Hamilton Barracks was a military installation in

Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Hamilton (; ) is a large town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It sits south-east of Glasgow, south-west of Edinburgh and north of Carlisle. It is situated on t ...

History

The barracks, which were originally designed for use by cavalry, were built between 1794 and 1795. The cavalry moved out to Maryhill Barracks in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1877 and the barracks were converted for infantry use. The conversion took place as part of the

Cardwell Reforms The Cardwell Reforms were a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone paid little attentio ...

which encouraged the localisation of British military forces. The barracks became the depot for the

26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot The 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the Scots Army and subsequently a Scottish infantry regiment of the British Army, active from 1689 to 1881. Although the regiment took the name of its first colonel as James Dougl ...

and the

74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot The 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1787. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot to form the Highland Light Infantry in 1881. History Formation ...

. Under the

Childers Reforms The Childers Reforms of 1881 reorganised the infantry regiments of the British Army. The reforms were done by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers during 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell Reforms. The reorganisation w ...

, the 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot amalgamated with the 90th Regiment of Foot (Perthshire Volunteers) to form the

Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Army, the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 26th Cameronian Reg ...

with its depot in the barracks in 1881. The barracks also became the depot for the

73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot The 73rd Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1780. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 42nd Regiment of Foot to form the Black Watch, Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) in 1881. History Form ...

and the 90th Regiment of Foot (Perthshire Volunteers). Under the

, the

71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot The 71st Regiment of Foot was a Highland regiment in the British Army, raised as the 73rd (Highland) Regiment of Foot in 1777. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st Battalion, Highl ...

amalgamated with the 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot to form the

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First World War, First and World War II, Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 t ...

with its depot in the barracks in 1881. Many volunteers enlisted at the barracks at the start of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The barracks fell into a state of disrepair and the Highland Light Infantry moved its depot to Maryhill Barracks in March 1921. The Cameronians, who had been scheduled to move out in the late 1930s, saw action in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and then re-located to Winston Barracks in 1947. The barracks were demolished in the 1960s and the site was occupied by Bell College in 1972: Bell College evolved to become the Hamilton Campus of the

University of the West of Scotland The University of the West of Scotland (), formerly the University of Paisley, is a public university with four campuses in south-western Scotland, in the towns of Paisley, Blantyre, Dumfries and Ayr, as well as a campus in London, England. T ...

in 2007. Low Parks Museum, which incorporates the Regimental Museum of the Cameronians, is situated only a few hundred yards to the East of the site of the former barracks.

References

{{reflist Barracks in Scotland Installations of the British Army Buildings and structures in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire History of South Lanarkshire