Cathcart Cemetery Designated By Historic Environment Scotland

Historic Environment Scotland has completed the designation proposals for Cathcart Cemetery and has given the site, Category C listing. This is the first form of protection the Cemetery has received in its history, since opening in 1878, and is fantastic recognition for one of Glasgow's most important cultural, architectural and natural heritage sites.

This category is for buildings of special architectural or historic interest, which are representative examples of a period, style or building type, and is a significant step forward in the efforts by Friends of Cathcart Cemetery to protect the site, and, who commenced the designation process in 2023. A further application for designation was submitted by Football's Square Mile, which included all the 21 FSM sites, including Cathcart Cemetery, in 2024.

Our friendship with The Friends Of Cathcart Cemetery (FoCC) begins In 2019, when Jacqui Fernie, Co-Chair of the team, approached The Hampden Collection to explain the famous footballers they had resting within the Cemetery, and would we be interested in learning more? To our astonishment, these included both Celtic's and Rangers' first managers, Willie Maley and William Wilton respectively, footballing trailblazers Hugh MacColl (Sevilla), George Patullo (Barcelona), and Joseph Taylor (Queen's Park and Scotland).

One of the most intriguing stories was of R.S. McColl (Queen's Park, Rangers, Newcastle, and Scotland legend) known to many as 'Toffee Bob'. However before becoming one of the most famous newsagents of the time, Bob McColl was a talented international footballer, and is the only player to score a hattrick against all the other 3 home nations.

As we soon learned, this is the final resting place of some of the most important Scotch Professors of all time.

Joint presentations and events followed, and FoCC's passion for saving and protecting a cemetery with 15,000 graves has been inspiring, leading us to include Cathcart Cemetery within the World's Biggest Open-Air Museum, and FoCC becoming a Football's Square Mile Alliance member. Cathcart Cemetery is Site No. 21 of Football's Square Mile, and the FoCC Team have been helpful throughout, including supporting the addition of the FSM sign on the perimiter fence of the cemetery in 2024.

However it is not just famous footballers who rest within the cemetery, as Jacqui and the team will tell you all about, "We are delighted that Cathcart Cemetery has been recognised as a community space of heritage and reflection. HES' recognition of the importance of these people who made Glasgow, Scotland, and the world buried in Cathcart helps us shine a light on these stories. It will also be invaluable when applying for funding to help the Cemetery thrive in the future."

With our football hat on, we are delighted that Cathcart Cemetery has completed the designation process successfully, and commend the fantastic work that FoCC have done in receiving this recognition. This follows other FSM sites, which have achieved HES' designation, including the Drygate Brewery Clock Tower obtaining Category C listing (FSM Site No, 4), and Cathkin Park becoming a Scheduled Monument (FSM Site No. 17).

You can read all about the work being done on Scottish Football history in the recent blog from Kyle Anderson from Historic Environment Scotland, and how they are protecting the origins of the beautiful game.

https://blog.historicenvironment.scot/2025/10/designating-scotlands-football-heritage/

Rory Bryce, FSM Heritage Officer, explains the importance of this further designation, "It's fantastic that Cathcart Cemetery, and its importance to the local community, has been recognised with this listing designation. Cemeteries are places of peace, local connection and heritage, but they're also living archives for people to explore the past. Having Cathcart Cemetry listed means it will be preserved for future generations to continue unearthing the stories created by the people who rest there. This is fantastic acknowledgement, and like many other cemeteries throughout Scotland, including both Glasgow Necropolis and Southern Necropolis within FSM, explain the central role of the early development of football across the country, and the world."

Our mission continues to bring a spotlight to these important sites, with particular focus on the site of the First Hampden at the current time. Our heritage is important and we only have one chance to save it, so all our collective efforts are there to support the local community organisations, like FoCC, to protect them for future generations to learn about.

If you would like to find out more about the fantastic work that Friends of Cathcart Cemtery do, then please click this link - https://www.cathcartcemetery.co.uk

For information relating to the footballers resting in this site - click the following link - https://www.footballssquaremile.com/cathcartcemetery