Broadside entitled 'An Elegy'

Commentary

This memorial notice begins: 'Upon Exceeding much to be Lamented Death of the Illustrious Princess ANNE Dutches of HAMILTON, Who Departed this Life the 16th of October 1716, in the 96th. Year of her Age'. This Elegy begins: 'This Noble Princess of Immortal Fame, / An Ornament unto the Christian Name'.

Anne Douglas-Hamilton, 1st Duchess of Hamilton, was born in 1632, to the 1st Duke of Hamilton and his wife. She was the only child to survive her father and eventually became duchess in her own right when her uncle, the 2nd Duke of Hamilton, died heir-less. A formidable and energetic woman, Anne engineered the successful petition for her husband, William Douglas, to be given the Hamilton title. She was responsible for building Hamilton Palace, although she was evicted from this home by Oliver Cromwell. Anne died in 1716, just months after visiting her second favourite residence at Strathaven, Lanarkshire.

Broadsides are single sheets of paper, printed on one side, to be read unfolded. They carried public information often for entertainment, such as memorials and eulogies. Cheaply available, they were sold on the streets by pedlars and chapmen. Although many of the people are now lost to researchers, their stories offer a valuable insight into many aspects of the society they were published in.

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