Thomas Hamilton (architect)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Hamilton was a Scottish
architect
, based in Edinburgh
. Born in Glasgow
, his works include: the Dean Orphan Hospital, now the Dean Gallery
; the Royal High School
on the Calton Hill, long considered as home for the Scottish Parliament
; Bedlam Theatre
; the George IV Bridge
, which spans the Cowgate; the Royal College of Physicians
; Cumstoun, a private house in Dumfries and Galloway
; and the Scottish Political Martyrs' Monument in Old Calton Cemetery
, Edinburgh.
The Scottish Political Martyrs' Monument is a 90 feet (27.4 m) tall obelisk which is a prominent feature on the Edinburgh sky-line. It was funded by public subscription raised by the radical MP Joseph Hume
.
The monument speaks for itself:
It includes the following quotations:
(Speech of Thomas Muir in the Court of Judiciary on 30 August 1793.)
He also produced the Doric
column for the statue of John Knox
(1825) in the Glasgow Necropolis
(see Glasgow's public statues
).
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...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, based in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. Born in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, his works include: the Dean Orphan Hospital, now the Dean Gallery
Dean Gallery
The Dean Gallery is an art gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is part of the National Galleries of Scotland. It was opened in 1999, opposite the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, which is its sister gallery. As the result of a rebranding exercise in 2011, the buildings have now been...
; the Royal High School
Royal High School (Edinburgh)
The Royal High School of Edinburgh is a co-educational state school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland, and has, throughout its history, been high achieving, consistently attaining well above average exam results...
on the Calton Hill, long considered as home for the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
; Bedlam Theatre
Bedlam Theatre
Bedlam Theatre is a student-run theatre owned by the University of Edinburgh and notable for being the oldest student-run theatre in Britain.It is housed in the former New North Free Church building at the foot of George IV Bridge in Edinburgh; a building which was designed by Thomas Hamilton, an...
; the George IV Bridge
George IV Bridge
George IV Bridge is an elevated street in Edinburgh, Scotland. Measuring 300-metres in length, the bridge was constructed between 1829 and 1832 as part of the Improvement Act of 1827. Named for King George IV, it was designed by architect Thomas Hamilton , to connect the South Side district of...
, which spans the Cowgate; the Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh was established in the 17th century. While the RCPE is based in Edinburgh, it is by no means just a Scottish professional body - more than half of its 7,700 Fellows, Members, Associates and Affiliates live and practice medicine outside Scotland, in 86...
; Cumstoun, a private house in Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973...
; and the Scottish Political Martyrs' Monument in Old Calton Cemetery
Old Calton Cemetery
Old Calton Cemetery is a graveyard in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on Calton Hill, to the north-east of the city centre. The burial ground was opened in 1718, and is the resting place of several notable Edinburgh persons, including philosopher David Hume, publisher William Blackwood and...
, Edinburgh.
The Scottish Political Martyrs' Monument is a 90 feet (27.4 m) tall obelisk which is a prominent feature on the Edinburgh sky-line. It was funded by public subscription raised by the radical MP Joseph Hume
Joseph Hume
Joseph Hume FRS was a Scottish doctor and Radical MP, born in Montrose, Angus.-Medical career:He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and moved to India in 1797...
.
The monument speaks for itself:
To The Memory Of Thomas Muir, Thomas Fyshe Palmer, William Skirving, Maurice Margarot and Joseph Gerrald. Erected by the Friends of Parliamentary Reform in England and Scotland, 1844.
It includes the following quotations:
I have devoted myself to the cause of The People. It is a good cause - it shall ultimately prevail - it shall finally triumph.
(Speech of Thomas Muir in the Court of Judiciary on 30 August 1793.)
He also produced the Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
column for the statue of John Knox
John Knox
John Knox was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536...
(1825) in the Glasgow Necropolis
Glasgow Necropolis
The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of Glasgow Cathedral . Fifty thousand individuals have been buried here. Typically for the period only a small percentage are named on monuments and not every grave has a stone...
(see Glasgow's public statues
Glasgow's public statues
Public statues in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland, have been used to display the wealth and history of the city over centuries. The most prominent are those erected by the municipality or by public subscription, but others adorn the façades of the great commercial buildings.-George...
).
List of architectural works
- 1820 Norwich Union Insurance Society, 32 Princes Street, Edinburgh, demolished
- 1820 Burns Monument, AllowayAllowayAlloway is best known as the birthplace of Robert Burns, and as where he set his poem "Tam o' Shanter"....
, Ayrshire - 1822 The Town House, KinghornKinghornKinghorn is a town in Fife, Scotland. A seaside resort with two beaches, Kinghorn Beach and Pettycur Bay, plus a fishing port, it stands on the north shore of the Firth of Forth opposite Edinburgh...
