Hamilton Palace from the north-west by Thomas Annan

Hamilton Palace was a country house 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 ...

. 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.Hamilton's royal past

South Lanarkshire Council South Lanarkshire Council ( gd, Comhairle Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas) is the unitary authority serving the South Lanarkshire council area in Scotland. The council has its headquarters in Hamilton, has 16,000 employees, and a budget of almost £1b ...

Widely acknowledged as having been one of the grandest houses in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, the palace was situated at the centre of the extensive Low Parks (now Strathclyde Country Park), with the Great Avenue, a north–south tree-lined avenue over in length, as its axis. The Low Parks also contained the

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.David Hamilton and the 11th-century Netherton Cross, while the High Parks (now Chatelherault Country Park) contain Chatelherault Hunting Lodge designed by William Adam. Hamilton Palace was demolished between 1921 and 1926 after coal works beneath the house were discovered to threaten its structural integrity.Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser; Saturday 14 June 1919The Scotsman; Tuesday 11 October 1921Aberdeen Press and Journal; Tuesday 15 November 1921

History

13th-16th centuries

The building at the core of Hamilton Palace was a 13th-century

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

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 thick (compared to 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 The Marian civil war in Scotland (1568–1573) was a period of conflict which followed the abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her escape from Lochleven Castle in May 1568. Those who ruled in the name of her infant son James VI fought against ...

due to James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault's support for

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

. The castle was damaged again in 1579 on the occasion when Cadzow Castle was destroyed and left abandoned. It accommodated King

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

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

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

style, the principal feature of this new formal ceremonial entrance being the frontispiece with its huge

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

portico. Behind the facade of the remodelled north front, the first floor was fully taken up by the 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 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 Ha ...

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 1822 and 1828 the north front itself was enhanced and enlarged by the distinguished

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 ...

architect David Hamilton. The 15-bayed, three storey north front was long and high, adorned with a colossal portico of six

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 Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradi ...

(see below),

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, nea ...

, Anthony van Dyck, and other masters. A sumptuous

chimneypiece The fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a fire grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and ca ...

by William Morgan adorned the Dining Room's fireplace. Long Gallery - Hamilton Palace

William Douglas 12th Duke of Hamilton, 1863

The new palace provided an appropriate setting for a number of magnificent social events: in 1831 it was visited by Marie Thérèse of France, the eldest child of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

and Marie Antoinette, while in 1843

Henri, Count of Chambord Henri, Count of Chambord and Duke of Bordeaux (french: Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie Dieudonné d'Artois, duc de Bordeaux, comte de Chambord; 29 September 1820 – 24 August 1883) was disputedly King of France from 2 to 9 August 1830 as Hen ...

visited the palace and a grand reception was held there following the marriage of the future 11th Duke to Princess Marie Amelie of Baden. In 1851 the palace was visited by Victoria, Duchess of Kent (the mother of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

), and in 1860, a great crowd gathered in the park to catch a glimpse of the visiting French empress Eugénie. A grand ball was held at the palace in her honour. After his marriage in 1843, William, 11th Duke of Hamilton lived chiefly in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, took little interest in his Scottish or English affairs and never attended the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. His son, William, 12th Duke of Hamilton, took a great interest in horse racing, gambling and sailing. He resided at Brodick Castle on the Isle of Arran and Easton Park in Suffolk, which was closer to the major race courses and also meant that he could base his steam yacht ''Thistle'' at

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

, from where he could sail to Brodick Castle, Cowes and racecourse venues on the continent. Hamilton Palace was visited in January 1878 by Edward, Prince of Wales, Napoléon, Prince Imperial and

Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria en, Rudolph Francis Charles Joseph , caption = Rudolf in 1887 , spouse = , issue = Elisabeth Marie, Princess Otto of Windisch-Graetz , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Franz Joseph I of Austria , mother ...

for game shooting in the High Parks, with their visit concluding with a grand ball with 400 guests. By the later 19th century, Hamilton Palace was proving expensive to maintain, and was used only as an occasional residence by the Hamilton family. The programmes of rebuilding and art collecting on the part of the 10th Duke and his successors had left a heavy burden of debt on the estate. The 12th Duke of Hamilton spent a fortune on horses, increasing the Hamiltons’ debts to around £1.5 million. The 12th Duke was only saved from financial ruin when his race horse Cortolvin won the

1867 Grand National The 1867 Grand National was the 29th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 6 March 1867. Finishing Order Non-finishers References {{Grand National 1867 Grand National Grand ...

horse race, with the substantial prize money and the £16,000 from the bookmakers restoring his fortune substantially. However, in order to fund his continued extravagancies, in 1882 the Duke was forced to sell the Beckford art collection, Beckford Library, and Hamilton Library housed in Hamilton Palace. The Hamilton Palace Sale at Christie's in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

took place from 17 June to 20 July 1882 and involved the sale of some 2,213 articles. The sale included paintings by Dürer, Rembrandt, Rubens, Velázquez and

van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh ...

