The Low Parks Museum is located 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 no ...

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 ...

and traces the local history of South Lanarkshire through numerous exhibits on provincial industries and events of local historical importance.

History

The Low Parks Museum first opened on 3 November 1967 as the Hamilton District Museum, and is housed within two historic buildings, both closely linked to the history of Hamilton and its Dukes throughout the years. The Museum is located next to the site of

Hamilton Palace Hamilton Palace was a country house in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The former seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, it dated from the 14th century and was subsequently much enlarged in the 17th and 19th centuries. The first of these buildings, now known as Portland, was designed by the architect James Smith and built in 1696 as the private home of David Crawford, secretary and lawyer to

Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton (6 January 1632 – 17 October 1716) 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 La ...

, and was sited near the foot of the 'Hietoun' close to the precincts of Hamilton Palace. It is believed to be the oldest surviving building in Hamilton. To the rear of the building is an assembly room and

fives Fives is an English sport believed to derive from the same origins as many racquet sports. In fives, a ball is propelled against the walls of a 3- or 4-sided special court, using a gloved or bare hand as though it were a racquet, similar to ...

court, added after the 8th Duke bought the house in 1784. The house subsequently became a coaching inn on the London to Glasgow road, until the road was realigned in the 19th century. From 1835 the inn became the Duke of Hamilton's estate offices. The building was then purchased by Hamilton Burgh Council in 1964 and subsequently made into the museum that now stands today. The second building is the former Palace Riding School, built in 1837 by

Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton, 7th Duke of Brandon KG PC FRS FSA (3 October 1767 – 18 August 1852) was a Scottish politician and art collector. Life Born on 3 October 1767 at St. James's Square, London, a son of Archibald H ...

, to designs by

William Burn William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival,often referred ...

to replace the stables court within the Hamilton Palace complex. The Riding School building became the

regimental museum In countries whose armies are organised on a regimental basis, such as the army of the United Kingdom, a regimental museum is a military museum dedicated to the history of a specific army regiment. List of regimental museums in the UK In addition ...

of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in 1983. A refurbishment project in 1993 added new linking buildings and an entrance to the combined museums, which are

category A listed This is a list of Category A listed buildings in Scotland, which are among the listed buildings of the United Kingdom. For a fuller list, see the pages linked on List of listed buildings in Scotland. Key The organization of the lists in th ...

for their national importance.

Exhibits

Cameronians Museum

The main collection on show in the museum is that of the former British Army Regiment, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). The Cameronians were formed on 14 May 1689, with their name being in memory of Richard Cameron, "The Lion of The Covenant", a Scottish preacher who died at the Battle of Airds Moss in 1680. The Cameronians still hold the distinction of being the only regiment in the British military to have a religious origin, with their initial recruits all being Covenanters. In 1881 the 26th (Cameronian) Regiment and the 90th Perthshire Light Infantry amalgamated to form the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). The Cameronians were the only rifle regiment in Scotland and featured in many campaigns over their almost 300 years in military service. The Cameronians are an important part of South Lanarkshire history with the regiment being based in the county for most of their history. Rounds of cuts in the military eventually resulted in the regiment being disbanded, instead of losing its identity through an amalgamation, on 14 May 1968, bringing to an end 279 years of military history. The museum's Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) collection features many exhibits on the history of the regiment. A number of the regiment's flags and banners are on display, such as the ''Bluidy Banner'', which Covenanting forces carried at the

Battle of Bothwell Bridge A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and forc ...

in 1679. The museum also contains over 1,000 medals and awards earned by soldiers and officers from the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), including seven

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

es.

Hamilton Palace

One of the most well-known displays in the Museum tells the story of one of the nation's lost treasures –

Coal mining

Another of the museum's displays is based on coal mining. Before the late 19th century coal mining had not fully developed as an industry in Hamilton, but due to the mining boom in 1874 the prominence of coal mining in the area grew: there were 22 collieries in just the Hamilton Parish. The display in the museum looks at this period in South Lanarkshire's coal mining history and also holds a small exhibit on the Blantyre Mining Disaster of 1877 where 207 miners were killed in a firedamp explosion. This disaster is still Scotland's most fatal mining disaster to date.

Agriculture

Previous to the industrial revolution the primary occupation of almost all of the residents of South Lanarkshire was in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

. The museum's agricultural display focuses on the most famous piece of farm life in the area – the

Clydesdale Horse The Clydesdale is a Scottish breed of draught horse. It is named for its area of origin, the Clydesdale or valley of the River Clyde, much of which is within the county of Lanarkshire. The origins of the breed lie in the eighteenth century, ...

Weaving

A very important industry in the history of Lanarkshire was weaving, and there was a weavers' loom in every cottage in every town and village throughout the area. One of the original

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

looms can be seen in the museum's Textile gallery. This gallery also holds information on the story of Hamilton's peculiar lacemaking industry, which was introduced in by Duchess Elizabeth in 1752.

Ducal buildings

This displays information on the history of the remaining ducal buildings in the town, including those on the museum site—Portland, the Palace Riding School, and

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.

Early settlement in South Lanarkshire

Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton by Willes Maddox

One of the most unusual and interesting objects in the Museum is a 4,000-year-old Bronze Age burial. Found during sand quarrying operations at Ferniegair in the 1930s, this well-preserved skeleton represents one of the very early residents of South Lanarkshire.

Previous exhibitions

The museum has held numerous temporary exhibitions. A robot exhibition in 2013 featured robotic characters from film and television, such as

R2-D2 R2-D2 () or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical ''Star Wars'' films to date. At various points throughout the course of the films, R2, ...

from '' Star Wars'', the NS-5 robot from ''

I, Robot ''I, Robot'' is a fixup (compilation) novel of science fiction short stories or essays by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines ''Super Science Stories'' and '' Astounding Science Fiction'' be ...

'', and a full size RoboCop costume. It has also previously presented artwork by Scottish Autism's Hamilton group; The Talented Young Adults with Autism in 2013 and regularly hosts demonstrations of period costumes and weaponry giving revelers the chance to take part in such activities as archery and medieval coin striking. The museum has even given a glimpse into the life of Duchess Anne and

through the dramatized ‘At Home with the Duke and Duchess’ where professional actors took on the role of the important figureheads 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 ...

’s past.

References

External links

South Lanarkshire Councils' Low Parks Museum siteVisit Scotland – Low Parks MuseumThe Cameronians(Scottish Rifles)
{{authority control Museums in South Lanarkshire Museums established in 1967 Musical instrument museums Buildings and structures in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Regimental museums in Scotland Category A listed buildings in South Lanarkshire Coal mining in Scotland