Hamilton Townhouse is a building in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, which is operated by South Lanarkshire Council. It contains both the town's main public hall (formerly known as Hamilton Town Hall) and public library, as well as various council departments, including Licensing, and community learning.
The building, although appearing to be one, was actually built in stages over a 21 year period. The library section of the complex was opened by Andrew Carnegie in 1907. [1] The adjacent townhouse offices were opened by King George V in 1914 and finally the town hall completed the building in 1928.
In 2002, each section of the building was closed to enable the building to undergo a massive regeneration project, costing £9 million. This was required to bring the internal facilities to current standards, while restoring the exterior of the A-listed building. In August 2004, the new integrated Townhouse complex was opened to the public, with an official opening by HRH Princess Anne in September. The library won two awards: the "Architect Meets Practicality Award" for libraries of significant architectural interest that are practical and user-friendly and the "Mary Finch Accessibility Award" for the library which most addresses access issues from physical through to cultural barriers.[2]