The Clan Hamilton, or House of Hamilton, is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands. [1]
The Clan Hamilton, or House of Hamilton, is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands. [1]
The Hamilton chiefs descend from Walter fitz Gilbert of Hambledon, who appears in a charter to the Monastery of Paisley in about 1294. [1] His lands appear to have originally been in Renfrewshire, however, his support for Robert the Bruce rewarded him with lands in Lanarkshire and the Lothians. [1] These lands included Cadzow, which later became the town of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire. [1]
Chief among the legends still clinging to this important family is that which gives a descent from the House of Beaumont, a branch of which is stated to have held the manor of Hamilton, Leicestershire; and it is argued that the three cinquefoils of the Hamilton shield bear some resemblance to the single cinquefoils of the Beaumonts. In face of this it has been recently shown that the single cinquefoil was also borne by the Umfravilles of Northumberland, who appear to have owned a place called Hamilton in that county. It may be pointed out that Simon de Montfort, the great earl of Leicester, in whose veins flowed the blood of the Beaumonts, obtained about 1245 the wardship of Gilbert de Umfraville, second earl of Angus, and it is conceivable that this name Gilbert may somehow be responsible for the legend of the Beaumont descent, seeing that the first authentic ancestor of the Hamiltons is one Walter FitzGilbert. He first appears in 1294–1295 as one of the witnesses to a charter by James, the high steward of Scotland, to the monks of Paisley; and in 1296 his name appears in the Homage Roll as Walter FitzGilbert of "Hameldone." Who this Gilbert of "Hameldone" may have been is uncertain.
— Encyclopædia Britannica (1911). [2]
Walter Fitz Gilbert was rewarded with lands for his support of king Robert the Bruce. [1] Walter's son, David, fought at the Battle of Neville's Cross for David II of Scotland in 1346. [1] David was captured and was not released until a substantial ransom was paid. [1]
In 1474, James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton, married Princess Mary, daughter of James II of Scotland [1] Their son was James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran. [1] The family extended Brodick Castle on the Isle of Arran. [1] The second Earl of Arran, James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault, was heir to the throne of both James IV of Scotland and Mary, Queen of Scots. [1] He was made regent of Scotland while the queen was still a child and proposed to marry his son to her, in order to secure his claim to the throne. [1] At this time, Friar Mark Hamilton wrote a family history. [3] [4]
However, the royal marriage did not take place and Mary married an heir to the French throne instead. [1] James Hamilton was created Duke of Châtellerault because he had figured prominently in the marriage negotiations with France. [1] In 1561, he was sent into exile for five years because he openly opposed Mary's marriage to Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, having had his hopes rekindled when Mary's marriage ended upon the death of the Dauphin of France. [1]
James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh was a Scottish supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots, who assassinated James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, Regent of Scotland, in January 1570. [5]
The 4th Earl of Arran, James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton, became Lord Chancellor of Scotland and was made keeper of both of the strategic royal castles; Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle. [1] He had been advanced to the rank of marquess in 1599. [1] His brother was Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley, who had been created Lord Paisley in 1587 and later Lord Abercorn. [1] This branch of the family also prospered and Abercorn was advanced to an earldom and later a dukedom in 1868. [1]
The third Marquess, James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, was a staunch supporter of Charles I. [1] Charles rewarded him with the dukedom in 1643, which made Hamilton the premier peer in Scotland. [1] Hamilton led a royalist army into England but was defeated at the Battle of Preston (1648) by the Parliamentarians of Oliver Cromwell. [1] Hamilton was later executed in 1649 at Whitehall, shortly before the king met the same fate. [1] Hamilton's brother, William Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Hamilton, was also a brave soldier but was killed at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. [1] The title passed to Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton, daughter of the first Duke. [1] She was a woman of great intellect but she inherited estates heavily burdened by debt. [1] Matters were made worse with her kinsman Hamilton, Earl of Abercorn, challenged her right to succeed to the title. [1] Anne married William Douglas, 1st Earl of Selkirk (later Duke of Hamilton). [1] Their son was James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton who was killed in a controversial duel in London in 1712. [1]
Hamilton Palace in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, had been the family's seat from the 13th century. Built by Duchess Anne and her husband, William Douglas, 3rd Duke of Hamilton, it had the distinction of being one of the largest non-royal palaces in Europe, reaching its greatest extent under the 10th and 11th dukes in the mid nineteenth century.
