Hamilton Low Parks Museum

Low Parks Museum

Low Parks Museum, Portland Building
Shown in South Lanarkshire
Established	1967
Location	Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Coordinates	55°46′46″N 4°02′06″W / 55.779581°N 4.03503°W / 55.779581; -4.03503
Type	Regimental museum
Website	www.cameronians.org/museum/

The Low Parks Museum is located in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland and traces the local history of South Lanarkshire through numerous exhibits on provincial industries and events of local historical importance.

History

The Low Parks Museum first opened on 3 November 1967 as the Hamilton District Museum,^[1] and is housed within two historic buildings, both closely linked to the history of Hamilton and its Dukes throughout the years. The Museum is located next to the site of Hamilton Palace, demolished in 1927, and the history of the buildings is directly linked to the palace.^[2]

The first of these buildings, now known as Portland, was designed by the architect James Smith and built in 1696 as the private home of David Crawford, secretary and lawyer to Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton, and was sited near the foot of the 'Hietoun' close to the precincts of Hamilton Palace.^[3] It is believed to be the oldest surviving building in Hamilton.^[4] To the rear of the building is an assembly room and fives court, added after the 8th Duke bought the house in 1784. The house subsequently became a coaching inn on the London to Glasgow road, until the road was realigned in the 19th century. From 1835 the inn became the Duke of Hamilton's estate offices.^[4] The building was then purchased by Hamilton Burgh Council in 1964 and subsequently made into the museum that now stands today.^[3] The second building is the former Palace Riding School, built in 1837 by Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton, to designs by William Burn to replace the stables court within the Hamilton Palace complex.^[5] The Riding School building became the regimental museum of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in 1983. A refurbishment project in 1993 added new linking buildings and an entrance to the combined museums, which are category A listed for their national importance.^[4]

Exhibits

Cameronians Museum

The main collection on show in the museum is that of the former British Army Regiment, the

The museum's Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) collection features many exhibits on the history of the regiment. A number of the regiment's flags and banners are on display, such as the Bluidy Banner, which Covenanting forces carried at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge in 1679.^[7] The museum also contains over 1,000 medals and awards earned by soldiers and officers from the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), including seven Victoria Crosses.^[8]

Hamilton Palace

One of the most well-known displays in the Museum tells the story of one of the nation's lost treasures – Hamilton Palace. The Palace was the primary residence of the Hamilton family from at least 1591 until 1919, and was the largest non-royal residence in Britain. However, as a result of mining decline, it was demolished in the 1920s—one of the largest ever losses to Scottish national heritage. Many items from within the palace are on display, such as a large floor-to-ceiling mirror. The museum also contains many images of the Palace prior to its demolition in 1927.^[9]

Coal mining

Another of the museum's displays is based on

A very important industry in the history of Lanarkshire was weaving, and there was a weavers' loom in every cottage in every town and village throughout the area. One of the original weaving looms can be seen in the museum's Textile gallery. This gallery also holds information on the story of Hamilton's peculiar lacemaking industry, which was introduced in by Duchess Elizabeth in 1752.^[9]

Ducal buildings

This displays information on the history of the remaining ducal buildings in the town, including those on the museum site—Portland, the Palace Riding School, and Hamilton Mausoleum. The exhibit on the ducal buildings describes the history of these nationally important buildings and the people who built and used them.^[9]

Early settlement in South Lanarkshire

One of the most unusual and interesting objects in the Museum is a 4,000-year-old Bronze Age burial. Found during sand quarrying operations at Ferniegair in the 1930s, this well-preserved skeleton represents one of the very early residents of South Lanarkshire.^[9]

Previous exhibitions

The museum has held numerous temporary exhibitions. A robot exhibition in 2013 featured robotic characters from film and television, such as R2-D2 from Star Wars, the NS-5 robot from I, Robot, and a full size RoboCop costume.^[12] It has also previously presented artwork by Scottish Autism's Hamilton group; The Talented Young Adults with Autism in 2013 ^[13] and regularly hosts demonstrations of period costumes and weaponry giving revelers the chance to take part in such activities as archery and medieval coin striking.^[14] The museum has even given a glimpse into the life of Duchess Anne and Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton through the dramatized ‘At Home with the Duke and Duchess’ where professional actors took on the role of the important figureheads of Hamilton’s past. ^[15]

See also

• List of Category A listed buildings in South Lanarkshire
• List of listed buildings in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
• List of museums in Scotland

References

External links

• South Lanarkshire Councils' Low Parks Museum site
• Visit Scotland – Low Parks Museum
• The Cameronians(Scottish Rifles)