Statue of Lord Kelvin
Kelvingrove Park Heritage Trail 13-16

 

Kelvingrove Park Heritage Trail includes 35 sites of interest.  If you visit the Kelvingrove Park and use the map available to download here it will take you approximately 1 hour 30 minutes to follow the Heritage trail from Kelvingrove Museum to The Kelvinway Bridge.
13. Statue of Lord Lister (1924)

Statue of Lord Lister  A seated bronze statue of Lord Lister in academic robes, executed by George Henry Paulin (1888 – 1962). Lister (1827 – 1912), the pioneer of antiseptics, resided in Woodside Terrace not far from the Park, ‘where he often walked before breakfast to ponder medical problems.’

In 1860, he was Professor of Surgery at Glasgow University combining this with work at the Royal Infirmary.

The commission was the result of a competition and quite deliberately pays homage to Shannan’s nearby statue of Lord Kelvin.
Potentially worthy of statutory listing.


14. The Pulham Rockery and Cascade (1901)

The Pulham Rockery and Cascade  Originally erected for the 1901 Exhibition by Messrs Pulham and Son, and one of only a few examples of their work in Scotland. This firm was the leading maker of natural and artificial rockwork in the country.

Unfortunately the waterfall operates on a mains water supply which is unsustainable either economically or environmentally.
At present the cascade features gorgeous planting displays and solely functions as a rockery, however the City Council is currently exploring ways of making the cascade functional again in a more acceptable manner.

Pulham were the leading 19th and early 20th century makers of artificial and natural rockworks, working mostly in England. Their exquisite work can be seen at Battersea Park (1866-70) and Buckingham Palace (1904), London, and a number of other places in England and Wales. Only three examples of their work in Scotland are presently known about – at Kelvingrove Park and Ross Hall Park and Gardens in Glasgow, and at Ardross Castle, Ross-shire.
Not Listed

15. The Statue of Lord Kelvin (1913)

The Statue of Lord Kelvin  A bronze statue of William Thomson, Lord Kelvin (1824- 1907), in the academic robes of Cambridge University, his Alma Mater, ‘with notebook and pen in hand, and with a mariner’s compass and a navigation sounding machine tucked in to the back of his chair’.

The statue was sculpted by Archibald Macfarlane Shannan (1850-1915) and cast by J W Singer.

The figure sits on a Creetown granite pedestal. Lord Kelvin was the son of Glasgow University’s Professor of Mathematics, hence the appropriateness of its proximity to the University. Lord Kelvin entered Glasgow University at the age of ten and became the Professor of Natural Philosophy (i.e. Physics) at the age of twenty two.
 An acknowledged genius, Thomson proposed the Kelvin (Absolute) temperature scale [-273 degrees C], propounded the Second Law of Thermodynamics, was a consultant on the first sub-marine Atlantic telegraph cable and invented many types of electrical equipment. Kelvin patented over fifty inventions and published over six hundred scientific papers, making him one of the most important and prolific scientists of his day.
Category ‘B’ Listed


16. The Kelvingrove Bandstand, Amphitheatre and Toilets

The Kelvingrove Bandstand, Amphitheatre and Toilets  The Kelvingrove bandstand was built in late 1924 and opened in the summer season of 1925, housing concerts twice a week which could attract crowds of around 6,000 people. Military band concerts, orchestras, choirs and performances by concert parties were relayed regularly for Scottish listeners broadcast on BBC radio on a programme called ‘Scotland Calling’.

Currently derelict, the City Council is currently exploring options to restore this magnificent structure to its original condition. Once completed, this will bring substantial benefits to the park.
Category ‘B’ Listed


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