Blackwell, The Arts & Crafts House
The Brief
Subtle but important changes to help a highly significant building cope with the extremes of Lake District weather.
Blackwell sits in an elevated position just outside Bowness-on-Windermere, overlooking Lake Windermere. Designed by M. H. Baillie Scott and completed in 1900, the Grade I listed house was built as a holiday home for Sir Edward Holt, the Manchester brewer who later became Mayor of Manchester.
Much of the original interior survived despite the building later being used as a school and council offices. Lakeland Arts now owns and operates Blackwell as a visitor attraction, with a café and art gallery.
John Coward Architects has worked with Lakeland Arts at Blackwell since 2009, beginning with a condition inspection and continuing through a series of cyclical repair projects. These have included work to roofs, masonry, chimneys and rainwater goods, as well as repairs to terracing within the Thomas Mawson-designed gardens.
Key features
- Grade I listed Arts and Crafts house
- Designed by M. H. Baillie Scott and completed in 1900
- John Coward Architects, involved since 2009
- Ongoing condition inspections and cyclical repairs
- Roof, masonry, chimney and rainwater goods repairs
- Repairs to terracing within the Thomas Mawson-designed gardens
- Detailed investigation of water penetration and building fabric
- Subtle alterations to improve how water is shed from the building
Helping the building cope with Lake District weather
Blackwell is exposed to a great deal of wet weather, and parts of the original design do not shed water particularly well. Much of our work has therefore been about finding very subtle ways to improve how water gets off the building without changing its character.
Over the years, we have looked closely at chimneys, window heads, window sills and gable copings. The changes can be small, but getting them right matters. Blackwell’s significance comes in part from Baillie Scott’s stripped-back Arts and Crafts design, so altering those details too heavily could begin to harm what makes the building important.
That requires a forensic understanding of how the building fabric is working. We have used water testing and minimal opening-up work to understand what is happening before deciding what needs to change.
Over the years, those projects have made small but important changes that are helping the building move forward and stay in as good a condition as possible.
