Introduction - 'The West End Park'
Between 1852 and 1854 the City purchased 66 acres of land forming Kelvingrove and Woodlands Estates for the sum of £77,945 to create an area which is now known as Kelvingrove Park. In 1881 a further £66,626 was spent on 19 additional acres being the lands of Clayslaps, Overnewton and Kelvinbank. In 1904 £11,419 was spent on acquiring a final 2 acres, being lands at Woodlands Road.
Much of this expenditure was recouped by reserving for feuing the crest of the hill above the River Kelvin. Prestigious addresses such as Park Circus, Park Terrace, Park Gardens and Park Quadrant still stand as splendid monuments to the Council’s enlightened speculation, while further gains accrued from feuing a strip 120 feet in depth in front of Royal Terrace and Parkgrove Terrace on the Southside of the park.
The Park was created in the then rapidly growing West End of the city for the recreation and amusement of the citizens of Glasgow. It was one of many Victorian parks created in response to the then appalling conditions created by rapid urban growth resulting from the industrial revolution.
Kelvingrove Park was laid out between 1852 and 1867. It is commonly recognised as the first purpose designed and constructed park in Scotland and it rapidly became a considerable attraction. As the Glasgow Green was unashamedly working class, so this new park was intended to be middle class in its aspirations functions and surroundings, and the pursuits of its visitors altogether more genteel. It was originally known as ‘The West End Park’.
The Landscape of the Park
The layout of Kelvingrove was designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, architect of Crystal Palace and Glasgow’s own Botanic Gardens. His work was received with great enthusiasm by the City’s fathers and Paxton received two further commissions – Queens Park in the South of the City and Alexandra Park in the East. Thus the hand of one man, with considerable assistance from the city architect John Carrick, produced the whole suite of Glasgow’s early Victorian parks, setting a standard for design and making a mark on the Glasgow townscape as effectively as Frederick Law Olmstead had in New York and Chicago.
This Sir Joseph Paxton designed landscape is a classic example of a Victorian Park. Its design and setting on the banks of the River Kelvin enhance and compliment the many magnificent buildings which surround it, in particular the world renowned Art Gallery and Museum which is prominently featured within it. The Park has an over arching feel of Victorian grandeur. Its layout is said to be in conscious curves and follows the route of the River Kelvin, which it crosses on several occasions.
The River Kelvin meanders through the grounds of this park on its way to a confluence with the River Clyde. The grassy banks and slopes with their views to the South and West provided one of the attractions which persuaded the Council to purchase the land in the first place.
Kelvingrove Park - The Victorian Era
The lands purchased for the new park contained several fine mansions including Provost Patrick Colquhoun’s fine late 18th century Adam style house which became the first Kelvingrove Museum. On the margins of the park, the Park Circus terraces and the new University provided a splendidly monumental backdrop. Kelvingrove is one of the city’s best loved historic parks, an enduring and much loved legacy of urban parks from the Victorian era which has a special place in the hearts and minds of the people of Glasgow. It has twice been used for International Exhibitions in 1888 and 1901 as well as being used for the Scottish National Exhibition in 1911.
In 1888 almost six million visitors attended Glasgow’s first International Exhibition of Science and Art. One means of access to the exhibition was by a bridge from Kelvin Way across the River Kelvin. The bridge’s foundation stone had been laid in 1880 by Sir William Collins of Glasgow’s great publishing house. Queen Victoria lent the presents given to her on the occasion of her Jubilee the previous year and they went on show in the original Kelvingrove Museum.
The 1888 Exhibition featured 64 acres of exhibits including a replica of the Bishop’s Castle, built on the slopes of Gilmorehill, just below the university. The exhibition was opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales and her Majesty Queen Victoria visited it twice. During the exhibition, the annual meetings of the British Medical Association, the British Archaeological Association, the Library Association and the Institute of Naval Architects all took place in the City, as well as the 9th Jubilee of the founding of Glasgow University, marking Glasgow’s new prestige as an intellectual centre.
Glasgow’s International Exhibition of 1901 was intended to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Great Exhibition held at the Crystal Palace in 1851. The 1901 exhibition attracted eleven and a half million visitors. A major legacy of the 1901 exhibition was the new Art Galleries and Museum, built facing the University across the Kelvin.
The 1911 Exhibition was on an altogether more modest scale, being billed as the Scottish Exhibition of History Art and Industry. One of the principal aims of the 1911 exhibition was the raising of funds to endow a Chair of Scottish History and Literature at The University, which was achieved. The 1911 exhibition managed to draw nearly nine and a half million people, who came to see a Highland Village and an old Scottish Town, a Pavilion on Old Glasgow, a West African Village and among many more exhibits was spectacular access to the university grounds across the River Kelvin, by means of an aerial railway.