Funding win marks anniversary of Mackintosh acquisition

A generous package of funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund has been pledged to the National Trust for Scotland to celebrate the genius of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald.

Article Source: National Trust For Scotland
Last Updated: 19 December 2024 8:47

National Trust for Scotland Chief Executive Philip Long and President Jackie Bird at the Mackintosh at the Willow, Glasgow. Pic by Peter Devlin

A generous £1.1 million package of development funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund has been pledged to the National Trust for Scotland as the first step towards a highly ambitious project to celebrate the genius of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald.

The news comes almost a year after the conservation charity worked with the Trustees of Mackintosh at the Willow and acquired the tearoom on Sauchiehall Street which was struggling due to the impact of the pandemic and two fires at the Glasgow School of Art.

After adding Mackintosh at the Willow to its portfolio, which also includes the Hill House in Helensburgh, the National Trust for Scotland cares for two of the couple’s most important surviving, publicly accessible masterpieces of design.

These incredible places will be the focus of Mackintosh Illuminated, a project, which the conservation charity says will put a spotlight on the design duo, sharing, celebrating and inspiring as many as possible with their creative genius and the beauty of their creations. The development funding announced today is the first stage towards a wider £7.3 million award from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The National Trust for Scotland says the project will help make Mackintosh and Macdonald better known and appreciated both internationally and at home through the creation of an online learning resource, and an expanded programme of property-based community and education work in both Helensburgh and Glasgow.

The project also aims to encourage more people to visit both sites to get a richer picture of the pair's skill and versatility. Through working in partnership with other Mackintosh stakeholders in Glasgow and more widely, the support will also help planning to celebrate the anniversary in 2028 of Mackintosh’s death, and his birth 160 years previously.

Funding will also enable the charity to continue the vital conservation work at the Hill House which, since it was completed in 1904, has been afflicted with chronic damp. The pioneering chainmail Box which was installed in 2019 has been successful in allowing the house to dry out slowly. This new funding will enable the Trust to move forward with the full removal of the current render, to find a replacement which will resolve the longstanding damp issue, to remove the Box in 2028 and to provide updated, permanent visitor facilities including a café, shop and toilet facilities at the site on Upper Colquhoun Street in Helensburgh.

National Trust for Scotland Chief Executive Philip Long OBE said: “We are enormously grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for this generous grant which will help us do all we can to make sure that Mackintosh and Macdonald get the recognition globally and at home that their brilliant design and creativity merit.

“As the charity privileged to care for some of the finest remaining examples of the couple’s work, we feel strongly that their contribution should be better understood and celebrated. With the Hill House and the Mackintosh at the Willow at the centre of all our work, we will engage with more people in person and online, to tell the story of their creation and the inspiring people involved in those visionary ventures.

“And, as a conservation charity, we will protect both buildings to be enjoyed and experienced long into the future. At the Hill House, this means, continuing our work to solve its century-long issue with damp, both preserving this masterpiece and pioneering methods that add to the global conservation sector’s knowledge of how to care for and repair 20th century buildings, and helping train new craftspeople who can carry out work like this in the future.

“At the Mackintosh at the Willow, that means ensuring that this excellent experience thrives under the Trust’s care and continues to grow and contribute to a much-needed revitalisation of Sauchiehall Street and to Glasgow’s heritage as a whole. It was just a year ago that the future was in doubt for the tearoom. Now this new funding means the future looks bright, both for the Mackintosh at the Willow and for the appreciation of Mackintosh and Macdonald and their unique take on, and place in, nature, beauty and heritage.”

Caroline Clark, The National Lottery Heritage Fund Director for Scotland said: "Conserving the architectural masterpiece of the Hill House and enabling the National Trust for Scotland to tell the story of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald’s creative collaboration is hugely important. Thanks to National Lottery players, the Hill House and the stunning Mackintosh at the Willow on Sauchiehall Street will together enable visitors to explore the work of these two artistic virtuosos whose influence stretches around the world.”

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