Inside The Kibble Palace, A Concert Hall Turned Botanic Garden

In the 1860s, inventor and engineer John Kibble built a large, iron-frame conservatory at his home along the West coast of Scotland. Unfortunately, the echo in the space was too strong to properly listen to the music and when it rained (which it does most days in Glasgow), and the acoustics were impossible. After ten years, Kibble’s “crystal palace” was given to the Botanical Gardens of Glasgow.

Originally, the space was used by the University of Glasgow to teach both botany and medicine (plants were used more commonly in the practice of medicine during the 19th century). As the University changed its use of plants in the curriculum, the public education aspect of the space became increasingly important. Today, the botanic garden and its glass houses (including the Kibble Palace) are free and open to the public.

“Both glass houses are educational displays with different topics– but presented in an attractive way. People should feel well in here, be able to relax and learn,” Ewen Donaldson, the general manager of the Botanical Garden Glasgow, tells GC. “We also rent this place when it is closed for public in the evening. Last Saturday, we had a wedding here, for example.”

The garden’s goal for the future is to focus more on conservation. (Some of the plants in the Kibble Palace date all the way back to the 1880s.) “We have some plants here that have been preserved since the 19th century, and that were endangered in their original location,” Donaldson explains.

“When we found out, that they were not growing anywhere else, we shared it with other botanical gardens. We call that ex-situ conservation,” Donaldson continues. “But it is always better to protect species in-situ– in their original ecosystem. That is why teaching environmental awareness is most important topic for the future– teaching people about Climate Change and to realize how important plants are.”

Donaldson has another front of conservation to work on, however. “The biggest difficulty is the conservation of the building itself– to keep it clean and intact. The windows have to kept clean to have as much sunlight in here as possible,” Donaldson tells us. Clarity emphasis aside, for a quiet, timeless afternoon, the Botanical Gardens of Glasgow are an essential stop.