A piece of football history in Glasgow has been given protected status after fears it could be lost to development.
The original Hampden Park, home of Queen’s Park from 1873 to 1883, has been designated a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland, recognising its place in football history and preserving it for future generations.
The site hosted Scottish Cup finals and Scotland internationals. It has been described as a “blueprint” for football stadiums after becoming the first to build toilets, turnstiles and grandstands.
It has been home to a bowling club since 1905, but concern grew after the club faced financial difficulties. The club closed earlier this year and the site was handed back to Land Property Glasgow, a body which handles land for Glasgow City Council.
Historic Environment Scotland said the designation followed significant support in a public consultation.
Dara Parsons, head of designations at HES, said: “It feels timely to recognize the central role that Scotland played in the development of the sport, and the place of First Hampden within that story.
“The remains of the pavilion at the first Hampden are a link to the earliest days of football in Scotland, and its importance to, and impact on, communities. It is a monument to our national game and to the origins of the modern football stadium.”
Parsons added: “We’d like to thank everyone who took time to take part in our consultation and share their valuable contributions.
“We had a great response, and we are looking to continue that engagement over the summer where we will be asking people to suggest important football heritage sites from across the whole of Scotland for us to investigate.”
Before Queen’s Park built the stadium, teams typically played on converted cricket pitches. Scotland and England had played the world’s first international on one of those pitches in 1872, a year before First Hampden opened.
Four years ago, an archaeological excavation found remains of the original football stadium, where Scotland beat England 5-1 in 1882.
Lindsay Hamilton, who runs a walking tour company that visits the three Hampden Park sites, said previously: “This ground is the blueprint for every football stadium that was built.
“Queen’s Park built grandstands, toilets, turnstiles for it and it was the first purpose-built international football stadium in the world.
“It was the first place where season tickets were first used, or members books as they called it then.
“How we experience football today was all built at first on that site, it’s of huge significance to football.”
Queen’s Park moved to another purpose-built stadium in 1884, taking the Hampden name with them.
Hamilton said: “A lot of early football landmarks in other cities have become supermarket parking lots or things like that, but here you can still step on it, it’s tangible.
“If you lose that, you lose the magic and the spark, because having the green there brings it to life. Being able to ask if you want a pint on the grounds of the original Hampden Park is something special.
“It doesn’t look like a pitch now, but the foundations of the original stadium are there, what else can we discover? If this was in London or Rio de Janeiro or Buenos Aires it would have its own museum there.
“It needs to be protected, and celebrated.”
The National Trust for Scotland said the stadium is the place where “modern football as we know it was created.”
Its chief executive, Philip Long, said: “The site is intrinsic to the development of the game of football as we know it, making a vital contribution to Scotland’s culture and modern identity.
“A place of such significance needs to be protected and respected.
“It is vital that our country’s cultural history is preserved, and we continue to tell the stories that have made Scotland the place it is today.”
Read more from Talker News.
