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The
house, 78 Derngate is the only Charles Rennie Mackintosh domestic
commission outside of Scotland.
Mackintosh
was invited to remodel the house by the renowned model-maker W J
Bassett-Lowke in time for his wedding to Florence Jane Jones in
March, 1917.
The
hall-lounge. |
Mackintosh's
initial design included a striking black room: the hall-lounge,
with a yellow-stencilled wallpaper motif of inverted triangles.
Another
tour de force was the guest bedroom decoration of bold ultramarine,
black and white stripes (displayed in the Hunterian Art Gallery,
Glasgow) in which the playwright George Bernard Shaw stayed.
| Charles
Rennie Mackintosh
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| (1868
- 1928) Mackintosh was one of the leading exponents of the Art
Nouveau style during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
He was a designer, artist and architect and produced textiles,
furniture and metalwork. Most of his surviving work can be seen
in his home town of Glasgow, but Northampton has the highly-prized
78 Derngate, which Mackintosh remodelled for its owner. Although
he wasn't revered in the UK during his own lifetime, Mackintosh
is now often referred to as Scotland's greatest 20th century
architect and designer. |
Mainly
thanks to the photographs initiated by W J Bassett-Lowke, the interiors
of the house are well documented and with the help of a Heritage
Lottery Grant, restoration and conservation of 78 Derngate has begun.
The
Chairman of the Trust, Keith Barwell, says that the house is currently
closed for restoration but will be completed by Spring, 2003. The
house will then be fully open to the public. To that end, Dr Sylvia
Pinches has been appointed House Curator.
The
Friends of 78 Derngate are an active support group for the Trust
and have a programme of events including a Mackintosh weekend in
Glasgow.
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