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