Botanic Gardens railway station

Infobox UK disused station
name = Botanic Gardens
other_name =

---

caption = Botanic Gardens railway station in 2007
line = Glasgow Central Railway
manager = Caledonian Railway
locale = Kelvinside
borough = Glasgow
years = 10 August 1896
events = Opened
years1 = 2 February 1939
events1 = Closed to passengers
years2 = 5 October 1964
events2 = Line closed
years3 = 22 March 1970
events3 = Station building destroyed by fire
years4 =
events4 =
platforms = 2

Botanic Gardens railway station was a railway station serving the Botanic Gardens located in the Kelvinside area in the West End of Glasgow.

History

The station was opened on 10 August 1896 by the Glasgow Central Railway.Butt, page 40] Although the station building was on ground level, the actual station platforms were underground, beneath the Glasgow Botanic Gardens. It was closed between 1 January 1917 and 2 March 1919 due to wartime economy, and closed permanently to passengers on 6 February 1939, with the line being closed on 5 October 1964.

Architecture

The station building was an ornate red brick structure with two towers sporting a clock and Caledonian Railway monogram and topped by domes reminiscent of a Russian orthodox church. The extant, but disused, station building at Possil is of a similar design. It was a well known landmark along Great Western Road and was designed by the renowned Glasgow railway architect of the period, James Miller.Worsdall (1981), "Botanic Gardens Station, 740 Great Western Road". Page 142.]

Miller also designed the next station on the line at Kelvinbridge and went on to design the main buildings for the 1901 Glasgow International Exhibition in nearby Kelvingrove Park and the interiors of the famous Clyde Built ocean liners, the RMS Lusitania in 1907 and RMS Aquitania in 1914. Hints of features in these more famous designs could be found in the building.

Use following closure

The building was converted into shops after the station's 1939 closure and by the late 1960s was occupied by a popular cafe called 'The Silver Slipper', a nightclub called 'Sgt. Peppers' and a plumbers shop, 'Morton's'. It was ravaged by fire on the night of 22 March 1970.

Destruction by fire

Local Glasgow newspapers, the Evening Times and the Evening Citizen, of 23 March 1970 stated the fire started after a 'Battle of the Bands' contest had been held in the nightclub and it was likely someone had left a cigarette burning in the attic as it was primarily the roof space that had burned resulting in the decision of the Fire Brigade to pull down the two domed towers for safety reasons the following day. The cafe owner's German Shepherd dog died of smoke inhalation but no person was injured.

Despite the outer walls of the building remaining intact and the damage confined largely to the roof area, the decision was taken by the then Glasgow Corporation not undertake repairs and instead to completely demolish the building and leave the site derelict. At the time of the fire, plans were being considered to demolish the building as part of a controversial scheme to widen Great Western Road and this might lie behind the decision not to repair the building despite its prominent and recognisable presence in the West End for seventy-four years and its housing of three viable local businesses.

Today

The site of Botanic Gardens Station remains derelict to this day, almost forty years after the fire. The platforms still remain underground where they can be seen from above through still open airvents in the Botanic Gardens and the floor of the building is still visible within the fenced-off section of the gardens marking where it stood. The platforms are accessible via the tunnel portal at the Kirklee end of the Gardens. An abandoned tramway kiosk designed in the same style as the building and built in 1903 is still present at the site. The site is heavily overgrown, vandalised and dilapidated and is considered dangerous to enter. Urquhart, Chapter on West End Railways]

Redevelopment

In September 2007, it was reported plans are under consideration to redevelop the site as a Bar/Restaurant/Nightclub/Exhibition Space and miniature railway which would involve completely rebuilding the station building to its original design on its footprint, almost 40 years after it was destroyed. The plans were met with considerable opposition from local people who organised a campaign group largely objecting to the idea of a nightclub appearing in a tranquil place like the Gardens. [cite web
url = http://www.stv.tv/content/news/main/display.html?id=opencms:/news/Plans_to_build_botanic_gardens_ni_200709
title = Botanic gardens plans get green light
accessdate = 2007-11-04|]

It was reported on 17 April 2008 that the campaign against the plans had been successful and Glasgow City Council had abandoned the plans. There are no current plans to redevelop the site. [cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7352237.stm
title = Botanics nightclub plans scrapped
accessdate = 2008-05-02|]

Footnotes

References

*
* Urquhart, Gordon R. (2000). "Along Great Western Road: An Illustrated History of Glasgow's West End". Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 1840331151.
* Worsdall, Frank (1981), "The City That Disappeared: Glasgow's Demolished Architecture". Glasgow: Richard Drew Publishing. ISBN 0-904002-69-1.

External links

* [http://www.urbanassault.t83.net/#/botanicgardenstation/4530053280/ Exploring Botanic Gardens Railway Station]
* [http://www.theglasgowstory.com/imageview.php?inum=TGSA00629 Postcard] depicting station building in 1906.
* [http://www.scotart.com/trams1.html Photograph] showing Edwardian tram passing the station building the 1950s, showing its post-closure use.
* [http://www.hiddenglasgow.com/rail/botanicgardens.htm Botanic Gardens] at Hidden Glasgow
* [http://ccgi.ewanbeth.force9.co.uk/cgi-bin/images/location.php?photographer=Colin_Harkins&loc=Botanic+Gardens RAILSCOT pictures on platforms]
* [http://www.d-white.org.uk/metal/view.php?gallery=29 David White's] Link Not Working 240408
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