This House resolves...
Once home to a former MP, this semi villa has a well-kept secret
WHEN the late MP Allan Stewart said you could catch him in the House, you never knew if he was talking about Westminster or West Pollokshields.
For years, this semi-detached villa in Rowan Road, Glasgow, was home to the Tory politician who served the people of Eastwood from 1979 until 1997.
But Mr Stewart is far from the only famous man whose footsteps have echoed around the street. For just up the road lies Craigie Hall, whose interior bears the hallmarks of legendary architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
And the Arts and Crafts style that peppered Mackintosh’s work also appears in this property. The features are resonant of the distinctive Glasgow Style, a fashion for adornments to reflect the city’s growing confidence at the end of the 19th century. They include two Art Nouveau windows, an original terrazzo floor in the L-shaped reception hall and an imposing timber staircase and balustrade. After all that, you almost take for granted the original timber fireplaces.
However, the present owners have not only maintained the period look but enhanced it, adding castiron radiators to several rooms.
Along with the formal drawing room there is a good-sized dining room, a family room with log burner and a substantial kitchen.
But the building’s best-kept secret is found upstairs. Three bedrooms are on the first floor, while an original staircase leads to a ‘bonus’ room on the second floor.
At some point in its first 100 years this attic was converted into living accommodation. And after spending some time as an office for David Cameron (that’s the publisher, not the Prime Minister), it has been put back to its original use.
The location could hardly be better. Situated at the very end of Rowan Road, in an area now known as Dumbreck, it is bordered on one side by a sports centre and playing fields. For privacy, electrically operated timber gates open on to a mono blocked driveway.
No one can say for sure if it was Allan Stewart who converted the attic, but it’s unlikely. After all, MPs were never fans of the Upper Chamber...
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