The External and Internal Decorative Finishes of the Hill House, Helensburgh: Challenges of an Early Twentieth-century Dwelling House

ABSTRACT

Since its completion in 1904, the Hill House in Helensburgh (Scotland) designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh has suffered from the effects of moisture penetration. Various owners have attempted to remedy the problem with limited success. In 2019 the current owner, the National Trust for Scotland, took the bold step to cover the entire building in a contemporary structure, the Big Box, in order to arrest water ingress, buy time to develop a solution, and engage with the public over this conservation dilemma. This paper explores the technical and philosophical issues that finding a solution presents, and outlines what effects the water ingress has had on the collections and interior decorations. It explores the approaches taken to date with the management of the exterior and interior surfaces of the building, and the environmental management strategy adopted as one element of a solution. It additionally notes that changes to Mackintosh’s original decorative scheme, which included furniture, fixtures and fittings, have occurred over time, and discusses the Trust’s approach to managing the collections in this iconic building.

KEYWORDS:

• Hill House
• early twentieth-century architecture
• cement rendering
• harling
• water ingress
• protective structure

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 Wright, A. P. K. 2012. The Hill House, Helensburgh, Evaluation of Condition and Significance. NTS, unpublished.

2 The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, Mackintosh Buildings Survey 2015–16, unpublished.

3 Agnes Blackie, Walter Blackie’s Memories. 1943, unpublished.

4 Conservation statement. 2011. NTS.

5 See note 4.

6 Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh had studied design at the Glasgow School of Art at the same period as Mackintosh, and she worked with him on a range of projects over his architectural career, contributing designs, panels and needlework. They married in 1900.

7 Gaffney, K. Review inRIBA Journal, July 2019.