Publication Account
Date 1985
Event ID 1016553
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016553
The appropriately named Hill House stands above Helensburgh and commands extensive views to the south over the Firth of Clyde. It was Charles Rennie Mackintosh's major domestic commission, and the house along with most of its original furniture and fittings are now in the care of the National Trust forScotland.
The house was built between 1902-4 for W W Blackie, the Glasgow publisher, and it was designed as a family home, but one in which WaIter Blackie could also have privacy to entertain clients without disrupting the rest of the household.
From the exterior the house seems austere, even severe, with its plain harling and lack of ornament, but its interest is derived from the combination of traditional Scottish features with details that are clearly modem. Like Brodick Castle (no. 23), the interior is in complete contrast, containing a wealth of decorative detail with the majority of the furniture and fittings also designed by Mackintosh. Each of the rooms is carefully composed, using simple overall designs to contrast with geometric patterns and highlighted by small splashes of colour.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: The Clyde Estuary and Central Region’, (1985).