; Chinese, Japanese, Meissen,

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for ...

and English porcelain; bronzes, furniture, tapestries, chandeliers, busts, and vases. The sale raised almost £397,562 and, when added to the sale of the libraries, realized £786,847, .

Decline

The 12th Duke died aboard his yacht ''Thistle'' at Algiers in 1895. He owned in Scotland and England (worth an estimated annual income of £147,000), but still had debts of £1 million. The Duke's trust disposition and settlement conveyed his estate to trustees and left detailed instructions for the administration of his estate, which comprised the Hamilton Estates (in

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 ...

, including Hamilton Palace); the Arran Estate (Brodick Castle and the greater part of the Isle of Arran); the Kinneil Estates (in

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling. It borders Perth ...

, including

Kinneil House Kinneil House is a historic house to the west of Bo'ness in east-central Scotland. It was once the principal seat of the Hamilton family in the east of Scotland. The house was saved from demolition in 1936 when 16th-century mural paintings were ...

) and the Easton Estate and the Great Glemham Estate in Suffolk. The Duke's only child was his ten-year-old daughter, Lady Mary Hamilton, so the title of 13th Duke of Hamilton passed to his fourth cousin, Alfred Douglas-Hamilton, a poor

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

lieutenant. The 12th Duke's trustees were given power to sell the Glemham Estate and apply the proceeds, and that of some moveable property (including the Duke's yacht), towards paying off the debts on the Easton Estate. The Arran and Easton Estates passed to Lady Mary and her descendants, while the Hamilton and Kinneil Estates passed to the 13th Duke, who took on over £1 million in debts, which took him until July 1908 to pay off. The trust disposition and settlement of the 12th Duke also stated: ''"with reference to Hamilton Palace, which is not now used by me as a place of residence, that it shall be in the power of my said trustees if they, in their sole discretion, shall think it advisable to do so, to entirely displenish and dismantle the palace, and take down and remove the building, or allow the same to fall into disuse"''. In 1889 the 12th Duke had leased to the Bent Colliery Company (who owned the Hamilton Palace Colliery at nearby Bothwellhaugh), the

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

under the Low Parks, to be worked on a system, known as the 'stoop and room' method, which would have left Hamilton Palace and the nearby Mausoleum supported by the pillars of coal known as stoops. By the 20th century large and ostentatious country houses had fallen from fashion, partly due to the prohibitive cost of their upkeep. Hamilton Palace had long ceased to be a residence of the Hamilton family, with the 13th Duke considering the palace unsuitable as a modern residence, and preferring to live a rural life at the smaller Dungavel House in Lanarkshire. In July 1914 the Duke and Duchess hosted King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

and Queen Mary when they visited the palace, which was marked by a grand reception. In June 1915 the Duke lent part of the palace for the accommodation of soldiers and sailors who had been injured during 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 ...

and discharged from hospitals and convalescent homes. In November 1915 the 12th Duke's trustees granted the Bent Colliery Company the authority to work the coal seam beneath Hamilton Palace.

Sales and demolition

In June 1919 the trustees petitioned the Court of Session for authority to sell the contents of Hamilton Palace and then demolish the building. The trustees had been advised that the coal workings then in progress beneath the palace would damage and might ultimately destroy the fabric of the palace, and so - with the approval of the 13th Duke - they had decided to demolish it. Permission was granted by the Court of Session on 12 June 1919. At this time, the magazine '' Country Life'' featured a number of articles on the palace and a quantity of photographs were taken by A. E. Henson, the magazine's staff photographer, to accompany the series. As such they represent an invaluable record of the palace before the sale of contents and fittings and its demolition. The sale of the Hamilton Palace Collection took place from 4 to 7 November 1919 took place at Christie's. The sale raised £232,847 () and included furniture, porcelain, silver plate, tapestries, jewellery and paintings by

, Rubens, Rembrandt, Reynolds, Romney, Raeburn, Delacroix and Winterhalter. The remaining contents of the palace - 572 lots including wood panelling, furniture, porcelain, carpets, curtains, sculpture and fittings - were sold at the palace from 12 to 14 November 1919, raising £29,000. In May 1920 Hamilton Town Council considered purchasing the building from the trustees, with a view to restoring it and converting it into flats for public housing, while in December of that year the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton gifted of ground at the south front of Hamilton Palace to the town council for recreational purposes The building was sold for demolition to an Edinburgh building contractor in October 1921, with demolition work commencing in November 1921 and continuing until 1926, with the last sections being demolished in 1932. In July 1922 Hamilton Town Council purchased of the Hamilton Estate, including Hamilton Mausoleum, the stables and the riding school, from the trustees for £20,250.