Excessive subsidence of the palace caused by the family's mines led to its condemnation and demolition in 1921. [1] The 13th Duke then moved to Dungavel House, near Strathaven. This was where deputy-führer Rudolf Hess aimed to reach during his doomed peace mission to see Douglas, 14th Duke of Hamilton, in 1941.
In 1947, Dungavel was sold to the coal board, and then on to the government, which turned it into an open prison. Currently, it is the site of a controversial holding centre for asylum-seekers.
The family moved to Lennoxlove House in East Lothian, which remains the residence of the current Duke. [1]
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 | Hamyltowne tartan, as published in 1842 in Vestiarium Scoticum ; note: the modern thread count calls for more than one white line. |
Malcolm Hamilton Archbishop of Cashel, first son was Hugh Hamilton, 1st Viscount of Glenawly, a soldier in Swedish service, who in Sweden was created baron of Deserf. Captain John Hamilton of Monea was Malcolm's younger son. His sons, Malcolm and Hugo, went to Swedish service in 1655 and were in 1689 created barons of Hagaby. They stayed in Swedish service and Malcolm's son Gustav David Hamilton was named the title of count in 1751, and in 1765 he gained the rank of field marshal.
John James Hamilton (1642–1717) went after Glorious Revolution to Germany, where he served for Philip William, Elector Palatine.
The last of his descendants was Maximilian von Hamilton, bishop of Olomouc (1714–1776).
John Jack Hamilton was born on August 13, 1640 in Dromore, Kirkcudbright, South Scotland. He joint the Scots Brigade and served as the palfrenier to the Governor of 's Hertogenbosch, John Kirkpatrick. In 1679 he married Maria Wijgherganck. He is the progenitor of the Dutch branch of the Hamilton family.
James Hamilton, 1st Earl of AbercornPC (S) (1575–1618), was a Scottish diplomat for James VI and an undertaker in the Plantation of Ulster in the north of Ireland.
The title Duke of Abercorn is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1868 and bestowed upon James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn. Although the Dukedom is in the Peerage of Ireland, it refers to Abercorn, West Lothian, and the Duke also bears four titles in the Peerage of Scotland and two in the Peerage of Great Britain, and is one of three peers who have titles in those three peerages. The Duke of Abercorn also claims the French title of Duke of Châtellerault, created in 1548.
Cadzow Castle, now in ruins, was constructed between 1500 and 1550 at a site one mile south-east of the centre of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The earlier medieval settlement of Hamilton was formerly known as Cadzow or Cadyou, until it was renamed in 1455 in honour of James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton. The castle sits above a gorge overlooking the Avon Water in what is now Chatelherault Country Park, but was previously the hunting and pleasure grounds of the duke of Hamilton's estate of Hamilton Palace - this area being known as Hamilton High Parks. The ruin is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage, and as such its holder is the premier peer of Scotland, as well as being head of both the House of Hamilton and the House of Douglas. The title, the town of Hamilton in Lanarkshire, and many places around the world are named after members of the Hamilton family. The ducal family's surname, originally "Hamilton", is now "Douglas-Hamilton". Since 1711, the dukedom has been held together with the Dukedom of Brandon in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the dukes since that time have been styled Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, along with several other subsidiary titles.
Brodick Castle is a castle situated outside the port of Brodick on the Isle of Arran, an island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It was previously a seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The castle is a Category A listed building and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.
