Hamilton Palace - The Palace

The Palace

Built on the site of a 13th century tower house, the south front of Hamilton Palace was erected Palladian style (adding a huge Corinthian pedimented frontispiece in 1695 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 bur Adam did redesign several important staterooms, with stuccowork 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.

A new (10th) duke took over in 1819 and began a wave of total refurbishment, using the almost limitless wealth falling upon the family from their ownership of the Lanarkshire coalfields. The North Front itself was finally completed 1842 by architect David Hamilton for Alexander, the tenth Duke using Adam's original plans as a structure. The north front was 265 feet (81 m) long and 60 feet (18 m) high, adorned with a Corinthian portico of monolithic columns 25 feet (7.6 m) high. The Staterooms, which included extensive stucco-work, were by Smith and Adam. 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 (see below), Titian, Anthony van Dyck, and other masters. This largely ensued from his wife Susan/Susanna's inheritance of an existing huge collection from her father William Thomas Beckford. A sumptuous chimneypiece by William Morgan adorned the Dining Room's fireplace.

According to Professor Tait in "Burlington Magazine" July 1983 the duke also sought alternative designs for the 1840s reconstruction by Charles Percier, Pierre François Léonard Fontaine and Giacomo Quarenghi.