Kelvingrove House was a substantial mansion in north-west Glasgow, Scotland. The house now gives its name to an entire district of the city, and a major park.
Kelvingrove House was a substantial mansion in north-west Glasgow, Scotland. The house now gives its name to an entire district of the city, and a major park.
The land was previously known as Nether Newton, a 12-acre (4.9 ha) site and house owned by the Wotherspoon family. [1]
The site, which sits on the south bank of a bend in the River Kelvin, was purchased in 1782 by Patrick Colquhoun, in the year which he became Lord Provost of Glasgow. The site was around a mile from the city centre. He built a new house there in 1782 and renamed it "Kelvingrove". He was forced to sell the house in 1790 as his business took him away from Glasgow and permanently to London. Although often claimed to be the design of Robert Adam, there was no evidence to support this and stylistically the close was closer to his brother John Adam or the Glasgow architect David Hamilton. [2]
The house, with eight bedrooms and at least three public rooms, had a picturesque view of the river to the north and a panorama of the Glasgow skyline to the south. It was purchased in 1792 by John Pattison (1744–1820), a Glasgow manufacturer. In 1806 the house passed to Richard Dennistoun of Dennistoun, Bryce & Co. whose family occupied the house until 1841 after it passed to his son William Dennistoun. [3]
It was briefly owned by a Colin McNaughtan (who never lived in the house) before being purchased by the City of Glasgow around 1845 largely to utilise the 12 acres (4.9 ha) of ground as parkland. In 1874 the house was extended greatly on its south side by architect John Carrick and converted into a museum, mainly under the efforts of Bailie Hugh MacBean. This museum opened in 1876. [2]
In 1888 a temporary but large exhibition, the 1888 International Exhibition, was held in the grounds to gauge public demand for a larger facility. If anything, this highlighted the inadequacy of Kelvingrove House as a museum, and as it now stood in a public park, limited its alternative uses. [4] The profit from the 1888 exhibition (£46,000) was sufficient to fund a major new facility. [2]
The city resolved to build a far larger museum and art gallery. Although clearly of exceptional quality, the lack of connection to Robert Adam was further used as an excuse to demolish the building. The majority of the house (exempting the museum wing) was demolished in 1899 with the residual element being demolished, as redundant, after the opening of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (to the south of the house) in 1902. [5]
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macdonald, was influential on European design movements such as Art Nouveau and Secessionism and praised by great modernists such as Josef Hoffmann. Mackintosh was born in Glasgow and died in London. He is among the most important figures of Modern Style.
The Hunterian is a complex of museums located in and operated by the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest museum in Scotland. It covers the Hunterian Museum, the Hunterian Art Gallery, the Mackintosh House, the Zoology Museum and the Anatomy Museum, which are all located in various buildings on the main campus of the university in the west end of Glasgow.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a museum and art gallery in Glasgow, Scotland, managed by Glasgow Museums. The building is located in Kelvingrove Park in the West End of the city, adjacent to Argyle Street. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is one of Scotland's most popular museums and free visitor attractions.
Kelvingrove Park is a public park located on the River Kelvin in the West End of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, containing the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
Alexandra Park is a public park in the East End of Glasgow, Scotland. It is located in Dennistoun, 2 miles (3 km) east of the city centre. Named after Princess Alexandra of Denmark, it opened in 1870. The highest point of the park gives views north to Ben Lomond and south to the Tinto Hills. The park is generally open from dawn to dusk daily, but the facilities inside the park have separate opening and closing times accordingly.
The city of Glasgow, Scotland, has many amenities for a wide range of cultural activities, from curling to opera and from football to art appreciation; it also has a large selection of museums that include those devoted to transport, religion, and modern art. In 2009 Glasgow was awarded the title UNESCO Creative City of Music in recognition of its vibrant live music scene and its distinguished heritage. Glasgow has three major universities, each involved in creative and literary arts, and the city has the largest public reference library in Europe in the form of the Mitchell Library. Scotland's largest newspapers and national television and radio companies are based in the city.
Dennistoun is a mostly residential district in Glasgow, Scotland, located north of the River Clyde and in the city's east end, about 1+1⁄4 miles east of the city centre. Since 2017 it has formed the core of a Dennistoun ward under Glasgow City Council, having previously been a component of the East Centre ward.
The Kelvin Hall, located on Argyle Street in Glasgow, Scotland, is one of the largest exhibition centres in Britain and now a mixed-use arts and sports venue that opened as an exhibition venue in 1927. It has also been used as a concert hall, home to the Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena to 2014, and from 1988 to 2010, Glasgow's Museum of Transport. As part of the economic redevelopment of Greater Glasgow promoted by the Scottish Development Agency and local authorities to enhance the city's tourist infrastructure and to attract further national and international conferences, the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre was designed as the Hall's successor for exhibitions and entertainments, built in 1983 and opened on the nearby Queen's Dock in 1985 with an exhibition area equal in size to the Kelvin Hall but with the benefit of extensive car parks and land for other complementary buildings. The Hall is protected as a category B listed building, and is served by city bus services and by Kelvinhall subway station.
Braidfauld is a small area of Glasgow, Scotland which is in the East End of the city slightly north of the River Clyde and south of the Tollcross area. It was also the name of the 45th ward of Glasgow City Council, prior to the re-organisation into multi-member wards in 2007.
John Quinton Pringle was a Scottish painter, influenced by Jules Bastien-Lepage and associated with the Glasgow Boys.
The Empire Exhibition was an international exhibition held at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, Scotland, from May to December 1938.
The International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry was the first of 4 international exhibitions held in Glasgow, Scotland during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It took place at Kelvingrove Park between May and November 1888. The main aim of the exhibition was to draw international attention to the city's achievements in applied sciences, industry and the arts during the Industrial Revolution. However, it was also hoped the Exhibition would raise enough money for a much-needed museum, art gallery and school of art in the city. The exhibition was opened by the Prince of Wales, as honorary president of the exhibition, on 8 May 1888. It was the greatest exhibition held outside London and the largest ever in Scotland during the 19th century.
James Sellars was a Scottish architect who was heavily influenced by the work of Alexander Greek Thomson.
The Glasgow International Exhibition was the second of 4 international exhibitions held in Glasgow, Scotland during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The exhibition took place during a period of half-mourning requested by Edward VII but was still popular and made more than £35000 profit. The exhibition was opened by the King's daughter, the Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife.
Events from the year 1888 in Scotland.
The Kelvingrove Lawn Bowls and Tennis Centre is a sports complex located in Glasgow, Scotland. Located on Kelvin Way off Sauchiehall Street and adjacent to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Kelvingrove Park and the Yorkhill and Kelvingrove residential neighbourhoods, it is owned by Glasgow City Council and was a venue for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and has been used for the purpose since at least 1910. In addition to a number of lawn bowls greens, the facility has six artificial grass tennis courts which are available to the public to play for free.
William Shirreffs was a Scottish sculptor in the 19th century.
Kelvingrove is a neighbourhood in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated north of the River Clyde in the West End of the city, and directly borders Kelvingrove Park to the north and the grounds of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum to the west. Its other boundaries are not precisely defined, but roughly correspond to Sauchiehall Street to the south opposite the Sandyford neighbourhood, and the Charing Cross area to the east.
Sandyford is an area of Glasgow, Scotland. It is north of the River Clyde and forms part of the western periphery of the city centre. Formerly the name of a ward under Glasgow Town Council in the first part of the 20th century, it is within a continuous area of fairly dense urban development bordering several other neighbourhoods whose mutual boundaries have blurred over time, and is possibly less well known than all of the places which adjoin it, particularly Anderston and Finnieston.