Springburn Park is a park situated in the north of the city of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The park lies about north of the city centre, and takes its name from the surrounding

Springburn Springburn ( gd, Allt an Fhuairainn) is an inner-city district in the north of the Scottish city of Glasgow, made up of generally working-class households. Springburn developed from a rural hamlet at the beginning of the 19th century. Its ind ...

district of the city.

History

Situated on Balgrayhill, above sea level, it is located at the highest point in the north of Glasgow. Springburn Park was opened by Glasgow Corporation in 1892 and laid out to a design by the City Engineer,

A. B. McDonald Alexander Beith McDonald (12 August 1847 - 31 October 1915) was a Scottish architect, who served as City Engineer and Surveyor in Glasgow Corporation's Office of Public Works between 1890 and 1914. Early life Born in Stirling in 1847, McDonald w ...

. James Reid, a business partner of locomotive manufacturer Walter Neilson, donated a bandstand, built by the

Saracen Foundry The Saracen Foundry, Possilpark, Glasgow c.1890 The Saracen Foundry was the better-known name for the Possilpark, Glasgow–based foundry company W MacFarlane & Co. Ltd, founded and owned by Walter MacFarlane. MacFarlane's was the most importan ...

, to the park in 1893. His son, Sir Hugh Reid of

Neilson, Reid and Company Neilson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland. The company was started in 1836 at McAlpine Street by Walter Neilson and James Mitchell to manufacture marine and stationary engines. In 1837 the firm moved to Hyde Par ...

's Hyde Park Works, also donated the lands of the adjacent Cockmuir Farm for the park to be extended to the east in 1900. It was at this time that the Reid family funded the construction of the spectacular Springburn Winter Gardens, a £12,000 gift from Hugh Reid of the Hyde Park Works, as part of an arrangement for Glasgow Corporation to build a Public Hall in Springburn (this hall was later demolished in 2012, despite local opposition). The Winter Gardens building has lain derelict since

Glasgow District Council Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

applied to demolish the structure in 1985, due to rising maintenance costs. The largest structure of its kind in Scotland, it is approximately long and in area. A statue in honour of James Reid was erected in the park by public subscription in 1903; it is now Category B listed, as is the bleached terracotta column and unicorn nearby. Stobhill Hospital was later built adjacent to the park in 1904.Stobhill Hospital Mitchell Library, Glasgow Collection, Postcards Collection
The Glasgow Story Mosesfield House, situated in the park, was also the site where George Johnston built Britain's first Motor Car in 1895, which eventually grew to become the

Arrol-Johnston Arrol-Johnston (later known as Arrol-Aster) was an early Scottish manufacturer of automobiles, which operated from 1895 to 1931 and produced the first automobile manufactured in Britain. The company also developed the world's first "off-road" v ...

company.

References

External links

* {{Parks and gardens in Glasgow Parks and commons in Glasgow Springburn 1892 establishments in Scotland