The buried remains of a football pavilion at the first Hampden Park are to be protected from the threat of development, thanks to the timely intervention of Historic Environment Scotland which plans to designate the site as a scheduled monument.
   The foundations of the pavilion, which stood at Hampden for just five years between 1878 and 1883, are the only tangible surviving elements of what is thought to be the world's first stadium which was purpose-built for association football. It is a fascinating story that deserves to be examined in detail.
   Hampden Park, in the south of Glasgow, opened in 1903 and is well known as Scotland's national football stadium, but it is the third stadium of that name and its origins go back three decades earlier to the summer of 1873. That was when Queen's Park Football Club took the inspired decision to build a ground of their own.
   Founded in 1867, Queen's Park had previously played on open recreation ground but the rapid growth in football's popularity, demonstrated by the crowds that flocked to the first international match in 1872, convinced them they needed somewhere to call home. A dedicated ground would also enable them to charge for admission, providing money for further development.
   After much lobbying, they persuaded Glasgow Council to lease an area of open ground off the Cathcart Road called Hampden Park after the nearest street to the south, Hampden Terrace. The club put up a wooden fence to enclose their playing area, built a modest wooden pavilion, and opened for business with a Scottish Cup tie against Dumbreck on 25 October 1873, winning 7-0.
   Hampden Park was unique, a place where football was king, unlike other grounds which had been created primarily to host sports such as cricket and athletics, with football only allowed as an afterthought. As such, the Queen's Park innovators created a template which was quickly copied as other football clubs saw the benefits of having their own ground, where they could cash in on the growing fervour for football.
   Queen's Park continued to invest in improvements, notably in 1876 when they built a grandstand along the length of one side, where they could charge extra in return for an improved view of the pitch. And the next thing they needed was a better pavilion, to replace the small stripping hut which had stood since the beginning.
   They found the answer thanks to the misfortune of others: in the autumn of 1877 Caledonian Cricket Club, which also played football and lacrosse, was ejected from their ground at Kelvinbridge as the landlords had sold the site for the new Glasgow Academy buildings.
   Caledonian CC had erected a superb new pavilion just two years earlier but it was now surplus to requirements. Queen's Park knew it well as they had played a Scottish Cup tie there in October 1876, so they saw an opportunity. They made the cricket club an offer of £65 for the building - surely much less than it originally cost - and undertook to dismantle it and move it to Hampden. It was a brave but inspired decision, as although the cost of removing and rebuilding eventually added up to £239, it meant that in February 1878 Queen's Park had a pavilion to be proud of.
   It was completed just in time, as Hampden Park was shortly to host its first international matches: against England on 2 March 1878, then against Wales three weeks later. Both ended in comprehensive victories, with scores that would be unthinkable today: 7-2 v England, 9-0 v Wales.
   The pavilion was opened with little fanfare, and although there is a single surviving photo (above) which probably shows the opening ceremony, there was no mention of the new building in the press. However, it is possible to build up a picture of its layout and style.
​​   It was an impressive construction, raised on an embankment with solid foundations, a timber-clad frame and a slate roof with decorative woodwork. A few steps led up to a large entrance vestibule, which had doors to two spacious dressing rooms, each with running water and windows facing the pitch.

Some views of the pavilion and its surroundings at Hampden Park were published in 1882 in a humorous book, Free Kicks at Football, which is available at Glasgow University Special Collections.
   The building was erected just in time, as the original wooden pavilion fell down in September 1879, when spectators sitting on its roof caused it to collapse.
   With the best facilities and a capacity for over ten thousand spectators, Hampden Park had become the principal football stadium in Scotland, and continued to host the internationals against England and Wales, which came along in 1880 and 1882. In all, Scotland played six matches at first Hampden and won them all, never scoring less than five goals in any of the games. It was also the venue for Scottish Cup finals in 1874, 1875, 1877 (second replay), 1878, 1879 and 1883, not to mention numerous high profile Queen's Park games.
   More broadly, having a 'home of Scottish football' gave the game considerable impetus and allowed it to develop rapidly, beyond all recognition. This was a period when Scotland dominated football on the field of play, the English in particular having no answer to the passing game that, in time, came to characterise the 'Scotch professor'.
   However, the life of first Hampden was cut short in 1883, when the Caledonian Railway published its plans for a new route that would cut right through the football ground, which the club still leased from the Council. The last major match to be played there was the Glasgow Charity Cup final on 19 May 1883, when Queen's Park beat Rangers 4-1 in front of a crowd estimated at over 10,000.

The pavilion's life came to an end in 1903 when Queen's Park moved once again, constructing the gigantic arena that we now know as Hampden Park, the third to bear that name.
   The club was forced to sell the pavilion piecemeal after misguidedly turning down an offer of £350 from Third Lanark for the building. It was broken up for its materials,  fetching just £73 and 10 shillings, much less than its market value. 

Footnote: Hampden Bowling Club and its pavilion

It had long been claimed by members of Hampden Bowling Club (now closed) that their pavilion was the same as the original football pavilion. This has now been proven to be a myth, as it was built new in 1905. HES have recognised this, and have turned down a request to designate the Bowling Club pavilion as a listed building.
   The HES proposal to designate the site of the first Hampden pavilion covers only a part of Kingsley Gardens, and the area occupied by the bowling club grounds has been excluded.

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Thanks

This article would not have been possible without the input of a number of football historians, and I acknowledge with thanks the work done by Phil Martin, Frank McCrossan and Ged O'Brien in particular.


Update - 13 May 2026

Historic Environment Scotland has confirmed that the site of the Hampden pavilion has been designated as a scheduled monument, following a public consultation.
​ See https://www.historicenvironment.scot/about-us/news/historic-site-of-first-hampden-scores-scheduled-status/