James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Châtellerault, 2nd Earl of Arran, was a Scottish nobleman and head of the House of Hamilton. A great-grandson of King James II of Scotland, he was heir presumptive to the Scottish throne. Arran was Regent of Scotland during the minority of Mary, Queen of Scots from 1543 to 1554, when he lost the regency to Mary of Guise. At first pro-English and Protestant, he converted to Catholicism in 1543 and supported a pro-French policy. He reluctantly agreed to Mary's marriage to Francis, eldest son of King Henry II of France, and was rewarded by Henry by being made Duke of Châtellerault in 1549. During the Scottish Reformation, Châtellerault joined the Protestant Lords of the Congregation to oppose the regency of Mary of Guise, and lost his French dukedom as a result.
James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran (1537–1609) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who opposed the French-dominated regency during the Scottish Reformation. He was the eldest son of James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault, sometime regent of Scotland. He was of royal descent, and at times was third or fourth in succession to the Scottish crown; several royal marriages were proposed for him, but he eventually never married. He went to France with Mary, Queen of Scots, where he commanded the Scots Guards. After returning to Scotland, he became a leader of the Protestant party against Mary and her French supporters. However, he went insane in 1562 and was confined for the rest of his life.
James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton, 6th Laird of Cadzow was a Scottish nobleman, scholar and politician.
Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley was a Scottish nobleman who fought at the Battle of Langside in 1568 for Mary, Queen of Scots. He is the ancestor of the earls, marquesses and dukes of Abercorn.
Clan Douglas is an ancient clan or noble house from the Scottish Lowlands.
John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Hamilton (1540–1604) was the founder of the long line of the marquesses and dukes of Hamilton in Scotland.
James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Abercorn was a Catholic Scottish nobleman. He, his wife, his mother, and most of his family were persecuted by the kirk as recusants. Implementing his father's will, he gave his Irish title of Baron Hamilton of Strabane to his younger brother Claud. His younger brothers inherited his father's Irish lands, while he received the Scottish ones, which he squandered away, being deep in debt in his later days.
James Hamilton may refer to:
Sir Walter fitz Gilbert of Cadzow, 1st Laird (Lord) of Cadzow was a Scottish nobleman. The husband to Mary Gordon of Huntly, they wed in 1308 in Cadzcow, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He is the first historically confirmed progenitor of the House of Hamilton, which includes the Dukes of Hamilton, Dukes of Abercorn and Earls of Haddington.
William Douglas, 1st Marquess of Douglas and 11th Earl of Angus (1589–1660) was a Scottish nobleman.
Clan Stuart of Bute is a Highland Scottish Clan and is a branch of the larger Clan Stewart.
Anne Hamilton, Countess of Huntly, was a Scottish noblewoman and a member of the powerful Hamilton family which had a strong claim to the Scottish crown. Her father James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault, 2nd Earl of Arran was heir presumptive to the throne of Scotland after Mary, Queen of Scots prior to the birth of the latter's son Prince James in 1566. Anne was the wife of George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly, Lord Chancellor of Scotland and a chief conspirator during the reign of Queen Mary.
Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran was the elder daughter of King James II of Scotland and Mary of Guelders. King James III of Scotland was her eldest brother. She married twice: firstly, to Thomas Boyd, 1st Earl of Arran; secondly, to James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton. It was through her children by her second husband that the Hamilton earls of Arran and the Stewart earls of Lennox derived their claim to the Kingdom of Scotland.
The earldom of Arran currently exists in two forms within the Scottish nobility, in reference to the Isle of Arran. One is a peerage title in the Peerage of Scotland, held as a subsidiary title by the Duke of Hamilton.
Sir George Hamilton of Greenlaw and Roscrea was an undertaker in the Plantation of Ulster. Born and bred in Scotland, by 1611 he had moved to Ireland with his Scottish wife to occupy his plantation grant. In 1630 he married his second wife and moved to Roscrea in southern Ireland, which his father-in-law, the 11th Earl of Ormond, leased to him in lieu of dowry.
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