Hamilton Palace was a country house in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was the seat of the Dukes of Hamilton and is widely acknowledged as having been one of the grandest houses in the British Isles. The palace dated from the 14th century, was rebuilt in the Baroque style between 1684 and 1701 and was subsequently much enlarged in the Neoclassical style between 1824 and 1832. The palace was situated at the centre of the extensive Low Parks (now Strathclyde Country Park), with the Great Avenue, a broad, north–south tree-lined avenue over three miles (five kilometres) in length, as its axis. The Low Parks also contained the Hamilton Mausoleum designed by David Hamilton and the 11th-century Netherton Cross. South of the Avon Water, the High Parks (now Chatelherault Country Park) contained the Deer Park and the Chatelherault Hunting Lodge designed by William Adam. The palace housed two libraries and a renowned collection of fine and decorative art which were dispersed in two huge sales in 1882 and 1919. Hamilton Palace was demolished between 1921 and 1932 after coal works beneath the house were discovered to threaten its structural integrity.
History
13th-16th centuries The building at the core of Hamilton Palace was a 14th-century tower house known variously as 'The Orchard' or the 'Castle of Hamilton', which was the seat of the Hamilton family. The earliest reference to a castle at Hamilton is in a charter of 1445, when James Hamilton was created first Lord Hamilton. When the palace was demolished in the 1920s, the remains of walls up to 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) thick (compared to 0.9 m (2 ft 11 in) elsewhere in the building), were discovered in the north-west quarter, clearly indicating the defensive nature of the medieval core of the palace. In 1451 the medieval parish church of Hamilton (which stood to the east of the later palace) was promoted to collegial status by Lord Hamilton. 'The Orchard' was the object of much destructive attention on the part of royal armies in the period between 1565 and 1579, suffering damage in a siege of 1570 during the Marian civil war due to James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault's support for Mary, Queen of Scots. The castle was damaged again in 1579 on the occasion when Cadzow Castle was destroyed and left abandoned. It accommodated King James VI on a hunting trip in 1589. 'The Orchard' was rebuilt and enlarged in 1591 on a quadrangular plan and named the 'Palace'.
17th-18th centuries
Anne, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton and her husband, William, Duke of Hamilton, commissioned a major rebuilding programme at Hamilton Palace from 1684 to 1701. Dubbed by the Hamilton family as 'The Great Design', these works led to the creation of a U-plan country house, with an open south-facing courtyard which followed the outline of the existing late 16th-century enclosed quadrangle. Under the direction of the architect James Smith, the south quarter of Hamilton Palace was removed entirely, the east and west quarters were rebuilt as courtyard wings, while the north wing was left much as it had been before, although it was refaced and remodelled internally. The south front was rebuilt between 1693 and 1701 in the Baroque style, the principal feature of this new formal ceremonial entrance being the frontispiece with its huge Corinthian portico. Behind the facade of the remodelled north front, the first floor was fully taken up by the 36.6 m (120 ft) Long Gallery, while the first floor of the west wing contained the main suite of ducal apartments. A new north front had been planned by James, 5th Duke of Hamilton in the 1730s, and extensive plans were prepared by William Adam. The Duke's early death and the significant costs involved prevented the plans from being executed, but significant programme of interior decoration was carried out in the east wing of the palace under Adam's supervision. Modifications and additions continued during the next century, including the purchase or exchange of land surrounding the palace, enabling extensive landscaping to take place.
19th century
Upon his succession to the ducal title and estates in 1819, Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton began to enhance and enlarge the north front of Hamilton Palace, using the vast wealth that the family derived from their ownership of the Lanarkshire coalfields. The Duke wanted to erect a grand residence which not only reflected the increasing wealth and national standing of the family but also provided an appropriately grand setting for the considerable art collections which he continued to gather, including the Beckford art collection and library that his wife Susan had inherited from her father William Thomas Beckford. This refurbishment included heraldic carvings in the main pediment over the entrance, carved by John Greenshields in 1822. Between 1824 and 1832 the north front itself was enhanced and enlarged by the distinguished Glasgow architect David Hamilton. The 15-bayed, three storey north front was 265 ft (80 m) long and 60 ft (20 m) high, adorned with a colossal portico of six 25-foot-high (7.5-metre) Corinthian columns. In addition to existing rooms such as the Long Gallery, Old Dining Room, Old State Breakfast Room, Old State Drawing Room and Old State Bedroom, new state rooms such as the Egyptian Hall, Entrance Hall, Tribune, Billiard Room, Charter Room, State Dining Room, Drawing Room, State Bedroom, Music Room, the Hamilton Library and the Beckford Library were built. 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, Anthony van Dyck, and other masters. A sumptuous chimneypiece by William Morgan adorned the Dining Room's fireplace.
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