Hamilton Barracks was a military installation in

Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Hamilton ( sco, Hamiltoun; gd, Baile Hamaltan ) is a large town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It sits south-east of Glasgow, south-west of Edinburgh and nort ...

History

The barracks, which were originally designed for use by cavalry, were built between 1794 and 1795. The cavalry moved out to

Maryhill Barracks Maryhill Barracks was built on of the Ruchill estate, in the Maryhill area of northern Glasgow, Scotland. History The barracks were opened as Garrioch Barracks in 1872. Built to accommodate an infantry regiment, a squadron of cavalry and a ba ...

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 ...

in 1877 and the barracks were converted for infantry use. The conversion took place as part of the

Cardwell Reforms The Cardwell Reforms were a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone paid little attention ...

which encouraged the localisation of British military forces. The barracks became the

depot Depot ( or ) may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica * Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica * Depot Island Formation, Greenland Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...

for the

26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot The 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the Scots Army and subsequently a Scottish infantry regiment of the British Army, active from 1689 to 1881. Although the regiment took the name of its first colonel as The Earl of ...

and the 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot. Under the

Childers Reforms The Childers Reforms of 1881 reorganised the infantry regiments of the British Army. The reforms were done by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers during 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell Reforms. The reorganisation was ...

, the 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot amalgamated with the

90th Regiment of Foot (Perthshire Volunteers) The 90th Perthshire Light Infantry was a Scottish light infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1794. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot to form the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in 188 ...

to form the

Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Army, the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 26th Cameronian Reg ...

with its depot in the barracks in 1881. The barracks also became the depot for the

73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot The 73rd Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1780. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 42nd Regiment of Foot to form the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) in 1881. History Formation The re ...

and the

. Under the

, the 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot amalgamated with the 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot to form the

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fusi ...

with its depot in the barracks in 1881. Many volunteers enlisted at the barracks at the start of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The barracks fell into a state of disrepair and the Highland Light Infantry moved its depot to Maryhill Barracks in March 1921. The Cameronians, who had been scheduled to move out in the late 1930s, saw action in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and then re-located to

Winston Barracks Winston Barracks was a British Army base, located east of Lanark, Scotland. It was situated in the fork of the A73 and A70 trunk roads, close to Lanark Racecourse. The site was decommissioned in 1994, and some of the buildings have been renova ...

in 1947. The barracks were demolished in the 1960s and the site was occupied by

Bell College Bell College was a higher education college based in Hamilton and Dumfries in Scotland. Founded in 1972, the College merged with the University of Paisley on 1 August 2007, it is now part of the renamed University of the West of Scotland. Hist ...

in 1972: Bell College evolved to become the Hamilton Campus of the

University of the West of Scotland The University of the West of Scotland ( gd, Oilthigh na h-Alba an Iar), formerly the University of Paisley, is a public university with four campuses in south-western Scotland, in the towns of Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley, Blantyre, South Lanar ...

in 2007. Low Parks Museum, which incorporates the Regimental Museum of the Cameronians, is situated only a few hundred yards to the East of the site of the former barracks.

References

{{reflist Barracks in Scotland Installations of the British Army Buildings and structures in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire History of South Lanarkshire