Every night, at the same time, a man would make his way up the spiral staircase, check it was 8.15pm, and ring the bell. The sound of the bell meant you had 15 minutes exactly to leave, because at 8.30pm, the great iron gates would be closed and that was that. If you weren’t out by that time, you were staying the night. And there aren’t many people who want to stay the night in a cemetery.

It’s different now. The bell is gone, and the gatehouse that contained it is neglected and decayed. Not only is the roof in danger of collapse, the spiral staircase has rotted away, and there’s a real concern the building might not last much longer. The iron gates are also gone, which means you can come and go as you please. Mostly, it’s the relatives of the dead who come, or locals who enjoy a huge green space in the middle of the Gorbals. But it can also bring trouble.

The small team of volunteers at the Southern Necropolis do what they can. They’ve campaigned to raise money to save the gatehouse, which was designed by the same man who designed Park Circus, Charles Wilson. And when the vandals and troublemakers do strike, the volunteers move in and tidy up, pick up the litter and so on. One time, someone drove right into the graveyard, probably on a quad bike, and churned up the ground round Greek Thomson’s grave. It can be depressing, this kind of thing: the lack of respect.

There are similar problems in Glasgow’s other cemeteries and graveyards – damage, troublemakers, vandals – but I’m pleased to say there are signs of hope. In the north of the city, at the great burial site that contains the Western Necropolis, St Kentigerns Roman Catholic cemetery and Lambhill graveyard, incidents of trouble are down 73% in a year. In 2023, the police were called 38 times about........

© Herald Scotland