Hunterian Museum & Art Gallery
Gilbert Scott Building
University Avenue
Glasgow
G12 8QQ
Tel: 0141 330 5431
Admission: Free with the exception of Mackintosh House which is £3/£2 concession, but free on a Wednesday after 2pm.
Opening hours: All 4 of the buildings are open Mon – Sat, 9am – 5pm with the exception of the Zoology Museum which is closed on Saturdays. All of the buildings are closed on Sundays and public holidays.
Opened in 1870, the University of Glasgow’s Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery is the oldest public museum in Scotland.
The museum first opened in 1807, in a specially constructed building off the High Street, adjoining the original campus of the University. When the University moved west to its new site at Gilmorehill (to escape crowding and pollution in the city centre) the museum moved too. In 1870 the Hunterian collections were transferred to the University’s present site and assigned halls within Sir George Gilbert Scott’s neo-Gothic building.
The Hunterian is separated into 4 different sections, located in various buildings on the main campus of the University in the west end of Glasgow. At first the entire collection was housed together, and displayed in the packed conditions common in museums of that time, but significant sections were later moved away to other parts of the University. The Zoological collections are now housed within the Graham Kerr Building, the art collections in the Hunterian Art Gallery, and the books and manuscripts in Glasgow University Library. Hunter’s anatomical collections are housed in the Allen Thomson Building, and his pathological preparations at the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow.
The Hunterian Museum
Housed in large halls in George Gilbert Scott’s University buildings on Gilmorehill, the museum features extensive displays relating to William Hunter and his collections, Roman Scotland (especially the Antonine Wall, geology, ethnography, ancient Egypt, scientific instruments, coins and medals, and much more.
The Zoology Museum
Most of the zoology collections, including those of William Hunter, are displayed in a separate museum within the Graham Kerr building, which also houses most of the University’s zoological research and teaching. This is also open to the general public. The insect collections are particularly important and extensive, and are the feature of some excellent recent displays.
The Hunterian Gallery
The Hunterian Art Gallery is now housed in a modern, custom-built facility that is part of the extensive Glasgow University Library complex. This displays the University’s extensive art collection, and features an outdoor sculpture garden. The bas relief aluminium doors to the Hunterian Gallery were designed by sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi. The gallery’s collection includes a large number of the works of James McNeill Whistler and the majority of the watercolours of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
The Mackintosh House
The Mackintosh House is a modern concrete building, part of the gallery-library complex. It stands on the site of one of two rows of terraced houses which were once sections of Hillhead Street and Southpark Avenue, demolished in the 1960s to make room for the University’s expansion across the residential crown of Gilmorehill. One of the buildings lost, 78 Southpark Avenue, was formerly a home to Glasgow architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The University rebuilt the form of the house (using modern materials) approximately 100 metres from the site of the original. Due to its displacement, one door now hangs precariously above a 20 foot drop, the ground on what was once Hillhead Street having been radically excavated during the construction. The Mackintosh House features some of the original woodwork of the old terraced house, and has been furnished entirely to Mackintosh’s design, with original decorations and furniture.
Getting there
The Hunterian is located in the West End of Glasgow just off Byres Rd, and thus is very well connected to the rest of the city via public transport. The nearest subway station is Hillhead.
Parking
At weekends, free campus parking is available approximately 100m from the Museum and Art Gallery entrances. Access to parking is from the Main Gate in University Avenue. There is also pay and display parking available on University Avenue and along Kelvin Way. Disabled parking is available within the university campus; entry is through the main gate in University Avenue.
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