Parks and landscape

The South Front and kitchen or service court, Hamilton Palace

Hamilton Palace was built in the flood plain of the River Clyde and in close proximity to the town of Hamilton, which grew up around its western boundaries. Situated in the Low Parks, the palace stood at the centre of an extensive garden which, as its main axis, had a great north–south tree-lined avenue over in length. This designed landscape may have originated in the late 17th century but was first drawn up in 1708 by Alexander Edward. The layout was later developed, most notably by William Adam, who introduced Châtelherault hunting lodge into the south avenue in the High Parks where it commanded a broad vista northwards across the Low Parks. The Low Parks contained a number of buildings.

Netherton Cross

The Netherton Cross is the oldest symbol of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

in Hamilton. The location where the cross originally stood lay to the north of the medieval

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

hill in the Low Parks, and is now part of Strathclyde Country Park. The Netherton Cross dates back to the 10th or 11th century and is a rare example of ecclesiastical sculpture from the

Kingdom of Strathclyde Strathclyde (lit. " Strath of the River Clyde", and Strað-Clota in Old English), was a Brittonic successor state of the Roman Empire and one of the early medieval kingdoms of the Britons, located in the region the Welsh tribes referred to as ...

. It is a free-standing carved cross of red sandstone standing to a height of 2.1 metres and is decorated on all four sides with figurative scenes of humans, animals and patterns. In 1857 Hamilton Town Council and the Duke of Hamilton appointed a committee to conserve the cross and a railing was erected around it to protect it. The Duke and Duchess of Hamilton gifted the cross to Hamilton Town Council in January 1920.Bellshill Speaker; Friday 16 January 1920 In 1926 the Netherton Cross was moved from its site in the Low Parks and erected in front of Hamilton Old Parish Church. The cross is under the protection of

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

Hamilton Collegiate Church

The medieval parish church of Hamilton stood close to the east front of Hamilton Palace. Promoted to collegiate status by the 1st Lord Hamilton in 1451, it continued in use after the Reformation in 1560 as the local parish church and burial-ground. With the opening of

Hamilton Old Parish Church Hamilton Old Parish Church is a Church of Scotland parish church serving part of the Burgh of Hamilton in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is notable for its Georgian architecture and the church and grounds are Category A listed. History The churc ...

in 1734, the medieval church was demolished, with the exception of the east end and the attached aisle which served as the burial vault of the ducal family. In 1852 the remains of the 12 members of the family buried there were moved to Hamilton Mausoleum and the east end and aisle were demolished. The golden glow of the Hamilton mausoleum on a December afternoon

Hamilton Mausoleum

In line with his grandiose enlargement of Hamilton Palace, Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton planned to redesign or replace his family burial vault which stood close to the east of the palace in the aisle of the old and dilapidated Hamilton Collegiate Church. The architects David Hamilton and Henry Edmund Goodridge both produced designs for a chapel and mausoleum on the medieval church site. Neither came to anything and in the end, in 1848, the commission eventually fell to David Bryce to build Hamilton Mausoleum on a fresh site northeast of the palace.

Hamilton Palace Riding School

Built from 1837 to 1842 for the 10th Duke of Hamilton by the Edinburgh architect William Burn, what was known as the Duke's Riding School was built to replace the stables court within Hamilton Palace. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Riding School was equipped with a gymnasium and boxing ring for the Douglas and Clydesdale Amateur Boxing Club. The building was the museum of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) from 1983 to 1995, and is now the Low Parks Museum.

The site today

The site of Hamilton Palace is now occupied by the bowling pavilion, bowling greens and car park of the Hamilton Palace Sports Ground. DavieCooperStatue

Most of Hamilton Palace's grounds were incorporated into Strathclyde Country Park. When the park was being constructed in 1974, vaulted cellars were discovered which may have belonged to the palace. However, these were not excavated but instead infilled with rubble.

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.Hamilton Low Parks Museum. The black marble chimneypiece and chimneypiece wall of the palace's Old State Drawing Room is on display in the National Museum of Scotland in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. The Dining Room is on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Five panels of

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...

railings from the palace grounds can be seen outside

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...

. The remains of the tree-lined "Great Avenue" that linked Hamilton Palace to Chatelherault hunting lodge can still be seen. These give the visitor a good indication, particularly from Chatelherault Country Park, of where the palace stood.

