Blackwell House
Windermere, Cumbria, England
Allies and Morrison

Arts and crafts style provides an imaginative palette for modern reinterpretation

© Charlotte Wood

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above. To see the people and products behind this project click on 'people & products.'

Blackwell House was built in the late 1800's by M. H. Baillie Scott and is an excellent example of the highly decorative Art and Crafts style of building characteristic of his early career. Originally designed as the weekend retreat of Sir Edward Holt, it housed a number of occupants over the years, yet its architectural spaces and decorative detail survived largely intact through these changes.

Baillie Scott's imaginative use of decorative materials, including carved timber paneling, stained glass, drawn metalwork, carved stone, and molded plaster work, combined with his skill in manipulating the volumes of the rooms and plan of the house, represent some of the finest examples of Arts and Crafts architecture.

When Allies and Morrison were appointed to restore the house and adapt it for use as a gallery for the applied arts, their main objective was to reinterpret, in a contemporary idiom, what Baillie Scott achieved in his time. New interventions were kept to a minimum and much of the work involved meticulous study of the original composition of the house. Intrusive additions by recent tenants were removed and crucial repairs to the historic building fabric carried out internally and externally. Replica period details were fabricated where appropriate in recreating stained glass, carved stonework, ceramic tiling, and textiles.

Allies and Morrison reinstated the original circulation of the house where possible. The old service wing, which had been altered over the years, was remodeled to create a new point of entry for visitors and to include facilities for ticketing, orientation information, sales, and a café. Study rooms, archive stores, and staff accommodations are on the upper floors where the bedrooms and servants quarters used to be. Complete new electrical, plumbing, fire, security, air conditioning systems were incorporated but are hidden from view.

Formal name of Project:
Blackwell House

Location:
Storrs Park, Newby Bridge Road, Windermere, Cumbria, England

Gross square footage:
14,240 sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$2.2 million

Owner:
Lake District Art Gallery and Museum Trust

Architect:
Allies and Morrison
62 Newman Street
London, W1T 3EE UK
Tel: 0207 612 7100
Fax: 020 6120 7101