Southern Necropolis Heritage Trail
Welcome to the Southern Necropolis – ‘The City of the Dead’. It will take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to follow the Heritage Trail from the Gatehouse and back again.
Please remember at all times that this is a cemetery. The Southern Necropolis is hallowed ground which contains the remains of around 250,000 people and as such should be treated respectfully.
The Southern Necropolis reflects a time when Glasgow was ‘the second city of the empire’ and evokes the days when this great merchant City rivalled London with the wealth generated by its residents. Read more about the history of The Southern Necropolis.
Many of the graves and headstones portray the merchants, traders, shipbuilders and architects who helped make the City world famous.
There are celebrated soldiers, ministers, musicians, actors and the occasional ‘worthie’, surrounded in death by the working classes, artisans and tradesmen from Glasgow’s shipyards, factories and shops who are all equally well represented in this exquisite cemetery.
Southern Necropolis Heritage Trail map and directions (PDF 426k)
For your own safety please follow the route marked on this map.
The Heritage Trail contains 31 key sites of interest on your walk around The Southern Necropolis. Images and some information on these monuments can be found here.
Guide to the Southern Necropolis.
 |
As you enter the Southern Necropolis you do so through the impressive castellated Norman-style gatehouse built by Charles Wilson in 1848. As you enter you will be facing the central path of the central section. There are directional markers around the graveyard to point you in the direction of graves of interest. There are also grave markers to indicate the graves, thereby making your route round the graveyard easier.
|
1. Dr.Nathaniel Paterson D.D. (1787-1871)
2. Peter Ferguson
3. Thomas Bollen Seath
4. William S Williams
5. Franciscan Benefactors.
6. Malcolm MacFarlane
7. Agnes Harkness
8. William Cameron
9. Sir Thomas Lipton
10. Archibald Sinclair
11. James Napier Cousland
12. James Banks McNeil
13. John Begg
14. Charles Wilson
15. Reverend James E. Smith
16. George Thomson
17. John Robertson
18. Captain James Smart
19. Lieutenant Robert Alexander Bogue MC
20. James Salmon
21. The White Lady
22. Allan Glen
23. George Geddes and family
24. Wee Willie White
25. George Rodgers VC
26. Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson
27. Captain Samuel B. Murray
28. William Hudson Birrell
29. Robert Paterson and family
30. Janet Jack, Bridget Ward and Margaret Jack Adams
31. James Goldie
Acknowledgements
The information contained in these pages was provided from various sources – in particular The City of the Dead by Charlotte Hutt ISBN 0-906169-42-9
Glasgow City Council
Cultural and Leisure Services
Glasgow Museums
Mitchell Library
Glasgow Collection - http://www.theglasgowstory.com/
James Stevens Curl – ‘The Cemeteries and Burial Grounds of Glasgow’ - 1975 Strathclyde Regional Printing Works.
These pages were made possible by the dedication of many people – in particular The Friends of The Southern Necropolis and the Gorbals Heritage Trust, with valuable contributions from Councillor James Mutter, Paul O'Cuinn, Colin Mackie, June Bell, Isobel Barret, Linda Devlin and Dennis McCue.
The drawings of certain headstones and the map of the Southern Necropolis are the work of Glasgow artist Adrian McMurchie.