Gallery

File:Daniel in the Lion's Den c1615 Peter Paul Rubens.jpg, '' Daniel in the Lions' Den'' by

, which hung in the Long Gallery until it was sold to

Viscount Cowdray Viscount Cowdray, of Cowdray in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1917 for the industrialist Weetman Pearson, 1st Baron Cowdray, head of the Pearson conglomerate. He had already been creat ...

in 1919 File:Felipe IV de castaño y plata, by Diego Velázquez.jpg, ''

Philip IV in Brown and Silver The ''Portrait of Philip IV'' or ''Philip IV in Brown and Silver'' (and occasionally referred to as ''Philip IV of Spain in Brown and Silver'') is a portrait of Philip IV of Spain painted by Diego Velázquez. It is sometimes known as ''Silver Phil ...

'' by Diego Velázquez, sold to the National Gallery in 1882 File:Jacques-Louis David - The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries - Google Art Project.jpg, ''

The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries ''The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries'' is an 1812 painting by Jacques-Louis David. It shows French Emperor Napoleon I in uniform in his study at the Tuileries Palace. Despite the detail, it is unlikely that Napoleon posed for the ...

'' by Jacques-Louis David, which hung in the Billiard Room and later the Dining Room from 1812 until it was sold to the

Earl of Rosebery Earl of Rosebery is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1703 for Archibald Primrose, 1st Viscount of Rosebery, with remainder to his issue male and female successively. Its name comes from Roseberry Topping, a hill near Archibald's wif ...

in 1882 File:2ndMarquessOfHamilton.jpg, ''Portrait of James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton'' by Daniël Mijtens, which hung in the Long Gallery File:6thDukeOfHamilton.jpg, ''Portrait of James Hamilton, 6th Duke of Hamilton'' by Gavin Hamilton, which hung in the Long Gallery File:Francesco Botticini - The Assumption of the Virgin.jpg, ''Assumption of the Virgin'' by Francesco Botticini, which hung in the Entrance Hall until it was sold to the National Gallery in 1882 File:The Circumcision, by Luca Signorelli.jpg, '' The Circumcision'' by

Luca Signorelli Luca Signorelli ( – 16 October 1523) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Cortona in Tuscany, who was noted in particular for his ability as a draftsman and his use of foreshortening. His massive frescos of the ''Last Judgment'' (1499–15 ...

, sold to the National Gallery in 1882 File:William Beckford 1782 - by george romney.jpg, '' William Beckford'' by George Romney, sold in 1919 File:Sir Joshua_Reynolds_-_Elizabeth_Gunning,_Duchess_of_Hamilton_and_Argyll_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg, ''

Elizabeth Hamilton, 1st Baroness Hamilton of Hameldon Elizabeth Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, 1st Baroness Hamilton of Hameldon ( December 1733 – 20 December 1790), earlier Elizabeth Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton, Gunning, was a celebrated Anglo-Irish beauty, lady-in-waiting to Charlotte of Meck ...

'' by Joshua Reynolds, sold in 1919 File:Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton and 7th Duke of Brandon (1767-1852) by Henry Raeburn (1756-1823).jpg, '' Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton'' by

Henry Raeburn Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Biography Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a f ...

, sold in 1919 File:The sarcophagus of the great Steward Pa-ba-sa at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow..JPG, The sarcophagus of

Pabasa The ancient Egyptian noble Pabasa was chief steward of the God's Wife of Amun Nitocris I during the Saite Period. He is buried in tomb TT279, which is located in the El-Assasif, part of the Theban Necropolis, near Thebes. His sarcophagus ...

, which was purchased by the 10th Duke and stood in the Egyptian Hall. It was presented to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in 1922 File:Boule Armoire (Hamilton Palace).jpg, A

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

armoire A wardrobe or armoire or almirah is a standing closet used for storing clothes. The earliest wardrobe was a chest, and it was not until some degree of luxury was attained in regal palaces and the castles of powerful nobles that separate accommo ...

sold in 1882, and now in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

References

External links

Hamilton Palace: A Virtual Reconstruction
- a website developed by th
Virtual Hamilton Palace Trust
with maps, photographs, and virtual reconstructions of the palace.
Hamilton Palace entry from The DiCamillo Database of British & Irish Country Housesarchive of previous version from The DiCamillo Companion

at Gazetteer for Scotland
The Rise and Fall of Hamilton Palace
at National Museums Scotland {{Palaces in Scotland Buildings and structures demolished in the 1920s Country houses in South Lanarkshire Demolished buildings and structures in Scotland Dukes of Hamilton Buildings and structures in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire History of South Lanarkshire Palaces in Scotland Scottish country houses destroyed in the 20th century