HES Proposing to Designate the Remains of the First Hampden Pavilion as a Scheduled Monument
- FSM Blogger
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Thursday, 26th February 2026
Over the last 120+ years, Hampden Bowling Club (established 27th March 1905) has been telling everyone who entered their gates that they were standing on the site of the 1st Hampden Park. For the first 112 years of their history, very few visitors believed them, and the story of the 3 Hampden Parks was lost to a few pages of the footballing history books.
In 2017, everything changed when two events happened in the same month of March. They say lightening doesn't strike twice, but it did in the small leafy pocket of Crosshill in Glasgow's Southside.
The team from Archaeology Scotland were organising a dig in the adjacent Cathkin Park, once the site of the 2nd Hampden Park (Home to Queen's Park FC), and subsequently the site of the New Cathkin Park (Home to Third Lanark RV FC). Hampden Bowling Club's Secretary (Graeme Brown) sent an email into the wonderful team of Phil Richardson, Dr Paul Murtagh and Kieran Manchip at Archaeology Scotland, to ask them to come over to the other side of the railway tracks and listen to the booler's story, and the mysterious legend of the First Hampden Park.
In the same week, on 11th March 2017, Hampden Bowling Club proved the site of the First Hampden Park's location, as per the oral history of the Bowling Club, after a 2 year search of every map of Glasgow's Southside. This epic day was captured on video with a journey through 3 Hampden Parks - 3, 2 and 1, and proved Queen's Park Football Club legendary first home in their 150th year of existence.
Furthermore, the location of where the First Hampden pavilion once stood was confirmed to the square meter of the Rose Garden on the map, and the discussions began on the potential for an archaeology project within the area of Kingsley Rose Gardens to see if the original foundations could be found. This search was extended to Hampden Bowling Club and Queen's Park Recreation Ground, to explore what lay beneath.
However we had to get interest in this magnificent site. Step forward local resident and artist, Ashley Rawson, with his amazing design for the 1st Hampden mural for the back of the Hampden Bowling Club pavilion. This was generously crowdfunded and completed on the 9th September 2019.
We only discovered 6 months later on the outtakes from the video that the 5 - 1 Scotland v England victory on the mural was held on 11th March 1882, exactly 135 years to the day of the map discovery. #Echo
The hunt was then on to prove what was left of the original ground. It took another 2 years, and for the Archaeology Team to work through the Covid Pandemic to get the dig off the ground. As it was the Euro's there was lot of interest. Here is Sammy North's Footy Adventures getting involved on Day One of the dig. It wasn't the only TV camera that day.
During the archaeology dig there was brilliant participation from a team of 'New Scots', along with the neighbours and locals getting their hands dirty digging in the trenches. Eventually the fantastic work paid off and the money trench revealed what the bowlers had always said. The First Hampden Pavilion foundations were found under the Rose Gardens.
The site of the First Hampden Park is the cornerstone of the world's biggest open-air football museum, and our UNESCO World Heritage campaign - this was launched on St Andrew's Day 2021.
Here is our UNESCO World Heritage Video made at FootyCon in 2023, where 30 football historians were treated to a 3 Hampdens Tour to remember, and understand the vital importance of the Football's Square Mile project to protect this amazing history and heritage.
On 23rd May 2024, we officially opened Football's Square Mile with the Scottish Football Association, Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Life. This incredibly ambitous project now allows you to tour around this incredible heritage and tour our 21 plaques and signs across the city.
Later in the year, following nearly 3 years of discussions with Historic Environment Scotland, we submitted our designation application for all 21 sites of Football's Square Mile, which included all 3 Hampden Parks.
On 24th September 2025, Cathkin Park, the site of the 2nd Hampden was designated as a Scheduled Monument, again thanks to the original work that the Archaeology Scotland Team had done through two separate digs.
Today, we are delighted that Historic Environment Scotland (HES) released its consultation for its proposal to designate the buried remains of the 1st Hampden Pavilion within Kingsley Rose Gardens, as a Scheduled Monument.
Without lightening striking twice this would never have happened - we are so proud to have the Archaeology Scotland team as pals, and as a Football's Square Mile Alliance member.
Finally, we had a lot of fun supporting the HES' team's investigation of the First Hampden Site - a big shout out to the teams led by Iain Anderson and Kyle Armstrong for their deep-dive into this wonderful history.
We have two asks - please add your support to the consultation by HES to ensure the Booler's tale is protected forever.
And the other ask. This leaves the world thinking - what happens next?
On 28th February 2026, Hampden Bowling Club will operationally close for good. The site of the bowling club and Kingsley Rose Gardens would be at risk of commercial development, if it is not protected. As you can see, we have worked our socks off over the last 11 years to protect this site for the local community, and the footballing world.
Graeme Brown explains, "The site of the 1st Hampden Pavilion was lost to history for over 130 years. The boolers of Hampden Bowling Club kept this story alive until the railway map, and subsequent archaeology, proved the exact location of where the 1st Hampden pavilion once stood, located today in Kingsley Rose Gardens, Crosshill, Glasgow. As Hampden Bowling Club shuts, it is fantastic to see the proposal to designate one of the world’s most important football heritage sites as a scheduled monument, and ensure it is never lost again, and we encourage everyone to positively support this consultation.’"
And one final echo from the Scotch Professors playing in the sky. The keys for Hampden Bowling Club will be handed back to City Property, agent for Glasgow City Council, on 27th March 2026. This will be exactly 121 years to the day that Hampden Bowling Club held its first meeting on 27th March 1905........with one final doft to the football history that sat beneath it - it held its first meeting at 8:30pm.
After a football team of years of shouting this story from the rooftops, the future lies in the First Hampden CIC - a community led organisation to take up the baton and protect the wider site for the community. They have teamed up with us as a Football's Square Mile Alliance Partner, and we are going to do everything we can to make sure this is a site for the world to enjoy.
We need every member of the community, elected official, media officer, celebrity, and member of the footballing world to push for City Property and Glasgow City Council to make the most of the heritage that is underneath our feet, and work with the First Hampden CIC to restore the wider site as a community asset, and recognise its extraodinary footballing heritage that is the envy of the world.
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