Victorian Winter Gardens

Glasgow's People's Palace and Kibble Palace at the Botanic Gardens

Victorian Glaswegians loved their greenhouses or so-called “winter gardens” because they combined two passions: adopting emerging technology and collecting landscape specimens (not to mention providing a place to get out of the rain). The glass and cast iron Kibble Palace in the Botanic Gardens was originally constructed on a lach outside Glasgow in the 1860s. It was moved to its present location, about a five-minute walk from our flat, in 1873 and landscaped. By the early 2000s, the building was in such a dilapidated state that it had to be totally dismantled, restored, and reconstructed. Another favorite winter garden beckons at the other end of the city on Glasgow Green, attached to the People’s Palace, a Victorian pile that houses a museum of social history of Glasgow (particularly life among the poorer folk during the early 20^th century). And one of the best parts - free admission to all. Walking through either of these soaring, fragrant gardens on a rainy day takes us to the tropics.

Glasgow's People's Palace