Hamilton House

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Memory · Subcategory: Sites of memory · Year: Siglo XVIII

This house, built in the 18th century and unfortunately demolished in 1973, was one of the best examples of Canarian domestic architecture in Santa Cruz. It was located at 15 La Marina Street. Only its courtyard remains, which was dismantled before the building's demolition and reassembled inside the current headquarters of the Presidency of the Government of the Canary Islands.

According to some authors, the house was built at the beginning of the 18th century and was owned by the powerful Casalón family, French merchants with large businesses in the port of Santa Cruz. Later, it was the residence of Sergeant Major Felipe Carlos Piar, consul of Malta and also engaged in commercial activities. Then, at the beginning of the 19th century, it passed into the hands of the Hamilton family, owners of a thriving commercial enterprise, serving not only as a private house but also as an office, warehouse, cellar, and even the British Consulate.

The façade overlooking the sea above La Marina Street had three floors with symmetrical openings. The main entrance was located on the left side. The upper windows were covered with dripstones joined by a cornice. The mezzanine windows, smaller, had balusters on the parapet.

Its magnificent courtyard distributed the interior spaces. From it, a wide main staircase started. Perpendicular to it was another staircase leading to a mezzanine that had open galleries on three sides. High ceilings, with wide capitals, supported the upper gallery enclosed with sash windows. The lower part of the parapet was decorated with words of praise to the Blessed Sacrament and the Virgin. Above one of the galleries was a wooden balustrade.

The entire building plot covered an area of 5,373 square metres, and the Hamilton company chose this impressive construction as a symbol of prestige for their commercial firm. The individualised access to each floor responded to the desire of its inhabitants to make each independent according to their different functions, adapting to the needs of their business: ship and goods consignments, insurance, banking, consulate, and private residence.

A reception for the sons of the Prince of Wales took place in this building during their visit to Tenerife in 1879, as it was the seat of the British consulate in the islands between 1833 and 1970. The billiard room on the main floor was used at the end of the 19th century as an Anglican chapel until the early 20th century.

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