Site of 1st Hampden Park Wins National Designation Status
- FSM Blogger
- May 13
- 4 min read
Announcement - 13th May 2026
There are moments in football heritage when you stop and realise something truly historic has happened.
Today is one of those days.
The scheduling of the First Hampden site within Kingsley Rose Gardens, by Historic Environment Scotland, is seismic for everyone involved in this 11-year footballing journey.
From The Boolers of Hampden Bowling Club, who never lost faith in their oral history, to The Hampden Collection Team, who rooted themselves in the 3 Hampden Parks and promoted these trailblazing football grounds, and finally to Football’s Square Mile, which enshrines it as FSM Site No. 16 of 21 historic sites, and marks it as the centre spot of the World's Biggest Open-Air Football Museum.
This heritage recognition is for all those who care about the roots of our national game, and we cannot thank Archaeology Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland enough for listening to our story, digging, researching, and culminating in scheduling this as a national monument to protect it forever.
For many people, this was just an overlooked piece of ground hidden within the Southside of Glasgow. But to us — and to so many others who have spent years researching, walking, documenting, explaining, and fighting for its recognition — this place has always mattered.
Because this is where football history lives.
Not in a mythical sense. Not as nostalgia. But as a real landscape where ideas, communities, and people helped shape the modern game that billions now follow around the world.
To see First Hampden formally recognised and protected sends a powerful message: Football Heritage Matters.
Scotland’s football story matters.
Working-class sporting history matters.
And the people who preserve these stories matter too.
This recognition belongs to everyone who refused to let the site and its story be forgotten. Every conversation, every tour, every photograph, every newspaper clipping, every piece of research, every supporter who asked questions and believed there was something important here — all of it mattered and we never gave up.
Will Moffat, the last President of Hampden Bowling Club, explains, "Hampden Bowling Club may have closed, however history will remember this institution as the protectors of the First Hampden site for 121 years.
A huge thanks to our members, HES, Archaeology Scotland, The Hampden Collection, and Football's Square Mile for keeping alive this history that was permeated through our Hampden bowlers. This recognition gives Scotland back a genesis part of the World football jigsaw, and protects it for all future generations to come."
Today feels bigger than a single designation.
It feels like a statement that football’s origins are worthy of care, dignity, and national recognition.
Julie McNeill, The Last Gaffer of The Hampden Collection, said, "Home to Scotland’s oldest football club, the Scottish Cup and, in many ways, the origin point for much of the development of the modern game.
The site of First Hampden is hallowed ground - anyone who has visited the site knows that - a living, breathing example of what’s possible. The ambition, the pride and the ingenuity of Scots lives on, built on these solid foundations, ready to show the world how to play.
This announcement is the culmination of years of graft and a relentless quest to tell the stories of our game. Congratulations to everyone who played a part."
For Football’s Square Mile, the 3rd and current incarnation of this trailblazing football heritage journey, signals another massive milestone on the road to our ultimate ambition of UNESCO World Heritage status. We hope it encourages more people to explore the remarkable history beneath Glasgow’s streets, and to understand that football heritage is not only about trophies and famous players — it is about communities, identity, memory, and place.
Graeme Brown, FSM Engagement Director, explains, "The footballing world owes a debt of gratitude to the Hampden Bowling Club's 'boolers' who passed down their story, explaining they were on the site of the First Hampden Park. The clue, as they would tell you, was in their Hampden name, until the discovery of the railway map proved this incredible heritage beyond doubt.
Over the last 11 years, through Hampden Bowling Club, The Hampden Collection, and now centred in Football's Square Mile, we have promoted the First Hampden site's significance, through partnership, friendship and alliance, exploring its archaeology and cultural impact, and encouraged people to visit this footballing jewel, set within the World's Biggest Open-Air Football Museum.
We are delighted that our FSM designation application has been successful, and the site of the First Hampden is now nationally recognised and protected. We see it not as a lost stadium site, but as a living and breathing asset within Scotland’s global footballing heritage, which should be the first destination on every one of the 4 billion football fans' bucket lists."
The story of the 1st Hampden Park is not finished. We are working hard with our friends within the First Hampden CIC, and partnering Glasgow Building Preservation Trust, who are on a mission to make the whole of First Hampden site, including the now vacated Bowling Club site, and transform it into a vibrant community asset for all to enjoy.
First Hampden helped shape football.
Now it has its rightful place in Scotland’s national story and is permanently woven into Football's Global Heritage Fabric for all to see.
Some might even say the weave is tartan.
You can view the HES Press Release here - https://www.historicenvironment.scot/about-us/news/historic-site-of-first-hampden-scores-scheduled-status/
And the HES Blog on everything you need to know about the First Hampden - https://blog.historicenvironment.scot/2026/05/first-hampden-scotlands-first-football-ground/
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