A short history of Alexandra Park in Glasgow’s East End

We take a walk through Alexandra Park in East Glasgow to explore some of its history.

Transcript

00:00This is Alexandra Park, located in the Hackill area of Glasgow's East End, one of my favourite

00:04parks in the city. This green space was officially opened to the public in 1870.

00:09Four years before, in 1866, the land was purchased by the City Improvement Trustees of Glasgow

00:15from a Mr Walter Stewart, intended to give the people of North East Glasgow

00:19a site for recreation and leisure. It was barren barren upon purchase, with barely any trees,

00:24so before its opening, hundreds of unemployed artisans and labourers were given work to

00:29renovate the land. And this was life-shaping for some people, as it was during the time of

00:34a great trade depression. Mr Alexander Deniston, who owned the adjoining estate of Golf Hill,

00:40gifted five acres of land to the City Improvement Trustees, and this area,

00:44which is situated in the south-west corner, is now the main pedestrian entrance.

00:49Due to the atmosphere and conditions of the environment, it was a very tough job to dig

00:53up ground and plant new trees. While it was originally named on an ordinance survey map

00:57as Toll Cross Park, it was officially named Alexandra Park upon its opening,

01:02after Princess Alexandra of Denmark, who was the future wife of King Edward VII.

01:07One of the park's most important features is the Saddison Fountain, which was gifted to Glasgow

01:12following the 1901 International Exhibition, when it was installed in Kelvin Grove for 12 years

01:18before being placed here. It was made of cast iron by Macfarlane and Co's Saddison Foundry,

01:24and its design is influenced by the architecture in Athens. Today, the park is still a centre

01:29point of community, particularly for those in surrounding areas, Hag Hill and Deniston.

01:35There are four bowling greens, a golf course, playgrounds, a mountain bank course, a picnic area,

01:40an orienteering course and a community hub.