Glasgow Necropolis
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The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a hill above, and to the east of, Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral). Fifty thousand individuals have been buried in approximately 3500 tombs.
It was conceived as a Père Lachaise for Glasgow, and subsequently established by the Merchants' House of Glasgow in 1831. 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 James Hamilton, was completed in 1833. 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 cemetery's paths meander uphill towards the summit, where a dominating statue of John Knox was erected in 1825. 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."[1]
[edit] Notable statues and sculptures
| Tomb/mausoleum | Statue/sculpture | Designer/artist | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| [summit] | Monument to John Knox | Doric column by Thomas Hamilton and 12ft statue by William Warren (carved by Robert Forrest) | 1825 |
| Tomb of Mrs Lockhart | Sculpture | J & G Mossman Ltd. | 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 "Tragedy" and "Comedy" | A Handyside Ritchie | 1851 |
| Houldsworth Mausoleum | Angels and "Hope" and "Charity", with "Faith" 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 Forrest (?) | John Bryce | 1834 |
| ? | Celtic cross to Andrew McCall | Charles Rennie Mackintosh | 1888 |
| Monument to Peter Lawrence | Statue of Life with a dashed torch | J & G Mossman Ltd. | 1840 |
| Tomb to Mrs Margaret Montgomerie | Statues of "Hope" and "Resignation" | J & G Mossman Ltd. | 1856 |
