Topographical, statistical, and historical gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 1

738
HAMILTON.
tains the odd assemblage of abanquetting-house, and
a dog-kennel. It stands on a vising ground near the
Avon ; the banks of which river form a deep, woody
dell behind it; open in many parts, and in general
wider, and of larger dimensions, than these recesses
are commonly found. Frequent as they are in moun-
tainous countries, and rarely as they are marked with
any striking or peculiar features, yet they are always
varied, and always pleasing. Their sequestered
paths; the ideas of solitude which they convey;
the rivulets which either sound or murmur through
them ; their interwoven woods, and frequent open-
ings, either to the country or to some little pleasing
spot within themselves, form together such an as-
semblage of soothing ingredients that they have
always a wonderful effect on the imagination. I
must add, that I do not remember ever meeting
with a scene of the kind which pleased me more
than the wild river- views about Chatelherault."
[Gilpin's ' Observations,' vol. ii. p. 66.] — In the
romantic dell of the Avon are also situated the
ancient terraced gardens of Barncluith, or Baron's
Cleugh, the property of Lord Ruthven. The house
is situated on the top of a bold bank, with walks cut
out of the rock, one under the other descending to-
wards the river, supported by high walls, and beau-
tified by fruit-trees of various kinds, and commands
an enchanting prospect of the wooded banks of the
Avon, and the delightful amphitheatre around and
beyond The post-town of the parish is Hamil-
ton, distant I0J miles from Glasgow, and 36 from
Edinburgh. In this parish there are 15 miles of
turnpike, and about 30 miles of parochial road.*
The great Glasgow and London road, and the
Edinburgh and Ayr road pass through the parish;
and upon the London road- — the line of which
through the town has been recently altered and
improved — there is an imposing bridge over the
Cadzow-burn, of three arches, of 60 feet span, and
the parapet of which is 60 feet above the bed of the
streamlet. There is also a new bridge over the
Avon on the same line of road. Farther up the
stream is an old bridge of 3 arches, said to have
been built long since at the expense of the monks of
the monastery of Lesmabagow. Hamilton bridge,
over the Clyde, upon the Edinburgh road, has 5
arches, and was built by authority of parliament in
1780. It is burdened with a pontage for foot-pas-
sengers. Bothwell bridge, also over the Clyde, is
well known to history : see Bothwell. The
population of the town and parish was, in 1801,
5,911; in 1811, 6,453; in 1821, 7,613; and in 1831,
9,513. By a census recently taken, however, the
numbers have increased to 9,822. According to the
census of 1831, there were in the town 7,490 per-
sons; in villages 500 persons, and in the landward
part of the parish, 1,523. The old valued rent of
the parish is £9,377 Scots; but according to the
New Statistical Account, the average gross rental
of the landward part of the parish is £1 1,537 6s. 3d.,
and of the burgh £8,638 4s. 7id, Total £20,175
19s. lOd.
* Tt has been proposed to form a railway, from the termina-
tion of the Pollot-k and Govan railway at Rutlierglen, to the
town of Hamilton. This railway would be led under the
Blantyre road by a tunnel 130 yards in length j and would
cross the Rotten Calder water by a viaduct. The distance
from Glasgow by tliis line, would be 10 miles 39 ennuis Mr.
Locke adopts this line as tlie commencement of the Clydesdale
line of railway between Glasgow and Carlisle. This line
would be led by a viaduct 32 chains in length, through the
town of Hamilton ; and at 7 miles' distance from Hamilton
would cross the Nethan water by a viaduct 850 feet in length,
and 232 feet in extreme height; it would approach within a
mile of Lanark, and enter Dumfries-shire near the Clyde's
Nap. The remaining part of its course to Carlisle — a distance
from Hamilton of u miles 35 chains— is traced in a note to our
article DtiMi'MES-slllufc.
Assessed property, £18,863. Houses, in i83f,
1,013. — This parish is situated in the presbytery of
Hamilton, and synod of Glasgow and Ayr. The
ancient parish of Cadzow comprehended the present
parish of Hamilton, in addition to the chapelry of
Machan, now the parish of Dalserf. David I., with
consent of his son, Earl Henry, made a grant of the
church of "Cadihoo," with its pertinents, to the
Bishops of Glasgow, and the grant was confirmed by
the bulls of several Popes. The church of Cadihou
was afterwards constituted a prebend of the Cathe-
dral church of Glasgow, by John, the Bishop of that
see; and his successor, Herbert, granted to the dean
and canons the lands of Barlanerk and Badlernock,
in augmentation of the prebend. Long before the
Reformation, however, the chapelry of Machan was
erected into a separate parish by the name of Dal-
serf, but the rectory of the parish-churches of Ham-
ilton and of Dalserf continued to belong to the
prebend of the dean of Glasgow down to the epoch
of the Reformation. AYhen the church was erected
into a prebend, a vicarage was instituted for serving-
the cure. In 1589, the king granted to James, Earl
of Arran, and his heirs male, the right of patron-
age of the deanery of Glasgow with the parsonage
of the churches of Hamilton and Dalserf; and this
part was ratified to the Earl's nephew, James
Marquis of Hamilton, in 1621. The patronage of
the collegiate church of Hamilton — which has been
recently uncollegiated — has ever since remained in
the noble house of Hamilton. At the period of the
charge being made collegiate in 1451, James, Lord
Hamilton, built a fine Gothic church, with a choir,
two cross aisles, and a steeple; and this continued
the parish-church down till 1732, when a new church
was built, and the old one removed, with the excep-
tion of the aisle, which contains the burying vault
of the family of Hamilton. For further particulars
of the ecclesiastical state of the parish, see Burgh
of Hamilton.
As has been stated, the old Scottish kings held
their courts at Cadzow castle, which continued to
belo.jg to the Crown till after the battle of Bannock-
burn ; and the district has occasionally been the scene
of important events in the history of the kingdom.
In the times of trouble, Hamilton was a sort of head-
quarters of the Covenanters, and the majority of the
inhabitants were devotedly attached to the cause.
In the winter of 1650 Cromwell despatched General
Lambert and Commissary-general Whalley to Hamil-
ton, with five regiments of cavalry, for the purpose
of keeping the Covenanters of the district in check,
or of seducing them over to his own views. They
were attacked by a party of 1,500 horsemen from
Ayrshire, under Colonel Kerr, and a great number of
horses fell into the hands of the Covenanters ; but
Lambert having rallied his forces, attacked the Co-
venanters in turn, at a spot 2 miles from Hamilton,
killed Colonel Kerr, with about 100 of his men, and
took a great number of prisoners. In June 1679
Graham of Claverhouse, when upon his way to the
field of Drumclog, seized, near the town of Hamilton,
John King, a field-preacher, and 1 7 other persons,
whom he bound in pairs and drove before him in the
direction of Loudon hill. After their success at
Drumclog, the Covenanters marched to Hamilton,
and resolved upon an attack on Glasgow, but, as is
well-known, they were severely repulsed, after which
they again retired to Hamilton, where the more
moderate portion of the body drew up the document
which afterwards obtained the name of, ' Ihe Hamil-
ton declaration,' and the purport of whieh was to
deny any intention of overturning the government,
to forbear all disputes and recriminations in the
meantime, and to refer all matters to a free parlia-