The Hill House in Helensburgh by Charles Rennie Mackintosh -renovations
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Last weekend, many National Trust for Scotland properties were open to the public free of charge on production of a lottery ticket purchased that week. This was a move by the National Lottery to promote the funding which it had invested over the years into the properties and projects of the Scottish National Trust.
With our lottery tickets in hand, we chose to visit the famous Hill House in Helensburgh, having learned that there were some major refurbishment works in progress at this venue.
Hill House in Helensburgh is less than a thirty-minute drive from Appletree Cottage.
Hill House was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for the Blackie family, who were prominent and prolific book publishers in Glasgow in the early twentieth century. Many of the interior details of the house were designed by his wife, Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, who was a designer in her own right. The two met when they were students at the Glasgow College of Art and went on to work together on many projects.
Hill House was deemed to require extensive renovation, as the harling was letting in water and rot had appeared in several places. The cost of renovation is expected to be around £20 million, with the National Trust for Scotland and the National Lottery being key funders.
In 2019, a huge steel cage was built around the house to protect it from the elements and give it a chance to dry out. Incorporated in the new structure were walkways, permitting visitors to inspect the building from all angles – even over the roof.
The cage is still in place and is expected to be until 2028, so we were able to wander around it during our visit.
Work has now started in earnest on the exterior of the building as a large crew of renovators is in the process of chipping off all the harling/roughcast by hand. This is labour-intensive and time-consuming, but has to be done in this manner to avoid damage to the building fabric.
The removal of the render revealed the construction of both stone and brick. A guide informed us that when planning permission was granted in the early 1900s, one stipulation made by the local council was that a certain amount of sandstone from a nearby quarry should be incorporated, thus providing trade for this Helensburgh business. However, it is cheaper and quicker to build in brick, so brick was used where permitted.
The clearance of the outer shell also revealed some wooden lintels, which appeared quite rotten. After exploring the exterior, we returned to the main entrance to enter the house interior.
Passing through the front door, we arrived in the main hall. Various rooms led off the hall, including a study, a drawing room and a dining room. There was a door through to the kitchens and the domestic staff rooms at the far end. In the centre, a large staircase led to the upstairs bedrooms. Almost all of the interior design was created by Rennie Mackintosh and his wife, Margaret.
A blend of Art-Nouveau and traditional Scottish design.
Many remarkable furnishings, fireplaces, lamps and wallpapers are to be seen.
Everywhere we turned, there was yet another work of art. It is truly a treasure trove of Mackintosh design!
All around the house, we were reminded that it was built for the Blackie family, as books from their famous and prolific publishing house adorn many surfaces.
The rooms were quite dark during our visit as many of the windows had been boarded up for protection whilst the building work outside continued. When unobstructed, the views through the windows are of panoramic vistas across the Clyde estuary to Gourock and Greenock on the southern shore.
Ascending the staircase, we found ourselves in the long upstairs corridor, with bedrooms leading off. Again, the rooms are furnished with fixtures and fittings all bespoke for this dwelling. Master bedrooms, children's bedrooms, guest bedrooms and dressing rooms all received the Mackintosh treatment.
On the wall of one of the bedrooms are framed photographs taken during the construction of Hill House, along with floor plans of the ground floor and first floor.
Back downstairs, just before we left, we had a quick look around the well-stocked gift shop. All the staff at this place were friendly, helpful, and very well-informed. Our lottery tickets didn't win anything, but the purchase was well worth it, as it gave us free entry to this excellent establishment. It was a pleasure to visit, and no doubt we shall be along again.
More can be found out about The Hill House and Charles Rennie Mackintosh here: https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/the-hill-house
