825. The 62m column is a monument to John Knox (1510-1572), a prominent Scottish clergyman and the leader of the Protestant Reformation, featured here in Genevan gown and holding a bible in his right hand. The monument was the first statue of John Knox erected in Scotland, some 250 years after his death. Although the Necropolis is populated by the remains of wealthy Glaswegians, John Knox is not among them, even though the tallest and most visible monument is dedicated to him. He was in fact buried in Edinburgh, where he died while in the position of the Minister of Edinburgh. It seems he would have been better of buried at the Glasgow Necropolis, as apparently he is buried under what is now a car park in Edinburgh. Nevertheless, his monument enjoys some of the best views of Glasgow.
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The Very Reverend Duncan MacFarlan
Walking around Glasgow’s Necropolis, by the Glasgow Cathedral, I kept looking around the graves and tombs and mausoleums to find one associated with the University of Glasgow. There are some 50,000 individuals buried there in around 3,500 tombs (according to Wikipedia), so I knew sooner or later we would stumble on what we were looking for. At the top of the hill, right next to the monument to John Knox, was a relatively large monument, one of the largest at the Necropolis, which was dedicated in the memory of a former Principal of Glasgow University.
The Very Reverend Duncan MacFarlan (1771-1857) was Principal of the University between 1823 and his death in 1857. There is more information on Duncan MacFarlan on the side of the tomb if you’re ever around the Necropolis, or you can read a little more about him on The University of Glasgow Story website.
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Lit At Dusk
Continuing with the same view as yesterday, we stay with one of Glasgow’s most recognizable landmarks, the Glasgow University Tower, the spire of which was added to the tower in 1883, 13 years after the building has opened.
The University of Glasgow stands on Gilmorehill, one of the tallest spots within Glasgow. In 1864 the University bought the Gilmorehill estate for £65,000 from the Gilmorehill Company (or Gilmour Hill Company) and began development of a new campus away from the incresing squalor of High Street in the city’s East End.
The location of the Main Building is one of the best in the city, but it almost wasn’t so. In 1802 a mansion, Gilmorehill House, was built on Gilmorehill for a West Indies merchant. In 1845 is was sold and a cemetery was planned on the site. Alternatively, another plan proposed terraced housing on the side of the hill. Fortunately the lot was sold to the University of Glasgow before Glasgow got another Necropolis like the one by the Glasgow Cathedral, as opposed to the Gilbert Scott Building and its Tower as you see above.
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Photos from Glasgow University 