Glasgow Necropolis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Glasgow Necropolis
Wfm glasgow necropolis.jpg
Monuments on the summit of the Glasgow Necropolis hill
Details
Established 1832
Location Glasgow
Country Scotland
Coordinates 55.86217N 4.23340W
Type Public
Size 37 acres (15 ha)
No. of interments 50,000
Website httpwww.glasgownecropolis.org

The grave of William Rae Wilson, explorer and author, Glasgow Necropolis
The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low
but very prominent hill to the east of Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral).
Fifty thousand individuals have been buried here. Typically for the period only a
small percentage are named on monuments and not every grave has a stone.
Approximately 3500 monuments exist here.

Contents [hide]
1 Background
2 History
3 Notable statues and sculptures
4 War Graves
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Background[edit]
Following the creation of Pre Lachaise Cemetery in Paris a wave of pressure began
for cemeteries in Britain. This required a change in the law to allow burial for
profit. Previously the parish church held responsibility for burying the dead but
there was a growing need to give an alternative solution. Glasgow was one of the
first to join this campaign, having a growing population, with fewer and fewer
attending church. The planning of the cemetery began formally by the Merchants'
House of Glasgow in 1831, in anticipation of a change in the law. The Cemeteries
Act was passed in 1832 and the floodgates opened. Glasgow Necropolis officially
opened in April 1833.[1] Just prior to this, in September 1832 a Jewish burial
ground had been established in the north-west section of the land. This small area
was declared full in 1851.

History[edit]
Predating the cemetery, the statue of John Knox sitting on a column at the top of
the hill, dates from 1825.

Alexander Thomson designed a number of its tombs, and John Bryce and David Hamilton
designed other architecture for the grounds.

The main entrance is approached by a bridge over what was then the Molendinar Burn.
The bridge, which was designed by David Hamilton was completed in 1836. It became
known as the Bridge of Sighs because it was part of the route of funeral
processions (the name is an allusion to the Bridge of Sighs in Venice). The ornate
gates (by both David and James Hamilton) were erected in 1838, restricting access
onto the bridge.

Three modern memorials lie between the gates and the bridge a memorial to still-
born children; a memorial to the Korean War; and a memorial to Glaswegian
recipients of the Victoria Cross.

Across the bridge the original scheme was to enter the area via a tunnel but this
proved unviable. The ornate entrance of 1836 remains.

The cemetery, as most early Victorian cemeteries, is laid out as an informal park,
lacking the formal grid layouts of later cemeteries. This layout is further
enhanced by the complex topography. The cemetery's paths meander uphill towards the
summit, where many of the larger monuments stand, clustered around the John Knox
Monument.

The Glasgow Necropolis was described by James Stevens Curl as literally a city of
the dead. Glasgow native Billy Connolly has said Glasgow's a bit like Nashville,
Tennessee it doesn't care much for the living, but it really looks after the dead.
[2]

Notable statues and sculptures[edit]

John Henry Alexander Monument

Charles Tennant Monument

Tombmausoleum Statuesculpture Designerartist Year
Memorial column on summit of the hill Monument to John Knox Doric column by
Thomas Hamilton and 12 ft statue by William Warren (carved by Robert Forrest)
1825
Tomb of Mrs Lockhart Sculpture William Mossman 1842
Mausoleum of Major Archibald Douglas Monteath Large tiered octaganal building of
neo-Norman design David Cousin 1842
Tomb of William Motherwell Marble bust James Fillans 1851
Tomb of actor-manager John Henry Alexander of the Theatre Royal Scene representing
stage and proscenium arch with flanking figures of Tragedy and Comedy (As of 2012,
one figure is missing and the other is headless.) James Hamilton, sculpted by
Alexander Handyside Ritchie 1851
Houldsworth Mausoleum Flanking angels and Hope and Charity, with Faith visible
inside the mausoleum John Thomas 1854
Tomb of Charles Tennant Seated marble figure of Charles Tennant of St Rollox Patric
Park 1838
Tomb of Walter Macfarlane, of the Saracen Foundry Art-nouveau portrait panel
Bertram MacKennal of London 1896
Blackie publishing family tomb Tomb slab Talwin Morris (carved by J & G
Mossman Ltd.) 1910
Monument to William McGavin Statue by Robe