Greek Thomson's Holmwood House reopens after restoration
- Published
Holmwood House was designed by Alexander "Greek" Thomson
A 160-year-old house is reopening to the public after renovation work to restore some of the interior decor.
Holmwood House by Scottish architect Alexander "Greek" Thomson was built for paper magnate James Couper in 1858.
When National Trust for Scotland took ownership in 1994 it discovered the original decorations under layers of wallpaper and paint.
Now the colourful and stencilled walls in the entrance hall and stairway of the Glasgow house have been recreated.
Visitors to the house in Cathcart on Glasgow's Southside will be able to see samples of the original work, where conservators have scraped back the paint.
But the design schemes have also been recreated to show how Thomson intended the spaces to look.
Experts scraped back the paint to find uncover the original decoration
The house was closed for three months before reopening this week.
Karen Cornfield, Holmwood House operations manager, said: "We are delighted to share our progress in bringing Holmwood back to its former glory with our visitors and members, many of whom have been loyal supporters of this project."
The wallpaper was scraped back to reveal "windows" to the original schemes, with work also based off photographs of other Thomson interiors, including his own home.
It is hoped more rooms will be returned to their original schemes and an ongoing fundraising campaign hopes to get £120,000 to do so.
Emma Inglis, National Trust for Scotland curator, said: "The transformation of the hall and stair is amazing.
"We always knew Thomson's scheme for this area was beautiful, if the paint scrapes were to be believed, but now that it has been recreated throughout the space it reinforces just how good Thomson really was.
"Visitors will not see anything else like it in Scotland."
- Published1 April 2017
