Chatelherault Country Park is in Ferniegair, just outside Hamilton.
The house was built as a hunting lodge for the Duke of Hamilton and his family in 1734. Their main residence was at Hamilton Palace, which you used to be able to see from Chatelherault, however it has since been demolished. The Dukes of Hamilton lived in Hamilton Palace from 1591. They started to rebuild Hamilton Palace in 1684, and it became Scotland’s largest country house. Due to financial difficulties, the Hamilton’s moved out of Hamilton Palace in the late 1800’s. The Duke leased out the land at the Palace for coal mining, however, the ground below the Palace started to subside due to mining under it, and in 1921 the Palace was sold and was then demolished.
The 2nd Earl of Arran, James Hamilton, was granted the title Duc de Chatelherault in 1548, after a french town, He was given the title as thanks for his part in arranging the marriage of Mary Queen of Scots, to Francis, the Dauphin of France.
From the Lodge, you can see Hamilton Mausoleum,. This was built in the grounds of Hamilton Palace and was the burial place for the Dukes of Hamilton and their families. The mausoleum previously held the world record for the longest echo with a man made structure. This record was broken in 2014. Flooding from the nearby River Clyde caused some subsidence and the coffins were removed and reburied in a local cemetry.
The ground in front of the Lodge had been used to mine sand. This caused some subsidence in the lodge which is still noticeable now. Walking through the Lodge, many visitors state they feel off balance with some saying they feel ill.
The land infront of the lodge was known as the Grand Avenue. This was 2 triple rows of trees that ran from the lodge to Hamilton Palace, which was about a mile away. During sand quarrying, the trees were removed, and also caused the steep hill infront of the Lodge.
Hamilton was previously known as Cadzow. It was renamed after the 1st Lord of Hamilton, James Hamilton in 1455.
From the back of Lodge, you can see the ruined Cadzow Castle. It is situated on a high bank of the River Avon. There was a previous Cadzow Castle which was built in the 12th century. This was used by King David I and his successors occasionally.
This Cadzow Castle was built around 1530 by Sir James Hamilton of Finart. Sir James also built Craignethan Castle which is in the Clyde Valley close by. Mary Queen of Scots stayed here after escaping from Loch Leven Castle.
Although there are no reported spirits at the Lodge, there has been the spirit of a white lady spotted at Cadzow Castle. It is not thought that Cadzow Castle is haunted by Mary Queen Of Scots, although she is reportedly seen in many castles throughout Britain. There has also been a black shadow figure seen in the castle, and visitors report a strange sence of being watched.
This is the link to the live walkaround I did on 7th Feb 2019. https://www.facebook.com/ProjectParanormalPage/videos/543109596187983/?modal=admin_todo_tour
By Karen Barrett
Project Paranormal 