The Burrell Collection, Scottish Museums

Table of Contents

Why Is It Called The Burrell Collection?

The Burrell Collection is named after shipping magnate Sir William Burrell and Lady Constance Burrell. This is their eclectic collection of art and historic artefacts collected over many years. Sir William Burrell was a wealthy shipping magnate and decide to donate his entire collection to the people of Glasgow.

Previously he had been in discussion with the City of London about donating his collection there. But due to wartime issues it never went ahead and was instead donated to the City of Glasgow. He also gifted a substantial amount of money to create a building to house Sir William Burrell’s extraordinary gift.

After 30 years the building was closes for a £60 million refurbishment to be updated for the 21st century. The Burrell Collection was closed for 6 years whilst John McAslan and Partners transformed the Grade A listed building to improve visitor experience. It was finally opened in March 2022 to the public. Glasgow City Council describes the building as ‘one of Scotland’s finest examples of post-war architecture.’

Where To Find The Burrell Collection

It was decided by the City of Glasgow to place The Burrell Collection in Pollok Country Park, in Glasgow’s South side of the city. It fit Sir William Burrells exacting location requirements and was considered a good setting for the collection.

It’s easy to find nowadays off the M8 running through Glasgow and then signposted through the town to the Pollok Country Park. There is parking outside the building, you can use either cash or the Ringo App on your phone to pay. It’s £2.50 for 4 hours or £4.50 for all day parking.

There is also the possibility of arriving by public transport, either bus or train from Glasgow City centre.

Entry Into The Burrell Collection

As The Burrell Collection was gifted to the City of Glasgow it remains free entry as part of the Glasgow Life museums. Of course you do need to pay for parking. There is also a shop and restaurant, although you are able to eat a picnic in the picnic areas of the building or outside too.

What To See and Do At The Burrell Collection

Head in through the new entrance and you will pass the toilets on the way to the large entrance hall. I was pleased to note that there were not only men’s and women’s toilets, but also several individual unisex toilets. It’s good to see that everyone has been considered when they redesigned the layout.

Ask at the reception desk if there are any kids trails. There were various sheets for kids to complete when we arrived during the Easter holidays. They also have art and craft projects during school holidays.

Child drawing whilst at a Chinese ceramic at the Burrell Collection

Glasgow’s Burrell collection itself comprises of over 5 millenia of art and history. Including French art, Islamic art and Chinese art. Burrell also collected contemporary 19th Century art, including Degas and Manet.

The Collection

There are so many items in the collection to see! Begin walking through the stone archway into an area with many statues and Egyptian artefacts. From here you can enter the The Burrells gallery. Which is made to feel like a room out of mansion house, complete with videos of aristocratic people moving around the room on a beautifully carpeted floor. There are various artworks, suits of armour, chess sets and even interactive game tables for the kids in the centre of the room.

The North gallery has many interesting items, however the kids particularly love all the interactive features throughout the museum. Favourites were matching pictures up in the art gallery sections, which meant the children looked more carefully at the paintings. We didn’t realise two paintings had their hats painted out until we saw the interactive video beside them!

Makers Galleries

Upstairs in the Makers Galleries were plenty more interactive things for the children. They could find out more about pottery patterns and how they were made, how to carve wood and paint their own Degas! Personally I was impressed in the Persian Garden Carpet section, where a video of the individual pictures on the carpets were made into a beautiful river and woodland scene. It really brought the carpet to life and helped us pick out various elements that we could see in the video on the carpet. Apparently the museum has one of Europe’s finest collections of tapestries.

The large glass walls are perfect for displaying the stained glass windows on the upper floors. As part of one of Glasgow City Council modern museums, we were pleased to see it had a new learning space, plus picnic areas that are great for families to use.

We easily spent several hours in the exhibitions and if it wasn’t so busy being newly open, we would have stayed longer in the park afterward too! The museum really is an outstanding place of learning, with it’s years of history and digital displays. Excellent for children as well as adults.

Pollok Country Park

The Burrell Collection is located in the heart of Pollok Country Park. This beautiful park setting is perfect to show off one of the world’s outstanding museums. There are over 146 hectares of grassland and woodland to explore. Including Highland cows to spot and the White Cart River running through the country park.

There is also the newly refurbished adventure playpark right outside the Burrell Collection. Great for kids, although visit it before going into the museum, as it gets busy later in the day.

With the reopening of the Burrell collection parking in the country park has changed. You can no longer drive through the park, but must park at one of the paid car parks instead. Alternatively there are various buses and trains you can get to the park