Concert opens new season at mausoleum
Hamilton Mausoleum celebrated its new season with a powerful performance of Leonard Cohen classic Hallelujah.
The iconic landmark, with its towering dome, is famous for once having the longest echo in the world.
It opened its doors to the public for the first time this year on Sunday, and visitors enjoyed a spine-tingling treat from South Lanarkshire Choir and Hamilton Harmonics.
You can watch the powerful performance on the Advertiser’s website or Facebook page.
Chair of South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture, Peter Craig, said:“the terms ‘iconic ’and ‘unique’are often overused, but Hamilton Mausoleum well deserves them. We have had internationally-acclaimed musicians from across the world come to Hamilton just for the opportunity to experience the sound and to record it.
“With these regular tours running on the first and third Sundays of the month, there are plenty of opportunities for local people, and indeed visiting friends and family, to enjoy the Hamilton Mausoleum experience.”
Guided visits are now available twice a day on the first and third Sunday of the month, from February to November.
They need to be booked through nearby Low Parks Museum at least two days in advance, and the tours offer a fascinating insight into the history and construction of the mausoleum – giving visitors a chance to explore the temple structure above the ground and the crypt beneath it.
The cost for the tours will be £3.60 and £2.10 concession for the tour only, however the museum cafe will be open for anyone wishing to purchase a hot drink.
Larger groups wishing to book a tour outwith these times, or discuss a special event, can call the museum or email linda.barrett@ southlanarkshireleisure.co.uk
Due to the historic construction of the building, there is no disabled access and it is not suitable for people with walking difficulties. Visitors are advised to wrap up warm. Tours can be booked on 01698 452382. Hamilton Mausoleum was built as a tomb and monument to Alexander the 10th Duke of Hamilton around 1842. It was built at a cost of about £33,000 (£1.2 million today)
The duke decided that he wanted to have a proper resting place for himself and his family, but passed away before the building was complete in 1852.
The mausoleum stands at 128ft high with the main room originally being intended for a chapel, but the 15-second echo prevented these plans from going ahead.
Below the crypt is where private ceremonies were held, and the duke moved his ancestors’ bodies there in 1852 from the old Collegiate Church.
When Alexander died later that year, he was laid to rest in an Egyptian sarcophagus.
He was then laid on a black marble plinth in the chapel, which is still inside the mausoleum today, and work on the mausoleum was completed.
In the years to follow, permission was granted for the area around the mausoleum to be mined for coal, which resulted in the foundations becoming weak and the building to subside and sink 18ft.
By the 1920s, there were fears that mining subsidence would damage the mausoleum and as a result, the bodies of Alexander and his ancestors were removed and reburied in the Bent Cemetery in Hamilton.