Hill House, Helensburgh

Helensburgh was settled by businessmen whose wealth came from industrial Glasgow. In 1902 Walter Blackie, of the publishers Blackie and Son, bought a plot there for a new home. At the suggestion of Talwin Morris, Charles Rennie Mackintosh was appointed to design and build it. Blackie knew what he wanted. He asked for grey rough-cast walls and a slate roof rather than the brick, timber beams and red tiles common in the west of Scotland. He also wanted effect to come from the massing of the building rather than from ornament. This unconventional brief gave Mackintosh full rein. The house was built at a cost of £5,000.

Mackintosh worked closely with the Blackie family and shaped the layout around their routines. The interior came first, and the outward form grew from it. This approach echoed A. W. N. Pugin's idea of picturesque utility. Blackie later recalled: 'Not until we had decided on these inside arrangements did he submit drawings of the elevations.' Blackie's library, study and cloakroom sit beside the front entrance, separating business from domestic life. The children's rooms occupy the upper east wing. Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh also played a key role, designing and making interior elements such as the gesso panel at the drawing room fireplace. The full extent of her contribution is still debated, but the major architectural composition is accepted as Mackintosh's.

The house has battled water from the outset. In 1953 the then owner, Campbell Lawson, asked Glasgow architect Margaret Brodie for advice on the problem. She identified the large west chimney stack as the most likely cause. This was also recognised in 2019, when an infra-red thermographic survey revealed where damp had occurred. The original Portland cement harling, an innovative but flawed choice, proved less durable than traditional lime. By 2017 the damp threatened the building's structural integrity. The property had been donated to the National Trust for Scotland in 1982. In 2019 the Trust enclosed it in the Box, which is expected to remain until 2028 while conservation work continues.

The ghost lore of The Hill House is modest and centres entirely on its first owner. Reports include sightings of a tall figure in a black cape and the unexplained smell of cigar or pipe smoke. Both have been attributed to Walter Blackie. Beyond that, no dates, names of witnesses or detailed accounts are recorded. Visitors should treat these as stories told about the house rather than as anything more certain.

The Hill House is cared for by the National Trust for Scotland, which continues to open it to the public. It lies in Helensburgh, to the west of Glasgow. The National Trust for Scotland's own website carries current opening hours and location details, so check there before you travel.

Expect to find the house inside the Box, the protective enclosure that shields it from rain while letting air circulate. It is expected to stay in place until 2028 while conservation of the exterior and interior continues. Inside, look out for Mackintosh's original fitted and moveable furniture, and for original or replica textiles by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh. Other highlights include the stencilled white principal bedroom with its vaulted ceiling above the bed, and the sequence of revelations as you pass from the entrance into the family rooms.