Holmwood

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Holmwood House
Holmwood

Holmwood, now in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, is a unique villa designed by Glasgow’s second most famous architect, Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson. It was built in 1857-8 for James Couper, a local businessman. Thomson’s original room decoration, based on themes from the classical world, is being uncovered and we’ve followed the progress of this continuing conservation work over the years.

Here, a piece of original wall paper has been uncovered in the dining room, and the barometer sits atop the fire-place in the hall:

Original wallpaper
Barometer

A selection from the classical frieze:

Classical frieze
Classical frieze
Classical frieze

Beautiful floor tiling:

Floor tiles
Floor tiles
Floor tiles

Ceilings and dome:

Ceiling
Ceiling
Dome
Dome
Dome detail

When we first visited, it was empty, and although still not fully furnished, it now looks more like a home.

Holmwood
Drawing Room
Bedroom
Bedroom

There are also attractive riverside grounds to explore and a small kitchen garden, planted with a range of Victorian herbs, fruit and vegetables. Unfortunately, while we were in the house the heavens opened so we didn’t spend long outside.

Kitchen garden and back view
Front of house from the lawns

All the more time to spend taking tea in the small café!

Scotland, UK , ,

41 Comments »

  2. I love the architectural and decorative details in homes like these, Anabel. It’s always interesting to see the tile patterns on the floors, and those ceilings are gorgeous!

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  3. Wonderful . . . . somewhere else to add to my Scottish list when I next make it up. Hoping to pop up in a few weeks but nothing booked and time is beginning to run out for us. Sy maybe next year . . . . .

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