Victoria Park, Glasgow

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Victoria Park
Victoria park - looking south.jpg
Victoria Park, Glasgow
Type Public park
Location Glasgow, Scotland
OS grid NS5404067260
Coordinates 55°52′35″N4°20′00″W / 55.87639°N 4.33333°W / 55.87639; -4.33333 (Victoria Park, Glasgow)
Area20 hectares (50 acres)
Opened2 July 1887
Operated by Glasgow City Council

Victoria Park is a 20-hectare (50-acre) [1] park located in the west of Glasgow, Scotland, adjacent to the districts of Scotstoun, Whiteinch, Jordanhill and Broomhill. The park was created and named for Queen Victoria's jubilee in 1887. The main entrances to the park are from Westland Drive, Victoria Park Drive North, and Balshagray Avenue. The Friends of Victoria Park (FoVP) is a West Glasgow group set up to protect and develop Victoria Park. [2]

Contents

Main features

There are a number of features within Victoria Park:

Facilities

Victoria Park has the following facilities;

History

At the instigation of the Council, the work of building the park was supervised by Isdale Robertson (1848–1904) who had his premises in Anderson Street, Partick. The workforce was made up of unemployed men in need of an occupation to see them through a difficult period. It was this team of men who unearthed the fossil grove. It was also at the insistence of Isdale that the four faced clock was placed in the park. According to his adopted daughter, Meg Crerar, it bore the inscription "Now is the day of salvation, Now is the accepted time, Now is the day of Salvation". The gates were paid for by local women who subscribed a penny each, said to be partly in gratitude for providing work for their men and partly for keeping them sober, Whiteinch having been designated a "dry" area. Isdale Robertson was an active member of the Whiteinch United Free Church and a dedicated promoter of temperance. He joined Partick Town Council in November 1903 on that platform. By 1978 it was still a "dry" area.

The park was formally opened by the Provost of Partick, Sir Andrew McLean on 2 July 1887. The arboretum section of the park was originally designed as an educational facility. During the 1960s, a large section of the park was removed in order to make way for the approach roads to the Clyde Tunnel and Expressway.

Events

Victoria Park plays host to several events such as the Whiteinch Fair Festival and the Indian Summer music festival. The park is also home to the Victoria Cricket and Hyndland RFC rugby club. Throughout the summer, the Countryside Rangers arrange walks to educate children about the environment. The park is now home to the fledgling Scottish Australian Rules Football League clubs, the Glasgow Sharks and the Glasgow Magpies and is understood to be the UK's only dedicated Australian Rules Football ground. It is also the home ground of the Glasgow Centurions Touch Rugby Club. [7] The park also hosts a 5 km parkrun every Saturday and a 2 km junior parkrun every Sunday. [8] [9]

Travel

Television

The park featured in the Scottish sitcom Still Game in the episode 'Hot Seat'. The programme features views of the park and scenes of the surrounding area.

The park is also featured in Limmy's Show, in a sketch in which Limmy bemoans the poor state of the railings around the park.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Partick</span> Area of Glasgow, Scotland

Partick is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park, and to the north Broomhill, Hyndland, Dowanhill, Hillhead, areas which form part of the West End of Glasgow. Partick was a Police burgh from 1852 until 1912 when it was incorporated into the city. Partick is the area of the city most connected with the Highlands, and several Gaelic agencies, such as the Gaelic Books Council are located in the area. Some ATMs in the area display Gaelic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordanhill</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Jordanhill is an affluent area of the West End of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. The area consists largely of terraced housing dating from the early to mid 20th century, with some detached and semi-detached homes and some modern apartments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scotstoun</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Scotstoun is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde to the south. At the heart of Scotstoun lies Scotstounhill, an enclave of late Victorian and post-war housing centred on Scotstounhill railway station. Scotstoun is home to BAE Systems Surface Ships, and to the Glasgow Warriors rugby team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Clyde Line</span> Railway line in Glasgow City, Scotland, UK

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyndland</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Hyndland is an affluent residential area in the West End of the city of Glasgow, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broomhill, Glasgow</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Broomhill is a district in the West End of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. North of the River Clyde, it is bounded by the districts of Thornwood and Partick to the south, Hyndland to the east, and Jordanhill, Scotstoun and Victoria Park to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whiteinch</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Whiteinch is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated directly north of the River Clyde, between the Partick and Scotstoun areas of the city. Whiteinch was at one stage part of the burgh of Partick, until that burgh's absorption into the expanding city of Glasgow in 1912, and part of the Parish of Govan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordanhill railway station</span> Railway station in Glasgow, Scotland

