Glasgow is such an interesting city. The architecture alone makes it worth a visit. I do wish they would give some of the buildings a good wash, though. We saw the Clyde Arch today—what Glaswegians call the “squinty bridge” as it looks like a eye squinting. The QE2 ship was built here in Glasgow. And I finally found out how to pronounce Sauchiehall Street—“Sockyhall” Street. The first ever Sir Walter Scott statue was here in Glasgow. The underground (subway) is known as the “clockwork orange” because it is painted a dull orange color and it goes in a circular route stopping at 15 stations. In the countryside, Border collies are used to herd the sheep. Glasgow is also the home to the tea tycoon, Sir Thomas Lipton. And evidently salmon returned to the River Clyde in the 1960s after a 60 year absence.
Big news here now is the scandal over the FIFA leadership and a scandal on a TV soap opera—not the actors or anything, just the storyline. I think someone has been killed.
After waking to another sunny day, regardless of what the weatherman said, we headed out to do the 4 sites that were closely grouped in Glasgow. First was the Necropolis. This is a Victorian cemetery that sits on a low but very prominent hill. Fifty thousand people have been buried here. Typically for the period only a small percentage are named on monuments and not every grave has a stone. Approximately 3500 monuments exist here.
Following the creation of Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, a wave of pressure began for cemeteries in Britain. This required a change in the law to allow burial for profit. Previously the parish church held responsibility for burying the dead, but there was a growing need to give an alternative solution. Glasgow was one of the first to join this campaign, having a growing population, with fewer and fewer attending church
Glasgow native Billy Connolly has said: "Glasgow's a bit like Nashville, Tennessee: it doesn't care much for the living, but it really looks after the dead." Elaborate entrance gates provide access to the Bridge of Sighs—a single 60 foot semi-circular arch. There are actually 3 arches—two external ones are walkways and the Molendinar ravine runs below the middle span over an artificial waterfall. There are many elaborate monuments here, but the only ones I know anything about are:
--obelisk and urn and tomb chest made by Alexander “Greek” Thomson with Grecian motifs for the monument of Rev. Beattie, a friend
--monument to John Knox, whose body is interred in St. Giles Kirkyard
--and an interesting one: for Charles Tennant, the bleach tycoon. He trained as a weaver but became a bleacher with no formal chemical training who discovered that mixing chlorine and lime produced a controllable bleaching agent. Before they could only use the rain, wind, and sun to bleach. His factory’s chimney was a famous landmark in Glasgow. Many of his workers suffered perforated septums and blindness due to continued exposure to toxic chemicals and were know as “Tennant’s White Mice.” This Carrara marble monument was criticized at the time, the newspapers claiming that the slumped figure made him look ratehr “like a casualty of the product that made his family fortune.”
Next was the Glasgow Cathedral. It is located where the patron saint of Glasgow, Saint Mungo, built his church. Mungo was the name he was lovingly called, but his real name was St. Kentigern who died in 612. Pilgrimages were made for years to his tomb, which is in the lower crypt. The story goes that he was the son of a 6th century Princess named Thenew who was casrt adrift on the river Firth in an open boat and left ot perish. The boat was carried by the winds to Culross and rescued by monks. Her illegitimate son, Mungo, is the patron saint of Glasgow.
The church was very pretty with its arches and stained glass. Blacader’s Aisle from 1483-1508 was restored to its limestone wash and colored bosses. The Sacristy had its 15th century tiled floors and the only oak doors left of the originals. Ray had to take this chance to sit in the bishop’s chair. I hadn’t seen any of Mary Magdalene in churches for a while and it was good to see her here. In a very prominent window the church was a stained glass window with a nude man and woman. This may have been Adam & Eve, but they were shown totally nude. First time I’ve seen that in a church.
Sir Walter Scott’s novel, “Rob Roy,” gives an account of the kirk. It was built in the late 12th century and is an example of Scottish Gothic architecture. It’s also one of the few Scottish medieval churches (and the only medieval cathedral on the Scottish mainland) to have survived the Reformation not unroofed and virtually complete. The lower church with St. Mungo’s tomb was my favorite part.
Across the way is St. Mungo’s Museum of Religious Life and Art. Its galleries are full of displays, artifacts, and stunning works of art. They explore the importance of religion in peoples’ lives across the world and across time. The venue aims to promote understanding and respect between people of different faiths and of none. You can find out more about some of the world’s major religions and the story of religion in the west of Scotland. There is also the first Zen garden in Britain here.
The museum sits across from Provand’s Lordship – the oldest house in Glasgow. This was St. Nicholas Hospital founded by Andrew Muirhead in 1471 AD.
We saw an interesting bumper sticker on a car as we headed home:
No soldiers died
When Clinton lied.
So true.
Off to do some grocery shopping.
Pictures from top: Inside Glasgow Cathedral; interesting stained glass; Mary Magdalene.
