Grandpa Robertson

Glasgow has a Medieval District. It's where you find the Glasgow Cathedral, part of which was built in the 13th century. I was told that when they were doing refurbishing in the last century, the only part that needed to be fixed were those sections that had been reworked in the 18th and 19th century; the ancient parts were rock solid. The heavy doors that lead from the main sanctuary to the Sacristy are original, however they have bullet holes from the Reformation. The Reformation played large in Scotland.

This is also the area where you'll find Provand's Lordship which, though it has passed through many other hands, started as a 15th century home for one of the 32 Canons of the Cathedral. A new perspective on church-owned housing for clergy! It was quite amazing to walk through a place so old. It's a real visceral experience.

Nearby is the St. Mungo Museum. (St. Mungo is the patron saint of Glasgow. He founded the cathedral in the 7th century, where he is buried in the undercroft.) The museum's purpose since 1993 is to celebrate all forms of religious life and art, indicating how broad the city and country have become. Exhibits tell of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. There's a prayer rug, beautifully woven, that has a compass built into it to point the pray-er towards Mecca. And there's Britain's first (and some say only) Zen Garden, a wonderful place for meditation.

Just to the east is the Glasgow Necropolis, a huge Victorian cemetery on a hill with elaborate sepulchres, winding roads, well-established plantings and a statue of John Knox standing tall at the highest point. It was developed by the wealthy merchant class. (It's said that Edinburgh is the capital, but Glasgow HAS the capital, and lots of that is from trading cotton and tobacco from the US.) The Merchant Guild built an entrance to the cemetery, straight from the cathedral. The plaque said the entrance was built to give people "a proper entrance."

Which brings me to Grandpa Robertson.

Grandpa was born and raised at 123 John Knox Street, immediately south of the necropolis, the road that has the original entrance. His father was a Joiner-Journeyman (carpenter) and a Sanitary Inspector (plumber), and he raised 6 children in what I imagine was a typical Glasgow tenement. I wonder if the well-to-do merchants' entrance had as much to do with avoiding the tenements as with easier access. Grandpa's house isn't there any longer. With the other tenements, it was demolished to be replaced with an upscale high rise. That's probably the story of most ordinary folks: their homes and their way of living aren't preserved for posterity. That's nothing new. But I felt it in my gut, because Grandpa, with his brogue and his stories and quick smile, was someone I loved. I wonder if he ever had time to wander around the ancient cathedral.