Hamilton

Hamilton, a town of Lanarkshire, on the left bank of the Clyde, 10 miles SE. of Glasgow. The principal edifice is the burgh buildings (1863), with a clock-tower nearly 130 feet high; and there are also the county buildings, large barracks, and a good racecourse. The former manufactures of lace, tamboured bobinette, and cambric have declined; and mining is now the chief industry of the district. Hamilton was made a royal burgh in 1548, and one of the five Falkirk parliamentary burghs in 1832. Pop. (1841) 8724; (1881) 18,517; (1891) 24,863. In 1886 the parliamentary boundary was made coincident with the municipal (extended in 1878).—Hamilton Palace, successor to Cadzow Castle, is the seat of the Duke of Hamilton. Dating partly from 1594, but greatly enlarged in 1705 and 1822, it is a sumptuous classical structure, though its choicest art-collections were sold in 1882 for nearly £400,000. Within its policies are a superb mausoleum (1852), the ruins of Cadzow Castle, the herd of wild white cattle, and some primeval oaks.