Hamilton (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...

: ''Hamaltan'') was a

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

in the

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government et ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

from 1975 to 1996, lying to the south-east of the regional capital

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Local Government

As its name suggests, the district (one of five in the ''Lanark'' sub-region and 19 overall across the Strathclyde region, which contained more than half of Scotland's population) was centred around the town of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, for several centuries the seat of the historic county of

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotl ...

, although its boundaries extended some way beyond the town. In the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 leading to its creation, the district's desired composition was described as: *''In the county of Lanark—the burgh of Hamilton; the Fourth district (except the electoral division of Avondale); in the Sixth district, the electoral divisions of Bothwell and Uddingston South, Uddingston North; in the Eighth district, the electoral divisions of Blantyre, Stonefield, and that part of High Blantyre electoral division lying outwith the designated area of East Kilbride New Town.'' To the north of Hamilton, the district included the established adjoining villages of

Uddingston Uddingston ( sco, Uddinstoun, gd, Baile Udain) is a small town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the north side of the River Clyde, south-east of Glasgow city centre, and acts as a dormitory suburb for the city. Geography and boundaries ...

and Bothwell, which constituted the only part of the district on the right bank of the River Clyde which otherwise formed its eastern boundary, and the mining town of

Blantyre Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...

. To the south, the territory became increasingly rural, and included the towns of

Larkhall Larkhall ( sco, Larkhauch, gd, Taigh na h-Uiseig) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, around southeast of Glasgow. It is twinned with Seclin in northern France. Larkhall sits on high ground between the River Clyde to the East and the ...

and the villages of

Ashgill Ashgill is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland near Larkhall. It is part of the Dalserf parish. The village church dates back to 1889 The village has a shop The local school was first in Scotland to have an automated bell, installed in 1 ...

and Stonehouse. The

Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the current local government structure of 32 unitary authorities covering the whole of Scotland. It abolished the two-tie ...

abolished all of the districts and regions. The territory was merged with the

Clydesdale Clydesdale is an archaic name for Lanarkshire, a traditional county in Scotland. The name may also refer to: Sports * Clydesdale F.C., a former football club in Glasgow * Clydesdale RFC, Glasgow, a former rugby union club * Clydesdale RFC, South ...

and

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...

districts and part of the Glasgow district to form the South Lanarkshire

unitary council area A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

, with the nearby

Lanark County Buildings The Lanark County Buildings, also referred to as the South Lanarkshire Council Headquarters, is a local government facility in Hamilton, Scotland. History Originally the headquarters of Lanark County Council (which had previously been based at ...

, which had been occupied by Lanark sub-region within Strathclyde, becoming the new SLC headquarters; the District offices at Hamilton Townhouse (already a library) were later renovated to provide further community use as opposed to civic functions.

References

{{South Lanarkshire elections Districts of Scotland Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Politics of South Lanarkshire 1975 establishments in Scotland 1996 disestablishments in Scotland Larkhall Bothwell and Uddingston Blantyre, South Lanarkshire

Local Government

See also

References