"It is a thousand pities that so great and historic a house should disappear."
"It is a thousand pities that so great and historic a house should disappear."
"It is a thousand pities that so great and historic a house should disappear."
"the pictures, the furniture and the decoration of every thing is not to be describ'd but by saying that every thing is exquisitely fine and suitable to the genius of the great possessors"
"It is a thousand pities that so great and historic a house should disappear."
"It is a thousand pities that so great and historic a house should disappear."
"It is a thousand pities that so great and historic a house should disappear."
"the pictures, the furniture and the decoration of every thing is not to be describ'd but by saying that every thing is exquisitely fine and suitable to the genius of the great possessors"
The Trust
Formally launched at a reception in the Palace of Holyroodhouse on 3rd December 2003 by gracious permission of Her Majesty The Queen, The Virtual Hamilton Palace Trust has been formed to recreate the Palace in a virtual world on the Net and to reassemble as far as possible its unique collection of paintings, furniture and objets d'art which have been dispersed to become the treasures of museums around the world and to set these in their historical and cultural contexts through a series of research projects and the publication of related archive materials.
The Trust believes this would not only provide a hugely important resource for international scholarship, but that it would also have a direct and special significance for Scotland. Chatelherault is already a focus for tourism in Lanarkshire, yet it was merely the Palaces 'dog kennel', so to speak, a tiny structure in the Palace parks. The Trust believes people should have the opportunity of learning about the vast scale of the Palace itself, its galaxy of priceless treasures and those associated with it, both upstairs and downstairs. The Trust believes there is the potential for the project to become one of the most significant art/socio/historical research undertakings ever embarked upon in Scotland.
Between 1822 and 1828 the north front of Hamilton Palace was massively enlarged and enhanced by Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton (1767-1852) working in collaboration with the distinguished Glasgow architect, David Hamilton (1768-1843), whose design represented an interpretation of the 1819 drawings of the Neapolitan architect Francesco Saponieri. The old north front was replaced by a monumental edifice 80.5m long, the façade of which was centred upon a colossal portico of hexastyle (that is, of six column) form and Corinthian Order.
Begun in about 1684 by the 3rd Duke and Duchess of Hamilton and carried through after the duke's death in 1694 by Duchess Anne (1632-1716) alone, Hamilton Palace underwent a major rebuilding programme in the late 17th century. Dubbed by the family as 'The Great Design', these works led to the creation of a U-plan mansion, with a deep but open south-facing courtyard which, with the exception of the south quarter (which was demolished), followed the outline of the existing late 16th-century enclosed quadrangle. James Smith (c.1645-1731), since 1683 Surveyor or Overseer of the Royal Works in Scotland, was the architect whom the duke and duchess commissioned to design and supervise the building of the mansion from 1693 onwards.
The enlargement of the north front of Hamilton Palace between 1822 and 1828 at the instigation of the 10th Duke of Hamilton (1767-1852) was accompanied by a building programme which resulted in the enhancement of the associated service buildings in a style and on a scale which echoed the formal grandeur of the main block. In a series of nine surviving drawings ascribable to about 1825, David Hamilton (1768-1843) produced a set of designs for the stable court and kitchen offices which broadly correspond to the ranges as built.
Begun in about 1684 by the 3rd Duke and Duchess of Hamilton and carried through after the duke's death in 1694 by Duchess Anne (1632-1716) alone, Hamilton Palace underwent a major rebuilding programme in the late 17th century. Dubbed by the family as 'The Great Design', these works led to the creation of a U-plan mansion, with a deep but open south-facing courtyard which, with the exception of the south quarter, followed the outline of the existing late 16th-century enclosed quadrangle. Under the direction of the architect James Smith (c.1645-1731), the south quarter was removed entirely, the east and west quarters were rebuilt as courtyard wings, while the north wing was refaced and remodelled internally, its principal external feature being the entrance portico.
Of the late 17th-century interiors which survived the programme of enlargement and enhancement carried out by Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton (1767-1852) and the architect, David Hamilton (1768-1843), few escaped embellishment. The long picture gallery, which had taken up the entire first floor of the main or north block of the late 17th-century palace, remained a major feature of the 10th Duke's monumental edifice, overlooking the south court but now masked on its window-less north side by the massive 1820s additions. Inside, the 35.7m-long and 6.7m-wide gallery received not only some of the 10th Duke's own prize treasures, including a canopied throne, but also two replacement chimneypieces. The deeply coffered (sunk-panelled) ceiling and panelling were also heavily refurbished to the extent that this room in effect became yet another monument to his intervention.
