<< Our Photo Pages >> The Govan Stones - Museum in Scotland in North Lanarkshire
Submitted by Anne T on Sunday, 12 March 2023 Page Views: 39522
MuseumsSite Name: The Govan Stones Alternative Name: Govan Old ChurchCountry: Scotland County: North Lanarkshire Type: Museum
Nearest Town: Glasgow Nearest Village: Govan
Map Ref: NS55346590 Landranger Map Number: 64
Latitude: 55.864503N Longitude: 4.313122W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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AstroGeologist visited on 3rd Jul 2019 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Gobhain :
A fantastic collection of First Millennium Carved Stones. Of particular interest are the :
°SUN STONE ; Thought to be a repurposed Neolithic Standing Stone, this weathered Sandstone Menhir is nearly 1.7m tall. On one side there is a carved cross with Celtic style knotwork, below this is a Man hunting on a Horse (Similar to the ones seen on the Jordanhill Cross shaft and the Govan Sarcophagus)
On the opposite side of the stone is a Spiral Boss from which four Snakes swirl around it. Below this is a fret pattern carved into a square panel. The stone tapers towards a tenon at the top.
°SANDSTONE SARCOPHAGUS ; Officially this is said to have belonged to the 9th century Pictish King "Constantín Mac Cináeda", now called "Constantine I".
Some though think it may have belonged to a Brittonic Chieftain of Alt Clut called "Artur MacAeden", who died in the 6th century and later inspired the King Arthur stories.
When it was re-discovered in 1855 it had no lid and was empty. Possibly emptied by the Vikings after they settled the area, or perhaps it was emptied centuries before or after, we will never know.
This is unique in that is the only pre-norman Sarcophagus in Briton. Fantastic to look at in photo's, different ball game seeing it up close though. The carvings are superb, although the man on the horse is looking a little worse for wear when compared to older photographs.
°5 VIKING HOGBACKS : The largest collection of Hogbacks outside of Brompton. 4 of these are the largest Hogbacks discovered to date (Each weighing 1/2 ton) the other smaller one was loaned to the British Museum for the 'Vikings : life and legend' exhibition in 2014, although it is back home now.
Known Hogback sites : There is one Hogback in Eire, one in Wales, several sites across Scotland and a lot of sites found around the Yorkshire area.
*Getting There ; A 2 minute walk from Govan Subway station.
Come out the station and keep walking along Govan Road without turning, (Heading NW) you'll pass Water Row & Pearce Street before seeing the entrance way to the church on your right hand side.
Bobeds visited on 1st Jan 2019 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5
Anne T visited on 29th Oct 2018 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5 The Govan Stones, Govan Old Church: We only found out about this exhibition/display through a chance email to Glasgow Life, enquiring if St Mungo's Museum of Religious Life and Art next to Glasgow Cathedral had any early Christian stones we could see and photograph. They replied 'no' but told us about The Govan Stones. With only a few days to go before the exhibition closed for the winter on 31st October, we rushed to see it at the first opportunity, and were blown away!
We spent about 2 hours here, wandering around, looking at the stones, hogbacks and the sarcophagus. A guide joined us for part of our visit and put on special lights in which to view the sarcophagus.
I photographed most of the stones, and am still trying to find out more about each one. This exhibition deserves to be much, much wider known than it currently is. It is the best display of early Christian stones that we've seen to date, and I would go again in a heart-beat.
Very, very highly recommended indeed.
Since my visit, I've been in touch with Govan Heritage Trust to find out more information about the stones. They have been immensely helpful and even provided some of the photographs for submission here.
joedkins visited on 19th Jun 2011 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4 This is a Victorian church but it contains over 30 superb carved stones and a carved sarcophagus dating from around 10th century or earlier. They were taken from the churchyard. The boundary of the churchyard is curved, showing the site was originally a Celtic religious site. The quality of the stone carving (hogbacks, Celtic knots, mounted figures, snakes) is so good that it is thought they were monuments to kings of Strathclyde. There is limited opening - Wed, Thurs, Sat during summer monts. See http://www.govanold.org.uk/
Rkphenix visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 2 Access: 5
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.6 Ambience: 4 Access: 4.8
The Govan Stones is a unique and remarkable collection of early medieval stones carved between the 9th-11th centuries to commemorate the power of those who ruled the Kingdom of Strathclyde. One of Glasgow’s most important historical and cultural assets.
Explore the 31 monuments within the beautiful setting of Govan Old Church, home to the Govan Stones which include crosses, cross slabs, 5 of the largest and most complete hogback stones in the UK & the Govan Sarcophagus.
For more information click on: The Govan Stones for their website;
Address: 866 - 868 Govan Road, Govan, G51 3UU;
Phone: 0141 440 2466;
Opening Hours: 1pm-4pm every day, April 1st to October 31st each year;
Admission: Free.
For group visits and guided tours, please email 'info@thegovanstones.org.uk' in advance of your visit.
Lost carvings of the ancient Kingdom of Strathclyde are uncovered in Govan Graveyard. Final day of tours, workshops and events this Saturday while the dig is on. More below on our page.
Note: Early medieval Govan Stone rediscovered, more on our page
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