Scottish Tour Guide's Blog

• The current building ( correctly known as the Parish Church of Saint Constantine in Govan) is probably the fourth such Christian place of worship on the site.
• The actual site, close the banks of the River Clyde, may well date back about 1500 years, and possibly longer.
• Back in the 8th-11th centuries, the Govan site may have been the heart of a regional power centre  which later faded in importance when Glasgow Cathedral was built  in the 12th century.
• The interior has become a de facto museum, being home to a large collection of elaborately carved stones dating from around the 8th-11th centuries AD which were found in the churchyard. The carvings and designs on the stones witness a merging of cultures which occurred at that time. For more information see this  separate blog post.
• Here is information on Govan.In its Victorian heyday Govan was a world class centre of shipbuilding. The Old Church was built to accommodate the mushrooming local population engaged in the shipbuilding and other local industries.
• As will be evident from this video and the images above, the church incorporates a collection of high quality stained glass windows.
• The sarcophagus shown in the final image below ranks as the earliest piece of artwork in the Glasgow region.

Govan Old Church, Glasgow, Scotland

 

Govan Old Church, Glasgow, Scotland

 

Sarcophagus, Govan Old Church, Glasgow

This is a fascinating site and one which does not formally feature on the regular tourist trail.

 

John Knox Monument, Glasgow Necropolis, Scotland

Today, I escorted two guests on a short architecture themed tour of Glasgow.

We commenced with the famous necropolis near Glasgow Cathedral. Here there are some 50,000 burials dating from around the 1830s onwards. Many of the memorials commemorate the ‘great and good’ of Victorian Glasgow which at the time ranked as the second city of the British Empire and was home to wealthy business people.

Above is an image of the John Knox memorial which dates from 1825 and thus pre-dates the Necropolis. Knox was a 16th century Protestant reformer.

Here is an image of one aspect of the Necropolis.

Glasgow Necropolis, Scotland

Here is a typically elaborate mausoleum.

Monteath Mausoleum, Glasgow Necropolis, Scotland

Here is a view of Glasgow’s 13th century Cathedral taken from the Necropolis.

Glasgow Cathedral, Castle Street, Scotland

Next we drove across ther river to the Gorbals to view the interesting architecture (mainly domestic) which has replaced a once very deprived area.

After the Gorbals we drove round to visit Govan, an old shipbuilding area on the Clyde. Here we went to the water’s edge to view the scenery which included the Tall Ship ‘Glenlee’  moored opposite.

Tall Ship, Glenlee, Glasgow

Next we visited Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s masterpiece, House for an Art Lover.

House for an Art Lover, Glasgow, Scotland

En-route to drop-off at Kelvingrove  we encountered this demolition in process at Govan.

Demolition in progress, Govan, Glasgow

Overall. a good day aided by bright, sunny weather.