Hamilton Townhouse is a building in Cadzow Street in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, which is operated by South Lanarkshire Council. It contains both the town's main public hall (formerly known as Hamilton Town Hall) and public library, as well as various council departments including licensing and community learning.
- Venue
- Hamilton Townhouse
- Address
- Municipal Buildings and Public Library, 98-102 Cadzow Street, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
- Town
- South Lanarkshire, GB
Hamilton Townhouse is a building in Cadzow Street in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, which is operated by South Lanarkshire Council. It contains both the town's main public hall (formerly known as Hamilton Town Hall) and public library, as well as various council departments including licensing and community learning. It is a Category B listed building. The first town house in Hamilton, which contained the council chamber, the courthouse and the jail, was built adjoining the old tolbooth at the junction of Castle Street and Palace Grounds Road and was completed in 1798. The council considered making alterations to the ageing tolbooth and town house complex in 1860, but in the event decided to augment their facilities with a new public hall, known as the "town hall" at New Cross (now the corner of Duke Street and Quarry Street) in 1861. After the condition of the town hall at New Cross also deteriorated, civic leaders decided to procure a purpose-built complex which combined the functions of council chamber and public hall in one place: the site they selected was open land at the corner of Cadzow Street and Lower Auchingramomt Road. The new building, although appearing to be one, was actually built in stages over a 21-year period. The library section of the complex was designed by Alexander Cullen (1856-1911) and opened by Andrew Carnegie in 1907. The adjacent townhouse offices were designed by Cullen Lochhead and Brown and officially opened by King George V on 9 July 1914. The town hall was also designed by Cullen Lochhead and Brown and completed in 1928. The design involved a symmetrical frontage with seventeen bays facing Cadzow Street with the end bays, each with domed octagonal towers, projecting forward; the central section featured a wide doorway flanked by Doric order columns and pilasters on the ground floor; there was a wrought-iron balcony and a tall round-headed window flanked by Ionic order pilasters on the first floor with a segmental pediment ab