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The Stobcross Railway was a railway line in Glasgow, Scotland, built by the North British Railway to connect from Maryhill to the new dock being built at Stobcross; the dock became the Queen's Dock, opened in 1877. The line was opened first, in 1874, and gave the North British company access to the north bank of the River Clyde; there was a goods depot at Partick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyndland Secondary School</span> State comprehensive school in Glasgow, Scotland

Hyndland Secondary School is a non-denominational state comprehensive school in the Hyndland area of Glasgow, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thornwood, Glasgow</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Thornwood is a largely residential area of Glasgow, Scotland, lying north of the River Clyde. Part of the city's West End, it is situated almost on the river between Partick to the east and south and Broomhill to the north and west; the neighbourhoods of Whiteinch, Glasgow Harbour and Hyndland are also fairly close.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fossil Grove</span> Fossilised tree-like plants in Glasgow, Scotland

The Fossil Grove is a group of plant fossils located within Victoria Park, Glasgow, Scotland. It was discovered in 1887 and contains the fossilised stumps and the stigmarian system of eleven extinct Lepidodendron lycopsids, which are sometimes described as "giant club mosses" but are more closely related to quillworts. The Fossil Grove is managed as a museum and has been a popular tourist attraction since it opened for public viewing in 1890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glasgow Corporation Tramways</span> Closed urban tramway system in Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow Corporation Tramways were formerly one of the largest urban tramway systems in Europe. Over 1000 municipally-owned trams served the city of Glasgow, Scotland, with over 100 route miles by 1922. The system closed in 1962 and was the last city tramway in Great Britain.

Jordanhill Rugby Football Club was a rugby union football club based in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded as a club for the students and former students of Jordanhill College, it lasted until 1988 when it merged with Hillhead RFC to form Hillhead Jordanhill RFC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Leiper</span> Scottish architect (1839–1916)

William Leiper FRIBA RSA (1839–1916) was a Scottish architect known particularly for his domestic architecture in and around the town of Helensburgh. In addition, he produced a small amount of fine ecclesiastical and commercial architecture in Glasgow and the Scottish Lowlands. He was also an accomplished watercolour artist, and from the late 1870s spent much spare time painting in oils and watercolours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Park (ward)</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Victoria Park is one of the 23 wards of Glasgow City Council. Created as Partick West in 2007 it returned four council members, using the single transferable vote system; the boundaries were unchanged in 2012. For the 2017 Glasgow City Council election, the boundaries were changed, the ward decreased in size and population, was re-named Victoria Park and returned three members.

Hyndland RFC is a rugby union side based in Scotstoun, Glasgow, Scotland.The club was founded in 1933. They play their home games at Scotstoun Stadium.

White Inch was an island lying in the estuarine waters of the River Clyde close to Glasgow in the Parish of Govan, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Due to the deliberate disposal of dredged material from the Clyde, it became physically part of the northern, Lanarkshire side, of the river bank from the 1830s and is now entirely built over. The name lives on in the Whiteinch district of Glasgow, street names, etc., and probably relates to white colored sand deposits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whiteinch Burgh Hall</span> Municipal building in Whiteinch, Scotland

Whiteinch Burgh Hall is a municipal building on Victoria Park Drive South in Whiteinch, part of Glasgow, Scotland. The burgh hall, which is currently derelict, is a Category B listed building.

References

  1. "Victoria Park Management Plan 2013-2018". PDF. Glasgow City Council.
  2. "Friends of Victoria Park". Friends of Victoria Park Glasgow. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  3. Historic Environment Scotland. "Victoria Park, Partick and Whiteinch War Memorial (Category C Listed Building) (LB51739)" . Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  4. "The Oswalds of Scotstoun". wsmclean.com. 27 May 2005. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012.
  5. Historic Environment Scotland. "Victoria Park, Clock (Category C Listed Building) (LB51738)" . Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  6. "'Most northerly' parrots cause flap in park". 13 April 2019. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019 via www.bbc.co.uk.
  7. "Glasgow Centurions - Touch Club". Glasgow Centurions. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  8. "Victoria parkrun". www.parkrun.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  9. "Victoria junior parkrun, Glasgow". www.parkrun.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2022.