Hamilton & Co.

Slaters

Hamilton & Co., slaters, plasterers, granolithic floor and pavement layers, was formed by Thomas Hamilton (c. 1842–1918), originally from Peebles. 1 Hamilton remarried in 1884, and Robert Tennent (c. 1843–1922) became his brother-in-law. By the late 1880s, Tennent, formerly a colliery manager, had joined Hamilton and his son James. The firm was based at various addresses on the south side of Glasgow, ending up in Surrey Street, Gorbals, before the First World War. 2

Among their projects were cement and plasterwork for 'labourers' dwellings' in Calton (City Improvement Trust, 1895); granolithic flooring and slating for Renfrew and Clydebank Joint Hospital (now Blawarthill, 1895); and slates for the Southern Christian Institute, Pollokshaws (R. Miller, 1896). 3 They also roofed Whiteinch School extension (H. B. W. Steel & Balfour, 1892); St Matthew's Episcopal Church, Possilpark (H. D. Walton, 1897); and Ibrox United Presbyterian Church (Bruce & Hay, 1897). 4 Their tender for roofing the famous municipal museum, the People's Palace, Glasgow Green (A. B. McDonald, W. B. Whitie, 1893–8) was also successful. 5

The firm's successes enabled Tennent to swap Maryhill for a home in upmarket Uddingston, and Hamilton to move to spacious Langside. 6 Hamilton also participated in civic life, becoming a Justice of the Peace. Both partners were careful businessmen, and assiduously pursued bad debtors, notably an 'Electric Theatre' (cinema) proprietor who also made ginger beer in 1911. 7

Notes:

1: Glasgow Post Office Directory, 1890–1, p. 306; Census, www.ancestry.co.uk; Wills Search, www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk [both accessed 18 February 2012].

2: Statutory Marriages, www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk; Census, www.ancestry.co.uk [both accessed 18 February 2013]. Glasgow Post Office directories, 1880–1920.

3: Glasgow Herald, 19 April 1895, p. 9; 13 August 1895, p. 9; 14 November 1896, p. 8.

4: Glasgow Herald, 24 December 1892, p. 3; 25 October 1897, p. 6; 22 November 1897, p. 10.

5: Glasgow Herald, 7 December 1894, p. 4; Buildings Report,Dictionary of Scottish Architects, www.scottisharchitects.org.uk [accessed 18 February 2013].

6: Census, www.ancestry.co.uk [accessed 18 February 2013]; Glasgow Post Office directories, 1880–1920.

7: Edinburgh Gazette, 15 December 1899, p. 1287; 12 June 1900, p. 581; 13 June 1911, p. 597; 5 September 1911, p. 904.

'Mackintosh Architecture' led by The Hunterian, University of Glasgow, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council; with additional support from The Monument Trust, The Pilgrim Trust, and the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art; and collaborative input from Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.