 The stadium site, now Hampden Bowling Club | |
  Hampden Park Location within Glasgow council area | |
| Location | Crosshill,Scotland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 55°49′49″N4°15′24″W / 55.8304°N 4.2566°W /55.8304; -4.2566 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Opened | 25 October 1873 |
| Closed | 1883 |
| Tenants | |
| Queen's Park Scotland national football team | |
Hampden Park was afootball ground inCrosshill,Renfrewshire (now part ofGlasgow). The home ground ofQueen's Park from 1873 until 1883, it was the first of three stadiums to bear the same name, and hosted the first-everScottish Cup final in 1874.
Hampden Park was built between the Queen's Park Recreation Ground (where the club had played until then)[1][2] and Hampden Terrace, taking its name from the road. The first enclosed stadium with turnstiles in theUnited Kingdom,[3] it was opened on 25 October 1873 for Queen Park's first-ever competitive match, aScottish Cupfirst round tie againstDumbreck,[4] with Queen's Park winning 7–0.[5] The ground later hosted the firstScottish Cup final,[4] which saw Queen's Park beatClydesdale 2–0. It was subsequently used to host the finals in1875,1876 (the replay),1877 (the second replay),1878,1879 (the final and the replay),1880 and1883 (the final and replay).
Hampden was used to host severalScotland international matches; it was first used on 2 March 1878 for a 7–2 win againstEngland, and a 9–0 win againstWales followed on 23 March.[6] It hosted four more matches, the last being a 5–0 win over Wales on 25 March 1882.[7][8]
In 1883 the club left Hampden Park due to plans by theCaledonian Railway to build theCathcart branch across the site[5] (Cathcart Road, which had run to the west of the ground, was also rerouted between Queen Mary Avenue and Prospecthill Road to run alongside the new railway lines); they moved a few hundred metres east to a new ground, which they also namedHampden Park.[9] However, it was not ready until 1884, until which home matches were played at theTitwood cricket ground owned byClydesdale Cricket Club.[9] In 1903 Queen's Park moved again to the currentHampden Park, with the second Hampden taken over byThird Lanark and renamedCathkin Park.[9]
The site of the first Hampden Park is now occupied by railway lines, Hampdenlawn bowling club and Kingsley Gardens.[2][10][11][12] Its precise location was uncertain until 2017 when a map of the railway plans was found which showed the line's route across the pitch.[13] An archaeological dig was conducted at the site in 2021 in an effort to more fully establish the layout and structures and uncover historical artifacts.[14][15][16]
In 2019 a mural was painted onto the rear wall of the clubhouse by Glasgow-based artist Ashley Rawson, on the theme of Scotland's 5–1 win over England in March 1882, featuring portraits of playersCharles Campbell andAndrew Watson.[17][18]
