Thanks to Chris for nudging me towards this history of Hampden Park, named after the Englishman John Hampden. Clearly not a footballer, Hampden was born in June 1595 and died 24 June 1643, buried in Great Hampden Park, Bucks. He was an English landowner and politician whose opposition to arbitrary taxes imposed by Charles 1 made him a national figure. A graduate of Magdalen College, Oxford, he was an ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and cousin to Oliver Cromwell, he was one of the Five Men whose attempted arrest in January 1642 sparked the First English Civil War.
Hampden Park was built between the Queen's Park Recreation Ground (where the club had played until then) and Hampden Terrace, taking its name from the road. The first enclosed stadium with turnstiles in the UK, it was opened on 25 October 1873 for Queen Park's first-ever competitive match, a Scottish Cup 1st Round tie against Dumbreck with Queen's Park winning 7–0.The ground later hosted the first Scottish Cup Final which saw Queen's Park beat Clydesdale 2–0. It was subsequently used to host several finals from 1875 (the replay) and into the mid 1880s.
Hampden was used to host several international matches; it was first used on 2nd March 1878, for a 7–2 win against England. It hosted five more matches, the last being a 5–0 win over Wales on 25 March 1882.
In 1883, the club left Hampden Park due to plans by the Caledonian Railway Company to build a new branch line across the site. They moved, a few hundred metres east,to a new ground, which they also named Hampden Park. However, it was not ready until 1884, so home matches were played at the Titwood cricket ground owned by Clydesdale Cricket Club. In 1903 Queen's Park moved again to the current Hampden Park, with the second Hampden taken over by Third Lanark FC and renamed Cathkin Park.
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