, Fife - 1824 Hopetoun Rooms, 72 Queen Street, Edinburgh, demolished
- John Knox Monument, Glasgow NecropolisGlasgow NecropolisThe Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of Glasgow Cathedral . Fifty thousand individuals have been buried here. Typically for the period only a small percentage are named on monuments and not every grave has a stone...
- 1825-29 Royal High SchoolRoyal High School (Edinburgh)The Royal High School of Edinburgh is a co-educational state school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland, and has, throughout its history, been high achieving, consistently attaining well above average exam results...
, Edinburgh - 1826 1 to 12 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh
- 1827-30 Assembly Rooms, AyrAyrAyr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...
- 1828 Cumstoun House, near KirkcudbrightKirkcudbrightKirkcudbright, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.The town lies south of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie, in the part of Dumfries and Galloway known as the Stewartry, at the mouth of the River Dee, some six miles from the sea...
- 1829-32 George IV BridgeGeorge IV BridgeGeorge IV Bridge is an elevated street in Edinburgh, Scotland. Measuring 300-metres in length, the bridge was constructed between 1829 and 1832 as part of the Improvement Act of 1827. Named for King George IV, it was designed by architect Thomas Hamilton , to connect the South Side district of...
, as part of the improvements to the Lawnmarket, Edinburgh - 1829 John Knox Church, Edinburgh, not executed
- 1829 Monument to Sir Robert & Lady Liston, Churchyard GogarGogarGogar is a rural exurb of Edinburgh, Scotland, located to the west of the city. It is not far from Gogarloch, Edinburgh Park and Maybury. The Fife Circle Line is to the north of the city.-History:The name of Gogar first appears on a map in 1233...
- c.1830 Falcon Hall, Morningside Road, Edinburgh, demolished
- 1830 Monument to French Prisoners, Valleyfield Mills, PenicuikPenicuikPenicuik is a burgh and civil parish in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the west bank of the River North Esk. The town was developed as a planned village in 1770 by Sir James Clerk of Penicuik. It became a burgh in 1867. The town was well known for its paper mills, the last of which closed in 2005....
- 1830 Arthur Lodge (attributed), Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh
- 1830 Blackwood's Shop, 45 George St, Edinburgh
- 1830-32 The Manse, ColdstreamColdstreamColdstream is a small town in the Borders district of Scotland. It lies on the north bank of the River Tweed in Berwickshire, while Northumberland in England lies to the south bank, with Cornhill-on-Tweed the nearest village...
- 1831 Dean Orphanage, Edinburgh
- 1831 The Burns Monument, Edinburgh
- 1831-34 Wallace Tower, Ayr
- 1836 AlythAlythAlyth is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, situated under the Hill of Alyth five miles northeast of Blairgowrie. The village has a population of 2,301...
Parish Church, Perth & Kinross - 1842 Episcopal Chapel, Bath St, DunfermlineDunfermlineDunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
- 1844 Physicians HallRoyal College of Physicians of EdinburghThe Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh was established in the 17th century. While the RCPE is based in Edinburgh, it is by no means just a Scottish professional body - more than half of its 7,700 Fellows, Members, Associates and Affiliates live and practice medicine outside Scotland, in 86...
, 9 Queen St, Edinburgh - 1843 New North Free Church, Forrest Road, Edinburgh
- 1844 St. John's Free Church, Johnston Terrace, Edinburgh
- 1844 Martyrs' Memorial, Old Calton CemeteryOld Calton CemeteryOld Calton Cemetery is a graveyard in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on Calton Hill, to the north-east of the city centre. The burial ground was opened in 1718, and is the resting place of several notable Edinburgh persons, including philosopher David Hume, publisher William Blackwood and...
, Edinburgh - 1848 rebuilding of St. Mary's ChurchSouth Leith Parish ChurchSouth Leith Parish Church or Kirk is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. It is the principal church and congregation in Leith, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Its kirkyard is the burial place for John Home, author of Douglas, and John Pew, the man from whom the author Robert Louis Stevenson reputedly...
, South Leith - 1850 Free Church, DunbarDunbarDunbar is a town in East Lothian on the southeast coast of Scotland, approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh and 28 miles from the English Border at Berwick-upon-Tweed....
- 1850 KennowayKennowayKennoway is a village in Fife, Scotland, near the larger population centres in the area of Leven and Methil. It is about three miles inland from the Firth of Forth, north of Leven. This position gave it importance in the old days while travelling by coach, for the stage road ran through Kennoway...
Church, Fife - 1858 additions to Dunbeath CastleDunbeath CastleDunbeath Castle is located on the east coast of Caithness, south of Dunbeath, in northern Scotland. Although a castle has stood here since the 15th century, the present building is of mainly 17th-century origin, with 19th century extensions.-History:...
, Caithness