Hamilton Monument

The Hamilton Monument stands in a small wood at the eastern edge of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire. It was raised to William Douglas-Hamilton, the 11th Duke of Hamilton, who died in 1863. The Dukes once lived nearby at Hamilton Palace, and Barncluith House lies close by. A shallow stream called the Avon Water flows about 100 m east of the wood and joins the River Clyde north of the town. The monument is a circular rotunda supported by nine stone columns beneath a plain entablature. Above the entablature runs a carved kymation and a row of small rectangular blocks known as a dentil frieze. The Duke’s full titles appear on the entablature in raised letters. A pair of carved Hamilton ducal crests flank the short flight of steps leading up to the platform. Originally a marble bust of the Duke rested on a granite pedestal in the centre of the rotunda. The bust was carved by T. Mossmann in 1869 and now stands inside the Low Parks Museum in Hamilton. The monument’s flat dome crowns the structure, completing the classical form. Visitors walk through the wood to reach the clearing where the rotunda stands. From the platform they look out over the surrounding trees and the nearby Avon Water.