In the early 1800's some 5000 people - mostly Irish and Highland immigrants - died every year in the city from cholera, typhus or other fever epidemics. They were buried in pits behind the old Royal Infirmary and to the north of the Cathedral. The stench must have been appalling.

Dr. John Strang (Glasgow Historian of the time) had a dream of a bright flowery haven as the last resting place for the city’s "well-to-do". The Fir Park, the hill across the Molendinar Glen from the Cathedral hill, seemed to John the ideal site. A design competition for the new cemetery brought an eager response from architects. John Bryce became the designer of Scotland's first "hygienic" graveyard, which he based on the famous Pere Lachaise in Paris - it was special as it would be available to people of all faiths. The Foundation stone was laid in 1825 for a statue of John Knox. The first interment took place in 1832.