Glasgow Cathedral is important because it is the only medieval cathedral on the Scottish mainland to have survived the Reformation of 1560 almost intact, and because it stands on the very spot where the city itself began. Built over the tomb of Saint Mungo, Glasgow’s founder and patron saint, it is the oldest building in the city and one of the finest medieval buildings in Scotland. There is more on our Glasgow Cathedral page.

Where Glasgow began

By tradition the Cathedral stands on the site of the little church that Saint Mungo built beside the Molendinar Burn in the sixth century, and over the place where he was buried. The settlement that became Glasgow grew up around his tomb. The first stone cathedral was raised by King David I and dedicated in 1136, and the great Gothic building we see today was mostly built across the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, the heart of medieval Glasgow.

The survivor of the Reformation

When the Reformation swept Scotland in 1560, most of the country’s great churches were stripped, ruined or pulled down. Glasgow Cathedral was spared, and survived complete and still roofed. Tradition holds that the city’s craftsmen and trade guilds rallied to protect it, refusing to let it be torn down. Only one other medieval cathedral in Scotland came through so well, St Magnus in Orkney, which leaves Glasgow’s as the only one on the mainland. You can read how the city changed in our page on the Reformation and the Cathedral.

What makes it special

Below the main church lies the lower church, or crypt, a forest of stone pillars around the reconstructed tomb of Saint Mungo, once one of the great pilgrimage sites of Britain; even King Edward I of England came to pray at the shrine. The Cathedral also keeps its medieval stone screen, a rare survivor from before the Reformation and the only one of its kind left in a Scottish church. Today the building is a parish church of the Church of Scotland, cared for by the nation.

The Cathedral precinct

The Cathedral does not stand alone. On the hill behind it rises the Victorian Necropolis, and across the way stands Provand’s Lordship, the oldest house in Glasgow. Together they mark the ancient corner of the city where, fifteen centuries ago, Glasgow was born.

Is Glasgow Cathedral the oldest building in Glasgow?

Yes. Glasgow Cathedral is the oldest building in the city, with parts dating back to the twelfth century and its origins on a site used since the sixth.

Why did Glasgow Cathedral survive the Reformation?

Most Scottish cathedrals were ruined in 1560, but Glasgow’s was spared. Tradition credits the city’s trade guilds, who are said to have refused to let it be destroyed.

Who is buried in Glasgow Cathedral?

Saint Mungo, the founder and patron saint of Glasgow, whose tomb lies in the lower church. His shrine was a major place of medieval pilgrimage.