Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
in
South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares bor ...
, Scotland. Barncluith forms the south-eastern part of the town, between the urban centre and the
Avon Water
Avon Water, also known locally as the River Avon, is a river in Scotland, and a tributary of the River Clyde.
Course
The Avon Water rises in the hills on the boundary between East Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire, close to the head of the Irvi ...
Larkhall
Larkhall (, ) 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 Avon Water to the West. Larkhall ...
and the
Clyde Valley
The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. T ...
. The name derives from "Baron's Cleugh", a cleugh being a ravine.
Barncluith Primary School closed in the 1990s. The school building stands at the corner of Miller Street and Townhead Street, and is now the ''Barncluith Business Centre''. The parish church is St. John's Centre on Duke Street.
Barncluith House and gardens
To the south of the area, alongside the Avon Water, are Barncluith tower house and Barncluith House. The tower house dates to the 16th century, while the house is of 18th-century origin. The terraced gardens which run down to the river, which date from the 17th century, are a
category A listed building
Category, plural categories, may refer to:
General uses
*Classification, the general act of allocating things to classes/categories Philosophy
* Category of being
* ''Categories'' (Aristotle)
* Category (Kant)
* Categories (Peirce)
*Category (V ...
, and are included on the
Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland
The ''Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland'' is a listing of gardens and designed landscapes of national artistic and/or historical significance, in Scotland. The Inventory was originally compiled in 1987, although it is a cont ...
, the national listing of significant gardens. The house and tower are both category B listed, having been extensively restored in the 20th century.
History
The lands of Barncluith were held by the Machan family, of Norman origin. In 1507 Anne Machan married William Hamilton of Rossmoor, kinsman of the
Duke of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Duke of Rothesay, Dukedom of Rothesay held by the sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the pr ...
. Their son fought and died at the
Battle of Langside
The Battle of Langside was fought on 13 May 1568 between forces loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots, and forces acting in the name of her infant son James VI. Mary’s short period of personal rule ended in 1567 in recrimination, intrigue, and disast ...
(1568), and Barncluith was subsequently inherited by their grandson John Hamilton. The tower house of Barncluith dates to around this time, and was probably built by John Hamilton along with the gardens. The building of the terraces along the river is thought to date to the 17th century. The garden was laid out as seven "hanging terraces" leading down to the River Avon.
Another John Hamilton of Barncluith was Sheriff of the Lower Ward of Lanarkshire from shortly after 1707. He is said to have held his court within the pavilion in the terrace garden, and to have carried out executions at a nearby oak tree. In the 1730s, the involvement of the architect William Adam in works at Barncluith is suggested by surviving correspondence with his clerk of works.
Ownership of Barncluith passed from the Hamiltons to the Ruthven family in the 19th century. At this time the gardens at Barncluith were renowned as an example of an old Scots garden, and were popular with visitors to the area.
In the 19th century the mound on which the castle had originally stood was levelled and enclosed by a stone
balustrade
A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...
by
David Bryce
David Bryce Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE FRIBA Royal Scottish Academy, RSA (3 April 1803 – 7 May 1876) was a Scotland, Scottish architect.
Life
Bryce was born at 5 South College Street in Edinburgh, the son of David B ...
. By 1900 the main garden had been reduced from seven to five terraces but including summerhouses and gardenhouses, a fountain and "the Duke of Hamilton's bath" and was described by
Sir Robert Lorimer
Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Gothi ...
as "the most romantic little garden in Scotland".
The estate was bought in 1908 by lawyer James C. Bishop, who restored the gardens. In 1927