Cathkin Park: The 'second Hampden' that once hosted Scottish Cup finals awarded historic monument status
Cathkin Park - a historic part of Scottish football history - has been given scheduled monument status.
It has been dubbed Glasgow’s ‘second Hampden’ - a historic football stadium that once played host to Scottish Cup finals in the late 19th century.
Now Cathkin Park’s place in Scottish football history has been honoured, with the venue awarded scheduled monument status by Historic Environment Scotland (HES).
Just a half mile north of Scotland’s national stadium Hampden Park, the old terraces remain surrounding a historic pitch that was home to local teams Queen’s Park and Third Lanark in its heyday.
Situated in Glasgow’s southside, the site once hosted a 50,000-capacity stadium first used by Queen’s Park in 1883-84 that was initially known as Hampden Park.
Described as a rare example of a late 19th to early 20th-century football stadium, with its surviving terracing and embankments, Cathkin Park is one of the few pitches to survive without major modernisation.
HES said the venue captured an era before modern safety practices when tens of thousands of supporters stood in packed out terraces to watch their favourite teams in action.
Dara Parsons, head of designations at HES, said: “Scotland is recognised as a pioneering nation in the development of football, and Cathkin Park played a key part in that story.
“We’re pleased to be able to acknowledge that history by designating the site as a scheduled monument to ensure its significance can be protected and celebrated.”
Cathkin, now a public park, had been named after the original Hampden - now the site of Hampden Bowling Club - and hosted Scottish Cup finals between 1885 and 1899.
Queen’s Park relocated from the site in 1903, with the venue becoming the home ground for Third Lanark. Both Queen’s Park and Third Lanark were among the eight founding member clubs of the Scottish Football Association.
A new stadium was built on the site in 1904 and renamed New Cathkin Park. Third Lanark would continue to play at the venue until going bankrupt and folding in 1967 following the club’s final senior game - a 3-3 draw with Queen of the South.
The stadium was subsequently abandoned, with the grandstands later dismantled. The ground was bought by the local authority, which retained the pitch for public use.
A consortium had put forward plans in 2017 to redevelop Cathkin Park into a modern footballing centre with a 2,000-seat stand, all-weather pitch, changing facilities and floodlights, but the project was not realised.
Ged O’Brien, founder of the Scottish Football Museum, said: “It is hard to understate the importance of this stadium. Two founders of modern world football played on this site. It exists as a crucial example of the way in which Scotland developed the concept of the early modern football stadium.
“Cathkin Park is a living monument to Scotland’s influence on many stadiums around the world.”
A Talking About Heritage survey has been launched by HES to invite public comment on sites such as Cathkin Park. The survey will run until December 7.
Mr Parsons said: “Heritage is everything we inherit from the past that shapes who we are today, and Scotland has a rich footballing history that is culturally significant across communities today.
“We’d love to hear more about what sites like Cathkin Park mean to people and their communities, and would encourage people to get involved by taking our Talking About Heritage survey.”
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