Scotland's oldest museum, opened in 1807 on William Hunter's bequest, in the university's Gothic building on Gilmorehill: Roman stones, dinosaurs and Kelvin's instruments, free.
High on Gilmorehill, inside the Gothic main building of the University of Glasgow, is the oldest museum in Scotland.
Visited and photographed by Simon Hird
It opened in 1807, built on the bequest of Dr William Hunter, a Glasgow student who became a leading anatomist and physician to Queen Charlotte in London, and it came up the hill to George Gilbert Scott's new university building in 1870.
The main hall is a long gallery under a timber roof, with iron balconies on either side and a skeleton at its heart. The Hunterian now holds well over a million things, from meteorites to mummies. Look for the Bearsden Shark, a coin of Cleopatra, a Chinese map of the world, fossils and dinosaurs, Lord Kelvin's scientific instruments, and the carved stones of the Antonine Wall, Rome's final frontier, in the gallery under the dome. Entry is free. Leave time for the lamplit cloisters below the museum on the way out.
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Entry is free.
The museum is in the main Gilbert Scott Building on the Gilmorehill campus; Hillhead and Kelvinbridge subway stations are the nearest, and the 4 and 4A buses stop close by. There is a lift, though the balcony needs a member of staff to work it, and there are accessible toilets with baby changing. Check the Hunterian's notices for closures.
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The Hunterian opened in 1807 on the bequest of Dr William Hunter, a former Glasgow student who became an anatomist, obstetrician and physician to Queen Charlotte. He left the university his collection and money to build a museum for it.
When the university left the old town for Gilmorehill, the collections came too, into the new main building designed by George Gilbert Scott, where they have been since 1870.
Under the dome is the Hunterian's gallery on the Antonine Wall, the frontier Rome built across Scotland, with the carved stones its builders set up.
Among the fossils is the Bearsden Shark, alongside a coin of Cleopatra, a Chinese map of the world, dinosaurs and the scientific instruments of Lord Kelvin.
The Hunterian's collections run to more than a million items, from meteorites and mummies to the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, shown in its art gallery across University Avenue.
As Scotland’s oldest public museum, drawing in wide-eyed visitors since way back in 1807, the Hunterian occupies a special place in Glasgow’s cultural pantheon. It’s essentially a university collection – one of the finest on the planet – but you don’t need to be an undergraduate to enjoy the superb array of historical, scientific and ethnographic exhibits on show.
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What is on in GlasgowThe main building of the University of Glasgow on Gilmorehill, in the West End.
University of GlasgowUnder a mile 1 min by road
Byres RoadThe high street of the West End, a few minutes west.Under a mile 1 min by road
HillheadThe Victorian suburb over the road from the university.Under a mile 1 min by road
Ashton LaneA cobbled lane of 1890s stables, lit overhead, off Byres Road.Under a mile 2 min by road
Kelvingrove ParkPaxton's park of the 1850s along the Kelvin, below the university.1 mile 3 min by road
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and MuseumThe red sandstone museum of 1901 across the park, with a daily organ recital.1 mile 4 min by roadPlaces to stay near the museum, and when each is next free.
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The collections it is in and more in Glasgow.
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