Dalzell House

Dalzell House is a historic house in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located to the south of the town, on the north bank of the River Clyde. At its core is a 15th-century tower house, with extensive additions built during the 17th and 19th centuries. In the 1980s the house was restored and divided for sale as eighteen private apartments, while the surrounding Dalzell estate is now owned by North Lanarkshire Council. The house is protected as a Category A listed building, and the grounds are listed on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.HistoryThe 15th- or early 16th-century tower house was built by the Dalzell family, who acquired these lands in the 13th century. Thomas de Dalzell fought at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Sir Robert Dalzell forfeited the lands in around 1342, for residing in England without the King's consent, but they were restored through marriage in the 15th century. Another Sir Robert Dalzell was created Lord Dalzell in 1628, and his son was further elevated as Earl of Carnwath in 1639.In 1645 the Earl of Carnwath granted the Dalzell estate to his nephew James Hamilton of Boggs, who built the first major extensions to the tower house, adding the south wing around 1649. By 1750, avenues of trees had been laid out in the grounds, probably the work of Archibald Hamilton, 4th of Dalzell. The 7th Hamilton laird, another Archibald Hamilton, entered into a venture with the reformer Robert Owen. An attempt was made to build a model settlement at the Hamiltons' nearby property of Orbiston, but this proved an expensive failure.