Palace Lodge, Motherwell Road, Hamilton

[Rodeo]

I have a certificate citing the place of death (in 1900) as Palace Lodge, Motherwell Road, Hamilton.

At that time, was Palace Lodge a hospital, nursing home or refuge for the elderly? Is it still extant?

I suspect it was some sort of charitable institution.

Any information would be most appreciated.

Cheers,

Rodeo

[ev]

Hi ,

Wonder if this is the Lodge ?
http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/sidebyside.cfm#zoom=18&lat=55.7817&lon=-4.0168&layers=168&right=BingHyb

Hamilton Palace is to the West of the Lodge.



ev

[Rodeo]

Hi Ev

Many thanks for that link. Yes, it may well be the Palace Lodge in question. I thought it may have been used at some stage as a hospital or nursing home because the previous address of my relation was for many years Muir Street, where his wife died three years earlier. Odd he was living in Palace Lodge at the time of his death (age 71) unless it had been converted into a residence of some sort. It seems unlikely that he would have been employed there at such an advanced age. Hmmm. Dunno. It's a mystery.

Cheers,

Rodeo

[Lodger]

Although Hamilton Palace was the largest non-royal residence in Great Britain, by 1900 it was rarely occupied and by the end of WWI it was being stripped ready for demolition. The particular lodge in question here, (if the only existing lodge is anything to go by) would probably have been too small for anything other than family use.
So, perhaps the person who died in 1900 was a relation of some sort? The 1901 census should solve the mystery.

p.s. Why wouldn't he be working at "such an advanced age"? People had to work for as long as it was humanly possible, there was no retirement age and no state pension of any description. Unless his family was able to support him he would have had no other option but to work. A gatekeeper's job would probably have suited him at that age.
Muir Street would have been about 2 minutes walk away.

[Rodeo]

Hi Lodger

Yes, the lodge in Motherwell Road on the map Ev found does appear to be the likely one among the other dwellings/lodges for the staff of Hamilton Palace.

I did indeed check the 1901 census and a search with the keyword/address Palace Lodge shows two families by the name of Campbell and MacInnes (no relation) living at Almada Lodge Palace, Bothwell Road. There are no results for Palace Lodge per se. James MacInnes (McInnes), gardener, died at Palace Lodge in 1894 and the address is cited as Palace Lodge, Muir Street, which is in close proximity to Motherwell Road, as you pointed out. Almada Palace Lodge has since been relocated stone by stone from Bothwell Road (where, coincidentally, my great grandparents, grandfather and family lived before emigrating in 1910).

http://www.scotsman.com/news/victorian-lodge-relocated-for-posterity-1-618566

Yep, you’re right that my Paterson relation could indeed have been employed at Palace Lodge, despite his advanced age, in his occupation as a joiner or some other capacity.

Cheers,

Rodeo

[scotmum]

Something, else to possibly consider - there was also a Palace Lodging House in Hamilton in the timescale, albeit I don't know if this was near Muir Street/Motherwell Road.

[Rodeo]

Aha! Brilliant. Thanks so much for that, Scotmum. It makes more sense to me that my relation would have been in a lodging house, nursing home or similar establishment following his wife's death than in the employ of Hamilton Palace -- although it IS possible.

From where did you glean that information? I couldn't find anything about it on the net. Presumably, this was a common lodging house that was so named because of its proximity to Hamilton Palace rather than being accommodation for Palace staff. Is that correct? If so, it may well have been in Motherwell Road or Muir Street.

Many thanks again.

Cheers,

Rodeo

[scotmum]

From Motherwell Times, either side of 1900. Given as address of miners who were up before the court. A few other mentions of different named Lodging Houses in Hamilton too, plus a much earlier mention of a parochial Lodging House in Muir Street.  That said, I am not seeing any other source of a 'Palace' Lodging House, so the newspaper mentions may be a red herring.


Any further clues in the 'Informant' column of the death certificate?

[Rodeo]

Alas, no further clues in the informant column of the death certificate. Although he fathered ten children (nine surviving at the time of his death), the informant was his daughter-in-law.

However, I just now reviewed the address of Palace Lodge cited on the death certificate, which is Motherwell Road, Parish of Hamilton. Perhaps it was a parochial lodging house, as you mentioned, and he was 'on the Parish', as a recipient of poor relief. That's something else to consider.

Many thanks again for your help.

Cheers,

Rodeo