Hamilton Palace
Encyclopedia
Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Hamilton is a town in South Lanarkshire, in the west-central Lowlands of Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It is the fifth-biggest town in Scotland after Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston and Cumbernauld...
, South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of the former county of Lanarkshire. It borders the south-east of the city of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns and smaller villages....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The former seat of the Dukes of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that Peerage , and as such its holder is the Premier Peer of Scotland, as well as being head of both the House of Hamilton and the House of Douglas...
, it was built in 1695 and subsequently much enlarged. The house was demolished in 1921 due to ground subsidence
Subsidence
Subsidence is the motion of a surface as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea-level. The opposite of subsidence is uplift, which results in an increase in elevation...
despite inadequate evidence for that. It is widely acknowledged as having been one of the grandest houses in Scotland.
The Palace
Tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation.-History:Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountain or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strategic points with reduced forces...
, the south front of Hamilton Palace was erected in 1695 by architect James Smith
James Smith (architect)
James Smith was a Scottish architect, who pioneered the Palladian style in Scotland. He was described by Colen Campbell, in his Vitruvius Britannicus , as "the most experienced architect of that kingdom".-Biography:...
for William, 3rd Duke of Hamilton
William Douglas, Duke of Hamilton
William Douglas-Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Hamilton, KG, PC , born Lord William Douglas, was the son of William Douglas, 1st Marquess of Douglas and his second wife Lady Mary Gordon, a daughter of George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly...
and his wife Duchess Anne
Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton
Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton was a Scottish peeress.The daughter of Sir James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton and 3rd Marquess of Hamilton, Scottish General and premier peer of the realm, and Lady Mary Feilding, daughter of William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh and Lady Susan Villiers, a...
. A new North Front had been planned by the fifth Duke
James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton
James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton and 2nd Duke of Brandon KT FRS was a Scottish peer, the son of the 4th Duke of Hamilton....
in the 1730s, and extensive plans were prepared by William Adam. However the Duke's early death and the significant costs involved postponed further major work, although modifications and additions continued during the next century, including the purchase or exchange of land surrounding the palace, enabling extensive landscaping to take place. The North Front itself was finally completed 1842 by architect David Hamilton
David Hamilton (architect)
David Hamilton was a Scottish architect based in Glasgow. He has been called the "father of the profession" in Glasgow. Notable works include Hutchesons' Hall, Nelson Monument in Glasgow Green and Lennox Castle. The Royal Exchange in Queen Street is David Hamilton's best known building in Glasgow...
for Alexander, the tenth Duke using Adam's original plans as a structure. The north front was 265 feet (81 m) long and 60 feet (18 m) high, adorned with a Corinthian portico of monolithic columns 25 feet (7.6 m) high. The Staterooms, which included extensive stucco-work, were by Smith and Adam. These held much fine furniture and by the mid-19th century housed one of the best private collections of paintings in Scotland, including works by Peter Paul Rubens (see below), Titian
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
, Anthony van Dyck
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...
, and other masters. A sumptuous chimneypiece by William Morgan adorned the Dining Room's fireplace.
Châtelherault
Hamilton Palace stood at the centre of extensive parklands which, as the main axis, had a great north-south tree-lined avenue over three miles (5 km) in length. The layout was later developed, most notably by William Adam, who introduced ChâtelheraultChatelherault Country Park
Chatelherault Country Park is a country park in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.Its name is derived from the French town of Châtellerault, the title Duc de Châtellerault being held by the Duke of Hamilton....
hunting lodge into the south avenue in the High Parks where it commanded a broad vista northwards across the Low Parks.
Decline and demolition
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Subsidence
Subsidence is the motion of a surface as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea-level. The opposite of subsidence is uplift, which results in an increase in elevation...
as the coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
beneath was removed. The decline began in 1882 when art was sold off to raise funds by William, the 12th Duke. However after Alfred, the 13th Duke lent his home for use as a naval hospital during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the state of the palace was one of severe neglect necessitating vast sums for restoration.
It was returned from military use in 1919. At this time the magazine Country Life
Country Life (magazine)
Country Life is a British weekly magazine, based in London at 110 Southwark Street, and owned by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary.- Topics :The magazine covers the pleasures and joys of rural life, as well as the concerns of rural people...
featured a number of articles on the palace and a quantity of photographs were taken to accompany the series. As such they represent an invaluable record of the house before the massive sale of contents and fittings, and its demolition in 1921.
The Rubens, Daniel in the Lions' Den is now in The National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
The site today
The site of the Palace is now occupied by the Hamilton Palace Sports Grounds. Most of the Palace grounds were incorporated into Strathclyde Country ParkStrathclyde Park
Strathclyde Country Park is a country park located in Lanarkshire, Scotland.The park covers some 4 km², centred on the artificial Strathclyde Loch. It is located next to the River Clyde between Hamilton and Motherwell. Strathclyde Park forms what used to be known as the Low parks of the now...
. When the park was being constructed in 1974, vaulted cellars were discovered which may have belonged to the original house. However these were not excavated but instead infilled with rubble.
Several metres of wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
railing from the palace grounds can be seen outside Hamilton College (Scotland)
Hamilton College (Scotland)
Hamilton College is a Co-educational Private School located in Hamilton South Lanarkshire, Scotland, it provides education from Nursery age through the full 7 years of primary education and 6 years of high school...
. Some of the fittings, and photographs of the interior, can be viewed in the Low Parks Museum (the old Palace Coachhouse) in Hamilton.
The Dining Room from Hamilton Palace was on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in the European period rooms.
The sandstone bungalows on the south side of the A74, Carlisle Road, leaving Hamilton in the direction of Ferniegair and Larkhall are reputed to have been built from stone salvaged from the palace.
The remains of the tree lined avenue which linked the palace to Chatelherault hunting lodge can still be seen. These give the visitor a good indication, particularly from Chatelherault Country Park
Chatelherault Country Park
Chatelherault Country Park is a country park in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.Its name is derived from the French town of Châtellerault, the title Duc de Châtellerault being held by the Duke of Hamilton....
, of where the palace stood. An Esporta health club, municipal sports facilities and an Asda superstore now stand on the site of the original palace.
Local anecdotal evidence would also suggest that the elaborate and ornately carved staircase balustrades were used as the famous red carpeted staircase in "Gone With the Wind".
Hamilton Mausoleum
Hamilton Mausoleum
Hamilton Mausoleum is a mausoleum located in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was the resting place of the family of the Dukes of Hamilton...
is still there and is open to visitors.
External links
- Hamilton Palace: A Virtual Reconstruction - A website developed by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of ScotlandRoyal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of ScotlandThe Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government 'sponsored' [financed and with oversight] through Historic Scotland, an executive agency of the Scottish Government...
(RCAHMS) with maps, photographs, and virtual reconstructions of the palace itself. - Hamilton Palace entry from The DiCamillo Companion to British & Irish Country Houses