Home to the master
City tenement plays a key role in Mackintosh history, finds Paul Drury
When Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s name is mentioned, his masterpieces such as Glasgow School of Art, the city’s Scotland Street School and helensburgh’s hill house spring to mind.
his fame stems from the classic buildings he designed rather than the properties he called home, but a less well-known slice of Mackintosh history has just come on the market in the east end of his native city.
Mackintosh lived in the tenement in Firpark Terrace, Dennistoun, from the age of seven to 24 and it is believed to have played an important role in his artistic development.
The family home was close to Golfhill house, owned by Alexander Dennistoun, who gave the area its name, and from whom Mackintosh’s police clerk father, William, rented a plot to grow flowers.
The young Mackintosh, who would become an internationally acclaimed artist and designer renowned for his botanical subjects, was encouraged to take an interest in the allotment.
estate agent Pacitti Jones is making no claims that the groundfloor apartment currently for sale at number 2 was the Mackintosh family home but there is a small plaque outside to show he did live in the building.
With a particularly bright and stylish interior, however, there is little doubt that Mackintosh would have approved of the flat.
A most attractive feature of the two-bedroom property is the imposing corner bay window living room, with views across the city to Cathkin Braes. Built in 1875, the flat retains the grand attributes of the Victorian era, including high ceilings and intricate cornicework.
The four-panelled doors in the curved hallway are particularly impressive.
Bringing things up to date, the property has recently been rewired and replastered and was equipped with a Glow-worm Ultimate 30C combination boiler two years ago. It will produce all the hot water you want in the beautifully tiled shower room.
The kitchen is roomy, allowing space for a small table and chairs and is fitted with white countrystyle wall and base units.
One of the biggest attractions is the proximity to Strathclyde University, and the beating heart of the city, George Square, is just a mile away.
Turn the other way and you can sample the attractions of what
Time Out magazine calls the eighth coolest neighbourhood in the world.
In a 2020 survey, Dennistoun was described as ‘a secluded island in Glasgow’s east end’ with an influx of students responsible for altering the demographic of the previously working-class district.
Certainly, Charles Rennie Mackintosh was in no rush to leave here, living in the tenement even after he became apprenticed to the architectural practice honeyman & Keppie.
In the 1891 census, he even gave Firpark Terrace as his home, and left from it to study in Italy. The rest, as they say, is history.
Offers over £175,000 to Ross Shaw of Pacitti Jones. Email ross@pjglasgow.co.uk