Hamilton Mausoleum

By Steven McCombe

Details Hamilton Mausoleum  Hamilton Mausoleum  Strathclyde Country Park  Hamilton Road  Motherwell  ML1 3ED    01698 266155    Get a Map    Get Directions Contrary to popular belief it's not old firm fans talking about Larsson or Flo. It's the Hamilton Mausoleum that has an echo lasting an astonishing 15 seconds. The Mausoleum is located within Strathclyde Country Park and just off junction six of the M74. It started getting built in 1842 by David Hamilton and was completed by David Bryce and Alexander Ritchie in 1858. It was built for the 10th Duke of Hamilton as a family chapel and tomb but isn't very good for worship because of its terribly long echo. On his death the 10th Duke was entombed there in an Egyptian sarcophagus along with 16 other members of his family but the bodies have since been moved to the nearby Bent Cemetery (in 1921). The entrance of the mausoleum has massively beautiful bronze doors modelled on the Baptistery in Florence. Its dome stretches 120 feet high and inside there is a fine mosaic floor. It has been described as an "extraordinary work of architectural sculpture rather than a building". The mausoleum can be visited on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm. This is an organised tour where tickets must be bought before you go. Tickets can be bought from the Lowpark Museum in Hamilton, across from Asda, at a cost of £1.10 for adults and 70p for children.