Glasgow Necropolis

Glasgow, United Kingdom

The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian age cemetery on a low but very prominent hill to the east of Glasgow Cathedral. Fifty thousand individuals have been buried here. Typical for the period, only a small percentage are named on monuments and not every grave has a stone. Approximately 3,500 monuments exist here.

Predating the cemetery, the statue of John Knox sitting on a column at the top of the hill, dates from 1825. The first burials were in 1832 in the extreme north-east on the lowest ground and were exclusively for Jewish burials.

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.

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Glasgow, United Kingdom
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Details

Founded: 1832
Category: Cemeteries, mausoleums and burial places in United Kingdom

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Gallery of Modern Art (1,4 km)
Glasgow Cathedral (0,2 km)
St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art (0,3 km)
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (3,8 km)
Riverside Museum (4,7 km)
Provand's Lordship (0,4 km)
People's Palace (1,3 km)
St Andrew's Cathedral (1,6 km)
St Andrew's in the Square (1,1 km)


Paisley Abbey (12 km)
Stirling Castle (34 km)
Argyll's Lodging (33,9 km)
Church of the Holy Rude (33,8 km)
Doune Castle (37,6 km)
Wallace Monument (36,3 km)
Leighton Library (39,8 km)
Dunblane Cathedral (39,9 km)
Falkirk Old Parish Church (31,7 km)

User Reviews

Michael Owen (54 days ago)
A short walk up from Glasgow Cathedral, this is a beautiful grand cemetery. Enjoy amazing views and a peaceful stroll among the graves and mausoleums of Glaswegians of the day. If you head back down Church Lane to Castle Street, you will find Provand's Lordship. Built in 1471, it is one of the four surviving medieval buildings in Glasgow.
Josh Clibery (2 months ago)
Spooky! Such a cool place to visit and was amazed at how big it is, nice to see it is well respected and looked after, shame the weather was bad so I couldn't get too good photos, definitely a place to go if in Glasgow! Also fascinating to see the graves which the names inspired JK Rowling to name some character in the books, if you want to find out you'll have to go and look yourself!
Rozlynn Jacobs (3 months ago)
So beautiful. A really good walk and such interesting history. Great views of Glasgow too.
Aslam Uddin (4 months ago)
Glasgow
Sean Howells (5 months ago)
Well worth the short uphill climb to stroll through the gorgeous mausoleums and degrading grand headstones. Stunning views from above St. Mungo's Cathedral and over the city in general. The only issue we had was too many awesome pictures!
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