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Monument to the Dukes of Hamilton, Bent
Cemetery, Bent Road, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire |
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© RCAHMS |
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The mining of coal directly below Hamilton Mausoleum
caused serious subsidence and damage to the 10th
Duke of Hamilton's final 'folie de grandeur'. In April 1921,
the ducal trustees obtained permission from Hamilton Sheriff Court
to remove all the bodies from the endangered structure.
The remains of the two most recent Dukes - the
11th and 12th
- were taken to their beloved Isle of Arran for burial, but all
the other members of the family were interred in a large grave adjoining
the local cemetery. On 13 October 1921, the Egyptian
sarcophagus containing the 10th Duke, together with all the
other coffins in the crypt, were transported to Bent Cemetery, on
a lorry, by Wylie & Lochhead of Glasgow, with assistance from estate
workers. A short service of commemoration was held the following
afternoon, with just the flat tops of two of the coffins visible,
'the other coffins being covered'.
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A large monument records that the grave contains
James, Lord Hamilton (d.1479); the 1st Marquess of Hamilton; the
1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th Dukes of Hamilton; the
wives of the 9th and 10th Dukes; and three sons of the 4th, 9th
and 11th Dukes. Only a high hedge separates these 'Most High and
Puissant Princes' from very ordinary folk and that other famous
celebrity in Bent Cemetery: the entertainer Sir Harry Lauder.
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