Hamilton Palace

Story

Hamilton Palace was a large country house located north-east of Hamilton in Lanarkshire, Scotland. The former seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, it was built in 1695 and subsequently much enlarged. Widely acknowledged as having been one of the grandest houses in Britain, the palace was demolished in 1927, due to the prohibitive cost of upkeep and the subsidence caused by nearby coal mines.The PalaceBuilt on the site of a 13th-century tower house, the south front of Hamilton Palace was erected in 1695 in the Palladian style, with a huge Corinthian pedimented frontispiece, by architect James Smith for William, 3rd Duke of Hamilton and his wife Duchess Anne. A new North Front had been planned by the fifth Duke in the 1730s, and extensive plans were prepared by William Adam. The external plans were never executed, but Adam did redesign several important staterooms, with stucco work by Clayton. However, the Duke's early death and the significant costs involved postponed further major work, although modifications and additions continued during the next century, including the purchase or exchange of land surrounding the palace, enabling extensive landscaping to take place.