Statement of National Importance
The national importance of the monument is demonstrated in the following way(s) (see Designations Policy and Selection Guidance, Annex 1, para 17):
a. The monument is of national importance because it makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the past as the remains of a key structure that formed part of the first purpose-built football ground in Scotland. In particular, it adds to our understanding of the development of the modern football ground and the sport's history in Scotland. It can help us understand the chronology of this site and the development of early football grounds across the country.
b. The monument retains structural and other physical attributes which makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the past. Archaeological survey and excavation have shown that elements of the structure survive as buried remains and its plan form is understandable. There is strong potential for the survival of further related buried archaeological deposits within the wider scheduled area.
c. The monument is a rare example of a notable and key infrastructural element of a 19th century football ground. The buried remains of the pavilion is an extremely rare survivor and represents the earliest known surviving remains of a structure constructed as part of a purpose-built football ground in Scotland.
f. The monument makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the historic landscape by its placement in an urban setting, its association with other football grounds in the area and by its proximity to supporting communities. It is part of a network of urban and semi-urban football grounds. Glasgow and its football clubs are recognised globally as a centre for the professional development of the game. The relative density of such grounds in the Glasgow area is a reflection of the game's popularity and this example is characteristic of the successful growth of such clubs from the end of the 19thcentury.
g. The monument has significant associations with historical, traditional, social or artistic figures, events or movements. It was the pavilion at the ground for Queens Park Football Club (ground now known as First Hampden) playing there between 1873 and 1883. It was part of the first purpose-built football ground in Scotland and was also designed with the intention to host large crowds for international matches. The buried remains of First Hampden football ground pavilion survives as a monument to Scotland's oldest football team, which helped shape the modern game. This ground was the first in a succession of the Hampdens, the final one being recognised as the primary home of the Scottish Team in the early 20th century.
Assessment of Cultural Significance
This statement of national importance has been informed by the following assessment of cultural significance:
Intrinsic characteristics (how the remains of a site or place contribute to our knowledge of the past)
The monument comprises the remains of a football ground pavilion, located in a small public park in the Mount Florida area, around four kilometres south of Glasgow city centre. It survives as the buried remains of a sporting pavilion for Hampden football ground (known today as First Hampden), consisting of brick and stone foundations, demolition material and related finds. The ground is documented on a series of Cathcart District Railway maps and plans from 1879 (National Records of Scotland references RHP 40386, 95031 and 95047). It is labelled 'Football Ground' and shows an enclosed site with central rectangular playing pitch, a grandstand or terrace on the south and the pavilion within an enclosure at the north-northwest corner.
The remains of the pavilion at First Hampden represent a key component of the first purpose-built football ground in Scotland, built as the home of Queen's Park Football Club in 1873. The Club is the oldest in Scotland and led the way in the professionalisation of the game. The board of Queens Park set out to construct a ground capable of hosting large crowds and also suitable for tournaments and international matches. From 1873, the ground was developed over several years as it required substantial financial support and careful planning.
In January 1873, Queen's Park set up a committee to find a suitable site for the ground, and the first match was played on 25 October that year. The earliest development at First Hampden consisted of the layout of the playing surface, the enclosure of the ground using fencing and the erection of a small, economic wooden pavilion. There were pay gates to control access and to sell tickets. A rope surrounded the playing pitch to separate the crowd from players. This enclosure and separation of the ground were vital markers in making this the first purpose-built football ground in Scotland.
Later developments included the construction of a grandstand in August 1876 at the south end – most likely a simple earthen embankment with perhaps some cover or a roofed section. In 1877, the enclosure fences and pay gates were extended to cope with larger crowds. One of the last developments of the ground came with the arrival of the pavilion in February 1878. Queen's Park had previously played some matches at Caledonian Cricket Club and had seen the benefits of their new pavilion constructed in 1875. When the Cricket Club reached financial difficulties, Queen's Park took the opportunity to purchase their pavilion and re-construct it at First Hampden.
This new pavilion was a significant upgrade over the temporary one set up in the early days of First Hampden. The new pavilion was a focal point of the ground, set near the entrance and providing comfortable facilities for players, important spectators and board members. Photographic evidence shows the pavilion was set on a raised, levelled terrace with a short flight of stairs leading up from the nearby and fenced-off pitch. The lower portion of the pavilion was of brick construction with timber cladding above, all set under a pitched and slated roof. Decorative wooden barge boards and gable-end finials provided some ornament. The plan form was rectangular with a projecting central entrance bay, forming an overall squat T-plan. The pavilion and wider First Hampden ground had a relatively short life as the land was purchased for railway developments in 1883 and Queen's Park moved to Second Hampden - later to be known as New Cathkin Park and today as Cathkin Park (Scheduled Monument reference SM13799). Most of the pavilion was taken down at First Hampden, leaving the foundations, and it was moved to Second Hampden where it was reconstructed and then extended and upgraded in brick.
Archaeological investigations in 2021 identified the location of the pavilion using ground penetrating radar. Subsequent targeted excavation trenches confirmed the pavilion location and uncovered evidence for physical remains. A layer of end-on bricks was recorded around 20-25cm below the surface – this is understood to be the base of the later tennis ground. Assemblage remains were discovered in soil around 20cm below the end-on brick layer. At around 50-75cm below the surface, the foundations of the pavilion were recorded. The plan of the monument can be understood by cross-referencing of the survey and excavation data with historic map evidence.
