Pollok Country Park
Encyclopedia
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
located in Pollok
Pollok
Pollok is a large district on the south-western side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It was built to house families from the overcrowded inner city...
, south Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. Prior to the building of the M77 motorway
M77 motorway
The M77 motorway is a motorway in Scotland. It originally began in southern Glasgow at the M8 motorway at Kinning park, and terminates near Kilmarnock at the village of Fenwick. However, changes were made in autumn 2005 segregating a lane on the M8 motorway almost as far as the Kingston Bridge,...
it was the largest urban green space in Europe. In 2007 it was named the best park in Britain. Furthermore, in 2008, it was named the Best Park in Europe, beating off strong competition from parks in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
History and features
The park was originally part of the Old Pollok Estate, which was home to the Maxwell family for over 700 years. In 1966 Mrs Anne Maxwell Macdonald gifted the estate, including Pollok HousePollok House
Pollok House is the ancestral home of the Maxwell family, located in Pollok Country Park, Glasgow, Scotland.The house - built in 1752 and designed by William Adam - was gifted to the City of Glasgow in 1966 by Dame Anne Maxwell Macdonald, whose family had owned the estate for almost 700 years...
, to Glasgow Corporation with the condition that it remained a public park. In 1878 the Poloc Cricket Club
Poloc Cricket Club
Poloc Cricket Club is a cricket club based at Pollok Country Park in south Glasgow, Scotland.The club has approximately 220 members who participating in cricket, tennis and winter golf. The club's "Shawholm" ground encompasses the cricket oval, three all-weather tennis courts, and the world's...
was established. In 1954 it also became home to Pollokshaws Bowling Club
Pollokshaws Bowling Club
-History:Pollokshaws Bowling Club was formed in 1854.In 1888, Nicol Cameron of Pollokshaws Bowling Club was elected the inaugural President of the Glasgow Bowling Association....
, the land donated by Sir John Maxwell Stirling-Maxwell
John Maxwell Stirling-Maxwell
Sir John Maxwell Stirling-Maxwell, 10th Baronet, of Pollok, KT was a Scottish Tory politician and philanthropist.The eldest son of Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, 9th Baronet and Lady Anna Maria Leslie-Melville, second daughter of David Leslie-Melville, 8th Earl of Leven and Elizabeth Anne Campbell,...
of Pollok House. The club, an important part of the local community, moved across Pollokshaws Road to celebrate its centenary.
The park also contains the Burrell Collection
Burrell Collection
The Burrell Collection is an art collection in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated in Pollok Country Park on the south side of the city.-History:...
, a purpose-built building designed to hold the large, eclectic antique and art collection of shipping magnate William Burrell
William Burrell
Sir William Burrell was a Glaswegian shipping merchant and philanthropist. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1861. He was the third of nine children in a family, which ran a shipping business....
, who donated the collection to the City of Glasgow on his death. Another feature of interest is the award-winning fold of Highland cattle
Highland cattle
Highland cattle or kyloe are a Scottish breed of beef cattle with long horns and long wavy coats which are coloured black, brindled, red, yellow or dun....
. This fold is the most accessible of this species for the majority of Scots. In 2004, three mountain biking
Mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...
routes were opened by Olympic cyclist Chris Hoy
Chris Hoy
Sir Christopher Andrew "Chris" Hoy, MBE is a Scottish track cyclist representing Great Britain and Scotland. He is a multiple world champion and Olympic Games gold medal winner...
. Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police is the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council areas of Argyll and Bute, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West...
's mounted and dog-handling divisions are based in the park.
Protests
In the early 1990s the park was the site of a road protestRoad protest (UK)
Road protest in the United Kingdom usually occurs as a reaction to a stated intention by the empowered authorities to build a new road, or to modify an existing road. Protests may also be made by those wishing to see new roads built or improvements made to existing roads. Motivations for protests...
camp, the "Pollok Free State", which attempted to prevent the M77 motorway from cutting through the south west side of the park and separating it from the nearby housing schemes. The road cost £53 million and destroyed 5000 trees in a seven mile stretch of the park. Protesters, including local schoolchildren, attempted to prevent this using tactics like building and occupying treehouses and tunnels. There was also a "Carhenge" of burnt-out and half-buried cars, from as far afield as Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, placed in the path of the road. Eviction of the camp by Wimpey
George Wimpey
George Wimpey was formed in 1880 and, based in Hammersmith, operated largely as a road surfacing contractor. The business was acquired by Godfrey Mitchell in 1919 and he developed it into the UK’s pre-eminent construction and housebuilding firm. In 2007, Wimpey merged with Taylor Woodrow to create...
bailiffs and police began on 23 March 1995, leading to 15 arrests and one injury. Though the camp failed to prevent the road being built, it was a formative experience for many Glasgow activists who had no previous experience of direct action. It also led to the resignation of M.P. Allan Stewart
Allan Stewart (politician)
Allan Stewart , is a former Scottish Conservative politician.Educated at Bell Baxter High School, St. Andrews University and Harvard University, where he obtained a first class degree, he was a lecturer in Political Economy at St. Andrews before unsuccessfully standing for the Dundee East...
.
In early 2008 a campaign to "Save Pollok Park" had to be formed, protesting against outdoor adventure company Go Ape. The company was invited by Glasgow City Council to enhance outdoor recreational activities within the park. Over five thousand residents objected to the proposals to site a high wire forest adventure in the ancient North Wood.