Hamilton Townhouse

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Hamilton Townhouse is a building on Cadzow Street in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is run by South Lanarkshire Council. Inside it are the town’s main public hall, the public library, and council offices including licensing and community learning. It is a Category B listed building.

History: The first town house, built in 1798 near the tolbooth, had the council chamber, the courthouse and the jail. In 1860 the council planned changes but instead built a new public hall at New Cross in 1861. When that building deteriorated, they created a larger complex on land at the corner of Cadzow Street and Lower Auchingramomt Road, built in stages over 21 years.

The library section was designed by Alexander Cullen and opened in 1907. The adjacent townhouse offices were designed by Cullen, Lochhead and Brown and opened in 1914. The town hall part, by the same firm, was completed in 1928. The façade has 17 bays facing Cadzow Street, end bays with domed octagonal towers, a central doorway with Doric columns, a wrought-iron balcony, and a tall first-floor window with Ionic pilasters and a carved coat of arms. The main interior hall seats about 700 people.

Use and later changes: The townhouse was the home of Hamilton’s local government for the burgh and later the district. Nearby Lanark County Buildings served the wider Lanarkshire area. In 1996, Scotland reorganised local government and South Lanarkshire Council formed, using County Buildings as its headquarters. In 2002 the townhouse sections were closed for a £9 million regeneration to update facilities and restore the exterior. It reopened in August 2004, and Princess Anne officially opened it in September 2004. The library won two awards for design and accessibility, and the restoration received a commendation from the Scottish Civic Trust.