The Hill House

The publisher Walter Blackie had Mackintosh design everything in his home, from the house itself to the furniture and textiles. The outside is grey and Scottish like a castle, the inside bright and refined. Today the house stands under a protective mesh of steel while it dries out.

Walter Blackie, a Glasgow publisher, bought a plot in Helensburgh on the Firth of Clyde and in 1902 engaged Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Mackintosh first studied the family’s life before designing the house, so that the rooms would suit their everyday routines. The house was finished in 1904. Mackintosh and his wife, the artist Margaret Macdonald, also made furniture, lighting, textiles and decorations.

Outside, the house is rendered with a grey, rough harl and has a round stair tower, steep roofs and little decoration, like a modern version of the Scottish tower house. Inside, the rooms are divided into dark and light: the hall and library are dark with timber, while the drawing room and bedroom are white and bright. Mackintosh used stylised roses, lattice patterns and straight lines. The high-backed chairs with ladder backs have become his best-known furniture.

The modern cement render that Mackintosh used let in moisture, and the house has long had problems with damp. In 2019 a see-through structure of steel and mesh designed by Carmody Groarke was built over the house so that it can dry out before it is restored. Visitors can walk on walkways around and above the house. The Hill House is cared for by the National Trust for Scotland and is Mackintosh’s most complete domestic work.