Victoria Park, Whiteinch

http://portal.historic-scotland.gov.uk/designations

Type of Site

A late 19th-century public park.

Location and Setting

Victoria Park is situated in central Glasgow on the north side of the River Clyde adjacent to the A814.

The setting is entirely urban and residential. There are general views into the park from the surrounding streets and from the A814. Within the park, the knoll on the north side of the lake would originally have been a vantage point, but this is less obvious today.

The 2nd edition OS 1:2500 (25'), 1896, shows the initial layout was smaller than today. By the 3rd edition OS 1:2500 (25'), 1913, it had been extended by a broad strip to the north. More recently, the building of an interchange for the A814 involved loss of the south-east corner of the park to the roadway.

Landscape Components

Architectural Features

The main North Entrance Gates, made by Walter Macfarlane & Co. are of cast-iron construction. The panelled piers have inset medallions inscribed with text stating that the gates were gifted by 'The Ladies of Partick' to commemorate Queen Victoria's Jubilee. The park is enclosed by cast-iron Railings. The Fossil Grove Building is a 19th-century glass-roofed structure which has been partly modernised and extended. At the eastern end of the lake, the Clock was gifted by Gordon Oswald of Scotstoun who donated the land for the park. The War Memorial, 1922, at the opposite end of the lake comprises a granite cenotaph surmounted by a figure of Victory by F W Doyle Jones. There are two modern Chinese-style timber Bridges across the lake. Towards the eastern perimeter of the park are the utilitarian Glass-house and Works Yard.

The Gardens

The park is laid out on an east-west axis with a lake at the eastern end. The fossil grove lies in the south-west corner of the park in an old whinstone quarry which has been laid out with picturesque walks around small ornamental ponds. An elaborate bedding display is laid out in the base of the quarry, but this is probably a modern introduction, superseding a Victorian and Edwardian planting scheme. The area is planted with mixed deciduous and coniferous trees, some of which may belong to the early phase in the park's development. Between these displays there is structural evergreen shrub planting of Rhododendrons. Bowling greens, sports pitches and other sporting facilities to the north of the Fossil Grove cover almost half of the total park area. This was the result of the expansion between 1894-1909. An amoebic-shaped lake is situated at the south-eastern end of the park. At one end of the lake, islands have been formed which are joined by two modern Chinese-style Bridges. A small pond with rockwork lies to the north of the lake. This is planted with weeping willow (Salix vitellina 'Pendula'). Between the lake and the glasshouse yard to the east are bold bedding displays, including scallop-shaped beds with clipped holly domes. The displays include commemorative coats of arms, some of which are planted on sloping ground around the edge. Overlooking this area are a shrubbery and a knoll planted with Rhododendrons and laurels.

A perimeter path runs around the park and a straight axial path links the fossil grove area with the lake. A cross path running north-south cuts across this area and a lime avenue forms the main entrance to the park from the north. All the paths are of tarmacadam.

Recent tree plantings including whitebeam (Sorbus aria), sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), cherry (Prunus sp.), Copper beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Purpurea'), Swedish whitebeam (Sorbus intermedia), lime (Tilia x europaea), and Silver birch (Betula pendula).