Great Western Road is the tree-lined, boulevard of Glasgow - it forms part of the A82 running from Glasgow to Inverness - the title Great Western Road applying only to the first six miles.
Great Western Road begins at St. Georges Cross, passing the high spires of St Mary's Cathedral and Lansdowne Church, crossing the River Kelvin Bridge and continuing to Anniesland, Knightswood and Garscadden. The middle two miles contain some of the finest examples of the Victorian architecture of Glasgow. This was where the tobacco, iron, coal and shipping 'Barons' built their homes to escape the pollution of the old inner city.
The entrance gates and lodge houses of the Botanic Gardens at the junction of Great Western Road and Queen Margaret Drive are examples of the Victorian elegance. The Botanic Gardens have been on this site since 1842 and a visit is recommended - particularly to the Kibble Palace and other glass houses with their collections of tropical and sub-tropical plants.
 Flower
beds and Glasshouses
in the Botanic Gardens in Glasgow |
Across the road from the Botanic Gardens is Grosvenor Terrace - a fine example of Victorian grandeur with row after row of arched windows built in the mid 1800's. The Hilton Hotel is located at the junction with Byres Road. The predecessor of the Hilton was the Grosvenor Hotel, owned by Sir Reo Stakis - although this was burned down the facade was retained.
Next is Kew Terrace lacking any great architectural importance other than Doric columns flanking the porticoes. Kew Terrace continues into the similar Belhaven Terrace East .
Across Great Western Road from Kew and Belhaven Terraces is Kirklee Terrace with another set of imposing villas set on a slight elevation and adjoining the grounds of the Botanic Gardens. This Terrace was formerly named Windsor Terrace and it includes a stand-alone mansion called Windsor House. It was at Number 1, the nearest villa to the Botanic Gardens, that Mr. John McDonald resided - one of the founding partners of Stewart and McDonald which became the House of Fraser.
Belhaven Terrace follows which is mostly used as Halls of Residence for students at Glasgow University.
 Terraced
Houses in Kelvinside
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Next is Great Western Terrace designed during the 1870's by the renowned architect Alexander 'Greek' Thomson. A famous resident of this terrace was the shipping magnate Sir William Burrell - best remembered as an art collector and creator of the Burrell Collection now held in a specially designed gallery in the grounds of Pollok Country Park.
On the south side of Great Western Road is Lancaster Terrace, a small row of three villas with large Egyptian sarcophagi adorning the doorways and on the north side of Great Western Road is Lancaster Crescent with a sweeping curve of luxurious villas many now owned by the Faculty of Medicine of Glasgow University.
 Villa
in Kelvinside
|
Finally, at the junction of Great Western Road with Hyndland Road and Cleveden Road, there is a set of individually designed, stand-alone villas. However there is still some commercial property in this area - the first building past the junction is One Devonshire Gardens - one of the most sumptuous hotels in Scotland.The entire area is full of interesting features - it is in this location that many scenes for movie and TV productions ( eg the Glasgow detective series 'Taggart' ) have been filmed.
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