Southern Necropolis Funerary Monuments, 316, Caledonia Road, Gorbals

Cemetery opened 1840, extended to east in 1846, given gate lodge in 1848 and extended to west in 1850. Containing series of high quality stone monuments, including those to Alexander Thomson and Charles Wilson. Divided into Western, Central and Eastern divisions. Boundary walls mostly ashlar, droved to street with ashlar coping. (Historic Scotland)

The Southern Necropolis replaced the old burial ground of the village of Gorbals, first established in 1770, where, by the late 1830s, all bought lairs were full and mass burial pits had had to be used during the cholera outbreak of 1832. At a public meeting in November 1839 it was proposed that the Southern Necropolis be established to "enable the working classses to become proprietors of burying places similar to those in the Necropolis, or Sighthill". By 1846 all the cheap lairs is the central section had been purchased and it was decided upon to buy more lairs, largely for cheap lairs. These too were quickly purchased and more land was purchased in later years. (Southern Necropolis Research)

September 2010: Inspection finds the funerary monuments are in very poor condition. Some are leaning but many lie flat. Some are broken into pieces. Sometimes the pieces are stacked together, in other areas they are heaped at random or strewn across the grass.

25 October 2013: Local planners report the site remains in much the same condition as previously seen.

25 March 2014: Inspection finds the site remains in much the same condition as seen previously with many monuments toppled or leaning.

24 May 2023: External inspection finds that the monuments and grave markers remain in similar condition. There is dense vegetation growth on some sections of the walls where mounted grave markers have been covered. Some of the freestanding grave markers are also covered by vegetation growth. A number of markers mounted into the boundary wall masonry are damaged or are no longer intact.