One of the main purposes of the enlargement and enhancement of the palace between 1822 and 1828 by Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton (1767-1852) and the architect, David Hamilton (1768-1843) was the creation of a suite of interiors that would form an appropriately grand setting for the duke's growing collection of art treasures. Inside, the scale and tone of the new additions on the north front were set by the grand entrance hall at first-floor level, an impressive 16.5m-square and 12.8m-high space whose dimensions exactly matched the proportions of the portico outside.
The grandest of the interiors in the late 17th-century 'Great Design' consisted of a suite of crimson-upholstered state rooms on the first floor of the west wing and the adjacent Long Gallery in the north block. Nothing in the palace escaped the embellishing hand of Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton (1767-1852) but in this area his interventions involved a 'thorough repair' of the oak panelling and the creation of new trompe l'oeil (that is, painted with the false effect of relief or perspective) ceilings by David Ramsay Hay. To the end, therefore, something of the character and tone of the interiors created in the time of Duchess Anne (1632-1716) managed to shine through.
The enlargement and enhancement of the palace between 1822 and 1828 by Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton (1767-1852) and the architect, David Hamilton (1768-1843) led to the creation or refurbishment of the interiors on a grand scale, and of the late 17th-century rooms or features which survived this massive programme few escaped embellishment or re-modelling to some degree. Originally set within the north-west turret, the location of the old great stair did not fit in with the scheme of 1820s and was re-located to a newly created stairwell in the outer west wing between the two service courts. This view shows the oak-balustraded scale-and-platt (flight and landing) staircase created by the master carver, William Morgan for William, 3rd Duke (1634-94) and Anne, Duchess of Hamilton (1632-1716). Each of the ten rails which make up the stair is from a single piece of wood, and the ten panels are intricately carved with flowing foliaceous ornament, variously containing human figures, animals and the intertwined monogram, W and A, for William and Anne, surmounted by ducal coronet (bottom left). The newly created stairwell has marbled walls and on the main floors (not shown in this image) classical statuary set in niches.
At the death of Duchess Anne in 1716 and even by the 1730s, some of the interiors of the late 17th-century 'Great Design' are known to have still remained unfinished. It is likely that these were within the east wing which was the last part to be erected and which was clearly the focus of attention of the architect William Adam (1689-1748) and his stuccoist, Thomas Clayton, when they came to be engaged by the 5th and 6th Dukes of Hamilton (1703-43, 1724-58).
The interiors of the east wing, which was the last part of the late 17th-century 'Great Design' to be erected, probably still remained unfinished in the 1730s. By at least the early 1740s, however, they had become the focus of attention of the architect William Adam (1689-1748) and his stuccoist, Thomas Clayton, then engaged by the 5th and 6th Dukes of Hamilton (1703-43, 1724-58) on a major building programme at the ducal hunting lodge of Châtelherault.
Rediscovering The Palace
"It is a thousand pities" wrote that doyen of departed country houses H. Avery Tipping in a preface to one of the 1919 Hamilton Palace sale catalogues, "that so great and historic a house should disappear. .. Within and without the Palace offers us of the best that the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries produced, and the present dispersal yields a very unusual opportunity of acquiring sumptuous examples of all three periods in the finest possible state of preservation."
The demolition of Hamilton Palace, then the principal residence of Scotland's premier Dukedom of Hamilton and Brandon, took place during the 1920s. Its contents, arguably the most magnificent ever assembled in this country, the Royal collections excepted, were dispersed through a series of sales beginning in the 1880s and culminating in 1919. There were, of course, good and particular reasons for the demolition of this great house and from to-day's vantage point we can also set the abandonment of such establishments more clearly in the context of changing economic, political and social conditions, but its destruction and the dispersal of its contents remain and will continue to be regarded as one of the greatest losses to national heritage ever to have happened in this country.
