Oh my god, just imagine this! I was walking alone through Sighthill Cemetery, right? And all of a sudden, I saw this guy with his whole face covered, a mask covering his entire face, riding a bike, straight towards me. At first I thought, “Wait a minute, I’m the only one here! What if he tries to snatch my phone?” I started to think, “Well, maybe I should put my phone inside my bag and get ready to run.” But then I thought, “No, just walk; you’re fine.” And guess what? He was totally fine!

I visited Sighthill Cemetery on a Sunday afternoon because the sun was still shining bright and beautiful. I was really looking forward to taking pictures of the cemetery, reading about it and sharing all this information with you on the blog. And I am so glad I finally did it after having passed by here like 100 times. It was quite an adventure!

So what is Sighthill Cemetery in Glasgow all about?

Sighthill Cemetery is a very old cemetery in the heart of Glasgow. It has been around since 1840. Can you believe it? It is still active, which indicates that people still use it for various purposes. There is even a working crematorium. It is located in the Sighthill neighbourhood, just off the A803 Springburn Road. It is between Cowlairs Park and Petershill Park, just north of the city centre. And to the north, it is bordered by Keppochhill Road.

The gates are beautiful and were designed by John Stephen of Scott, Stephen & Gale in 1839. They are in a very sophisticated Greek style. The cemetery opened in 1840 and the first burial took place on 24 April of that year.

The cemetery also has some very famous people buried there! Among them are Andrew White, John Baird and Andrew HardieThey were all involved in the 'radical rising' of 1820. They were executed for treason, which is very intense. They were originally buried in paupers' graves in Stirling, but in 1847 their remains were brought back to Glasgow and reburied at Sighthill. Andrew White was actually one of nineteen people whose death sentences were commuted. He was sent to Australia, but returned to Scotland years later and died in Glasgow Royal Infirmary in 1872.

And then there's Duncan Brown, a very talented amateur photographer who lived from 1819 to 1897. His work gives us a glimpse of what life was like in Glasgow between 1850 and 1890. Isn't that fascinating?

Notable burials:

George A. Walker Arnott (1799–1868), botanist
Andres Bonar (1810–1892), Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland
Thomas Barclay (1792–1873), director of University of Glasgow
James Hedderwick (1814–1897), newspaper editor
Robert Jamieson (1802–1880), Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
John Mitchell (1786–1881) was a Glasgow merchant and shipowner, known as “the father of Glasgow City Council”.
Juan Mossman (1817–1890), sculptor
William Mossman (1793–1851), sculptor
James Seaton Reid (1798-1851), Irish-born academic
Sarah West (1790–1876), actress
William Rae Wilson (1817–1893), social reformer

Commonwealth Tombs

Identified victims of the First and Second World Wars.
Total number of identified victims: 116

Address: Springburn Rd, Glasgow, G21 1SE
Hours: Open 24 hours.

These photos were taken on July 28, 2024. I began my tour of the cemetery at 5:40 pm that Sunday.

I wish you all a happy new month.