The finds assemblage include fragments of 19th century glass, shards of porcelain and clay pipes – probably the discarded juice bottles, tea cups and smoking pipes of spectators. Also recovered were sections of metal wire and remnants of wire tensioning apparatus – probably evidence for the post and wire fence that is shown in historic photographs to surround the pavilion. The buried remains of the pavilion and surrounding land, originally located at the northwest corner of the football ground, along the north side of the playing pitch, are of high archaeological potential. The monument therefore has potential to add to our understanding of the development and use of 19th century football grounds, including construction materials and methods and the sequence of changes since its first construction. The archaeology of the pavilion represents our known earliest building remains erected for the dedicated purpose of facilitating football matches in Scotland. The pavilion was a key element of First Hampden and a focal point of the ground offering crucial matchday facilities for teams and guests, helping to create the concept of a modern football ground.
Contextual characteristics (how a site or place relates to its surroundings and/or to our existing knowledge of the past)
The pavilion of First Hampden has significant contextual character as it is related to other football sites within this part of Glasgow. The site is an integral part of the story of the development of Queen's Park Football Club and also international football. During the mid-19th century, the Club established their first dedicated playing field at Queen's Park recreation ground (NGR NS 58337 61807) with an equipment store at an Institute Lodge (NRHE ID 245307). The club then moved to this site, First Hampden, in 1873 before moving to the Second Hampden (Scheduled Monument reference SM13799) in 1883/4. In 1903, Queen's Park moved to what is now known as Hampden Park (later developed into the national stadium known of today - NRHE ID 44242). This sequential development highlights the central importance of First Hampden in the context of major football grounds in Glasgow. There is the potential to study the pavilion with contemporary sites and modern grounds to understand their layout, structure, development and phasing. It is part of an original, regional cluster of grounds in and around Glasgow. The pavilion today lies buried within the public park and although the setting has undergone vast changes since it was a football ground, the wider urban connection to early football development in Glasgow can still be appreciated.
Queen's Park is recognised as the oldest association football club in Scotland, founded in 1867, shaping club football at First Hampden, Scotland's first purpose-built football ground, from 1873 onwards. The intention of the Club board to create a ground that could also host international matches is well documented and makes this ground the first in the world to be built with that intended purpose. The culmination of the development of First Hampden with the erection of this pavilion, essentially created what is recognised as the modern football ground.
First Hampden is one of the earliest, purpose-built dedicated football grounds in the world. Its design focussed on professionalism, the experience of the spectator and was the first conceived to host regular international matches. Many earlier football grounds were either multi-sport, or they were initially laid out for other sports and later adapted for football. First Hampen realised most of the form and facilities that we recognise as constituting a modern football ground today from the very beginning – an enclosed site with controlled access, pay gates or turnstiles, permanently marked and demarcated pitch, dedicated player/guest facilities such as a pavilion, purpose built spectator areas such as terraces or embankments and a man-made/altered playing surface. It was built when football was first seen as a potential commercial business with a strive towards professionalism in the game and for the running of the club. International matches and planned tournaments were relatively new but their potential was seen to attract thousands of supporters. The pavilion was part of the wider infrastructure designed and built to realise that plan and, arguably, this set out the blueprint for what a football stadium required to function on a commercial and professional level still seen today.
Many similar sites dating to the same period have subsequently been developed to make way for modern facilities or for other land uses. First Hampden is typical of this lack of survival with the historic railway development triggering the start of the loss of the overall football ground as a singular, cohesive site. The remains of the pavilion at First Hampden is therefore a rare surviving element of a late 19th century football ground.
Associative characteristics (how a site or place relates to people, events, and/or historic and social movements)
Football is recognised as the national sport in Scotland, with its origins in the medieval period. This monument represents the recognised home of the oldest and one of Scotland's most historically important football clubs, in a country recognised as the home of the modern game of football and a pioneering nation in the development of the sport.
The development of association football took place in the early 1860s in and around London. Association football had set rules agreed upon and adhered to by clubs.This developed in Scotland towards the end of the 1860s and early 1870s, particularly in the west of the country. Queen's Park is the oldest club in Scotland and one of the oldest surviving clubs in the world. First Hampden was the site of their home ground from 1873-1883. It was also the first planned, dedicated home for international matches. In 1878, First Hampden hosted its first international match with Scotland winning 7-2 against England in front of 10,000 spectators. Two more subsequent England matches saw Scotland win 5-4 and 5-1, watched by crowds of 12,000 and 10,000.
In 1873 the Scottish Football Association (SFA) was formed and the Scottish Cup established. The SFA is the second oldest national football association in the world and the Cup is the second oldest association football competition, both only preceded by their English counterparts. Queen's Park were a founding member of the SFA, along with seven other clubs: Third Lanark, Clydesdale, Vale of Leven, Dumbreck, Eastern, Granville and Kilmarnock. Only Queen's Park and Kilmarnock survive today as clubs playing in professional leagues. In 1890, the Scottish Football League (SFL) was formed with eleven clubs: Third Lanark, Abercorn, Cambuslang, Celtic, Cowlairs, Dumbarton, Heart of Midlothian, Rangers, Renton, St Mirren and Vale of Leven. In 1893, the League expanded with sufficient further clubs to form a second division – the origins of the organisation of modern Scottish Football.
As founding members of the SFA and SFL, Queen's Park played a central role in the development of Scottish Football. The pavilion of First Hampden is therefore significant through its association with Queen's Park and in the role it has played in the modern game.
Football is recognised as the national sport of Scotland and continues to hold deep connections within and across communities. The remains of the pavilion at First Hampden is a link to the earliest days of Association football and its importance to and impact on communities. It is a monument to the national game and a football ground that served as a blueprint for the future development of the modern football stadium.