Virtual aerial view of landscape, 1896 (detail)
The image to the left shows a detail taken from the simulated aerial view, a re-creation of the estate landscape as it probably existed in the late 19th century and based on the 1:10,560 scale Ordnance Survey map of 1896. The image is interactive: mouseover the image to reveal the layout of the area as it appears on recent Ordnance Survey maps.
Hamilton and the Clyde valley
The site of what was once Scotland's largest and most magnificent country house, replete with the country's greatest-ever private collection of art treasures, is today occupied by a modern commercial retail park and road system dating from the 1990s, just to the west of the M74, Scotland's busiest motorway. The sheer contrast in style and setting between the palace complex which developed over the centuries and what now exists in Hamilton Low Parks could not be greater. This contrast provides a special challenge to re-create this one-time treasure-house and its parklands from old photographs, drawings and manuscripts, and especially from images of its priceless collections which have found their way around the world.
This pair of maps shows, in the context of modern Hamilton and the complex configuration of roads in this part of the Clyde valley, the former location of Hamilton Palace and its many associated local properties.
The site of the palace itself (HP) is at the centre of the map on the left, occupying a favoured position on the fertile river plain. On the right, the same map is used to show, against a modern background of roads and built-up areas, the strip which forms a simulated 'aerial' view of the estate landscape as it probably existed in the late 19th century.
Reading from north to south on the left-hand map, the other buildings and monuments which have an association with the history of the palace, and which for the most part appear on this website, are as follows: 1. Bothwell Parish Church; 2. Hamilton Palace Colliery (site); 3. Nethertoun Motte; 4. Hamilton Mausoleum; 5. Hamilton Museum; 6. Riding School; 7. Collegiate Church (site); 8. Hamilton Old Parish Church; 9. Bent Cemetery; 10. Barncluith; 11. Châtelherault; 12. Cadzow Castle; and 13. Hamilton High Parks.
Background Movie Clip: the 10th Duke and Hamilton Palace
Paul Murton: “Alexander the 10th Duke was a very flamboyant character. He set about making the already magnificent Hamilton Palace even more opulent.”
Rosalind Marshall: “He was tremendously proud of his own family, and his own position, and this connection with the Royal Family. He really wanted to make this the most grandiose house in Scotland, so that people could see exactly how important the Hamiltons were.”
PM: “But the Duke’s Grand Design didn’t come cheap. Alexander wanted Hamilton Palace to have the equivalent of a Royal Collection. This was a task he threw himself into with great enthusiasm, travelling the world, seeking out rare and exotic pieces of art. It’s said that during his lifetime he spent the equivalent of hundreds of millions of pounds, amassing an incredible collection of paintings, sculpture and furniture. The Duke’s collection contained a number of now world-famous paintings. But he had one particular obsession: Napoleon. He even went to the extent of commissioning what has become one of the most iconic portraits of the Emperor – when Britain was still at war with France.
RM: “I wouldn’t be surprised if his obsession with Napoleon was in a way a reflection of his own view of himself in the world – they were both flamboyant characters who were projecting their personalities. Perhaps he felt an affinity…
PM: Alexander’s art collection at Hamilton Palace would have dwarfed the likes of the famous Burrell Collection. Sadly, it is now spread to the four winds, auctioned off to pay family debts. But even more tragic was the fate that befell the building that had housed his magnificent collection. This is the site of Hamilton Palace. Now for us today it is hard to believe the fate of this once vast and imposing building. But the Hamiltons were once heavily involved in the mining industry. Unfortunately, they undermined the foundations of the Palace itself, and in the early nineteen hundreds it began to subside badly. And in 1921 it had to be completely demolished. So today, the once grand house of the Hamiltons has become this sports centre and a retail park.
Interviewee Dr Rosalind Marshall Presenter Paul Murton Producer Kathryn Ross Last broadcast on Mon, 2 Nov 2009, 20:00 on BBC Two (Scotland only).
Video extract courtesy of BBC Scotland and Mentorn Media, from "Clan Hamilton - Grand Designs" (Scotland's Clans Series)
Background Movie Clip: Tour of the Palace
A virtual hamilton house tour of the house and the family that built it, here is a brief presentation by one of today's most distinguished scholars and researchers, Dr Godfrey Evens. Godfrey is the Principal Curator of European Decorative Arts at the National Mueseum, and a Director of VHPT.