Publication Account
Date 2006
Event ID 1019540
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1019540
In the early 18th century the principle feature of the Hamilton Palace policies was the mile long avenue leading from the palace to the ravine of the River Avon with the ruins of Cadzow Castle beyond. William Adam was commissioned by the 5th Duke of Hamilton to build an eyecatcher to terminate the vista. The resulting building combined both the practical 'Dogg Kennell’ with the more frivolous ‘Banqueting House’; its Palladian style is handled with a baroque bravura. Adam’s design appears to be inspired by a variety of interesting contemporary fashionable buildings including Queen’s College, Oxford and the great country houses of Wilton and Houghton. He adapted the plan form of a French Hotel to his unique requirements.
The name recalls the French dukedom given to the Earl of Arran, the Duke's ancestor, by Henri II in 1549. Work was begun in 1731, but Thomas Clayton did not complete the plasterwork of the banqueting house until 1742.
It was opened to the public, along with a part of the High Parks estate, on 30 September 1987, following a ten-year restoration from ruin at total cost of £7m, having been accepted by the government in lieu of death duties. The first phase of conversion to a visitor centre involved the enclosure of the open kennel courtyard by a pyramid roof, carried out by Brooke Millar Peden in 1996. The roof is of natural slate, covering prefabricated steel roof trusses and rafters, and supported by slim columns. A new main doorway was created in the south elevation garden wall.
Information from 'The Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland: Field Guide 2006'.
