Old photograph of Hamilton Hall in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Hamilton Hall is a prominent apartment building in St Andrews Scotland. The building is located on Golf Place, beside the Old Course. It is seen in the coverage of the many golf tournaments played over the Old Course, and was featured in the film Chariots of Fire. The building originally opened as the Grand Hotel in 1895 at the time of a rapid expansion of St Andrews as a popular tourist destination. It was built by businessman Thomas Hamilton, after reputedly having been rejected when he sought membership of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club. The Grand Hotel was in a prime location to take advantage of two of the city's attractions: golf and sea bathing. Indeed, the hotel soon became very successful and even managed to attract royal clientele in the early years of the twentieth century. However, the hotel was requisitioned by the armed forces during the Second World War and never reopened as a hotel. Following the end of the war, there was a proposal to sell the building to the Roman Catholic Church as a residence and seminary. This plan caused much alarm among the more traditional Presbyterians in the town and was soon abandoned. The hotel was acquired by the University of St Andrews, was renamed Hamilton Hall after the Duke of Hamilton, then the Chancellor of the university, and was opened as a hall of residence in 1949. The building was sold for £20 million. In addition, it was decided that Eden Court, an annexe to the main hall, would also be sold. However, it was not bought by the same purchasers and has since become an annexe of McIntosh Hall, another student residence of the university.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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