Necropolis
The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow built on a low but very prominent hill to the east of Glasgow Cathedral. Fifty thousand individuals are buried here but only about 3500 monuments stand on the site. A statue of John Knox sits on a column at the top of the hill and other tombs, crypts and architectural features, designed by the likes of Alexander Thomson, John Bryce and David Hamilton pack the hillside. The main entrance is approached by a bridge over what was originally the Molendinar Burn. This bridge became known locally as the "Bridge of Sighs" because it was part of the route of funeral processions. The Glasgow Necropolis has been described as “literally as a city of the dead".
In 2016, a two metre tall sandstone monument that I designed for the Society of William Wallace was installed commemorating William Wallace’s skirmish with English troops occupying the nearby Glasgow Castle. According to an enduring tradition, this fight, which became known as “The Battle of the Bell o’ the Brae”, occurred in July 1297 and resulted in Wallace’s small force routing 1000 soldiers of the castle’s garrison. Here, Wallace’s spirit stands by the monument, recognised at last.
It is Glasgow’s first ever statue to Wallace, a fact I am immensely proud of.