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Govan

Areas of GlasgowBurghsCivil parishes of ScotlandDynamic listsGovan
Ports and harbours of ScotlandSource attributionUse British English from July 2015
Govan Town Hall 2021 April 9
Govan Town Hall 2021 April 9

Govan ( GUV-ən; Cumbric?: Gwovan?; Scots: Gouan; Scottish Gaelic: Baile a' Ghobhainn) is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick. Historically it was part of the County of Lanark. In the early medieval period, the site of the present Govan Old churchyard was established as a Christian centre for the Brittonic Kingdom of Alt Clut (Dumbarton Rock) and its successor realm, the Kingdom of Strathclyde. This latter kingdom, established in the aftermath of the Viking siege and capture of Alt Clut by Vikings from Dublin in AD 870, created the sandstone sculptures known today as the Govan Stones. Govan was the site of a ford and later a ferry which linked the area with Partick for seasonal cattle drovers. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, textile mills and coal mining were important; in the early-nineteenth century, shipbuilding emerged as Govan's principal industry. In 1864, Govan gained burgh status, and was the fifth-largest burgh in Scotland. It was incorporated into the City of Glasgow in 1912.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Govan (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Govan
Orkney Street, Glasgow Ibrox

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Wikipedia: GovanContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 55.8615 ° E -4.3083 °
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Orkney Street

Orkney Street
G51 2WW Glasgow, Ibrox
Scotland, United Kingdom
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Govan Town Hall 2021 April 9
Govan Town Hall 2021 April 9
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Nearby Places

Govan Old Parish Church
Govan Old Parish Church

Govan Old Parish Church is the name of the original parish church serving Govan in Glasgow from the 5th or 6th century AD until 2007. In that year, the Church of Scotland united the two Govan congregations with Linthouse and established the parish church at Govan Cross, making Govan Old redundant. Govan Old is no longer used for regular Sunday services, but the building remains a place of worship with a daily morning service and is open to visitors in the afternoons. The church, dedicated to a Saint Constantine, occupies a Scottish Gothic Revival building of national significance (A-Listed by Historic Environment Scotland) within a churchyard designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument (Historic Environment Scotland). The church houses an internationally-significant collection of early medieval sculpture, known as the Govan Stones. All the carved stones come from the churchyard and include the Govan Sarcophagus, four upstanding crosses with figurative and interlace decoration, five Anglo-Scandinavian hogbacks, and a wide range of recumbent burial monuments, all seemingly dating to the 9th - 11th centuries AD. Govan Old and the Govan Stones museum are open daily between April 1st and October 31st from 1pm-4pm (visitors can contact the museum to arrange tours in the off season). Admission to the museum is free, although there is the option for visitors to make donations, and a small gift shop inside including books and local handicrafts which raises money for the upkeep of the property and its collections.