Remembering Thomson

The Scottish Architect, Alexander “Greek” Thomson was born on 9th April 1817 in
Endrick Cottage in the village of Balfron, around 15 miles north of Glasgow. He was
the son of bookkeeper John Thomson and his second wife Elizabeth Cooper. Sadly,
John died in 1824 and by the following year, Elizabeth moved to the outskirts of
Glasgow with her younger children. Tragedy struck again in 1830 when Elizabeth
also died, leaving William Thomson – Alexander’s older brother – to look after his
younger siblings along with his wife, in Hangingshaw, an area near Mount Florida in
Glasgow.

By the age of 19, Thomson was an apprentice at the firm of John Baird and worked
hard to progress her career as an Architect. By age 30, he married Jane Nicholson,
and settled in a tenement at 3 South Apsley Place, near the River Clyde, with his
wife and three young children, Agnes, Elizabeth, and Alexander. In 1854, Glasgow
was blighted by an outbreak of Cholera, a disease which took the life of his first born
child Agnes, at the tender age of five. The couple went on to have two more children,
Jane and George, but unfortunately both succumbed to the disease at only 6
month’s old and sixteen month’s, respectively. Their oldest son Alexander also
became ill, and sadly died at age four years old, only three days after his infant
brother George in 1857. The epidemic had cruelly taken many lives during this time.

In early 1857, Thomson and his wife moved with their young daughter Elizabeth, to
Bute Terrace in the village of Shawlands, in a bid to escape the poor sanitation and
drinking water, and by extension, this horrible disease. These devastating
experiences of losing his children stayed with him, and influenced his opinion about
health and well-being; for example, how fresh air can combat dampness, and how
good hygiene and a clean water supply is essential. Also that the use of glass and
mirrors to bring daylight into his buildings could benefit the well-being of the
inhabitants, all things we now take for granted, he used in practical aspects in his
architectural and interior design. The move to Shawlands marked a successful
period for him professionally where he worked on some of his most well-known
buildings, including Holmwood in Cathcart – a building I know very well.

I first came to Holmwood in 2002 as a visitor with my Gran, who was a
member of the National Trust for Scotland. My interest at the time was
architectural history as well as historic interiors and I was immediately taken
by the jewel-like stencilled interiors and rich details and motifs used, not at
all like the usual Victorian style I was used to seeing. I became a volunteer in
April 2003, in what became an association of around nineteen years, during
which time I also studied at the University of Glasgow. The two Property
Managers during my time were Sally White and later, Jim MacDowell, both of
whom have sadly passed away recently; Jim in August 2022, and Sally in
January 2024. Jim was hugely influential in my decision to return to Higher
Education, and he supported my burgeoning career by offering a paid role at
Holmwood at different points during my studies, which also proved valuable
experience for my entry into employment in the heritage sector. Other
support came from the very knowledgeable staff and volunteers, in particular
two of the Volunteer Co-ordinators during my time, Bill Searil, and his ​
successor, Iain McGillivray. They have all made a huge contribution to this
property, and should be remembered as such, as they are very much missed.

Holmwood was designed for James Couper and his wife on a fairly steep bank
overlooking the White Cart, and James and his older brother Robert’s,
Millholm paper mill below, which they owned from 1841. The five acre site
was intended for two adjacent villas to be built – one for Robert, designed by
the Architect James Smith which became known as “Sunnyside”, and the
other for James, by Thomson. I have already speculated on why the brothers
may have chosen such different architects to design each villa in my previous
post about Smith’s notorious daughter Madeleine which can be read here.

Holmwood, designed by Thomson in 1847, was intended as a fairly modest
family home. Upon approach to the front aspect of the villa through imposing
stone gate posts with wood and metal gates, the visitor is met with a
masterful illusion of a grand imposing building due, in part, to its wide
horizontal plane. This effect is created by the wall which joins the coach
house to the villa, but has the added bonus of hiding the kitchen garden from
the front view. The villa which sits at the left has an impressive circular bay
to the left where the parlour is situated and rectangular windows on the right
at the dining room. As you ascend the incline towards the front door, which is
accessed by a wide stair, you enter a square entrance which leads to a small
reception room on the left. This room is cleverly designed to have hidden air
vents in the dentil moulding to allow fresh air into the room. As the room
would have been used for leaving coats and outdoor footwear, the vents
prevent the build-up of condensation within the space – a most practical
detail when you are in an occasionally damp and dreich Glasgow! Off this
room is a second door which leads to a small toilet complete with a high level
“Shanks of Barrhead” wc and wash hand basin – lit by a frosted glass privacy
window which captures the daylight through the clear glass panelled front
door directly opposite. There is an additional detail of the frosted window
opening to allow for ventilation too as the toilet is in the centre with no
window to the outside. These very useful details are included to allow the
visitor a place to remove their outdoor clothing, and use the convenience
before they enter the main body of the house. It is a great example of how
Thomson thought about how the house would be used by those living there
and those visiting.

Once you return to the entrance vestibule, the hallway corridor is accessed
by turning left, and the visitor is rewarded by a beautifully ornate marble
horseshoe fireplace complete with zodiac symbols, a barometer with a
cherub on top, masterfully sculpted by Thomson’s friend, Mossman. The off
white marble is in stark contrast to the warm decorative palette and colourful
mosaic flooring. The hallway being set to the side of the door, rather than
immediately beyond, is another practical design feature, to prevent cold air
or leaves from the garden circulating into the main hallway corridor. The
mosaic floored hallway continues to a stairwell, top-lit by an impressive ​
circular etched glass starry cupola flanked by plaster chimera. At night, the
moonlight filters through the glass and creates a magical looking cascading
star decoration on the walls. As well as the entrance, there are three public
rooms where the interiors were designed with a supposedly free hand by
Thomson to embellish as he wished. Two of the public rooms are on the
ground floor; the dining room and parlour, and one is on the first floor, the
drawing room. The house has repeated motifs of Thomson’s Greek (T) key
borders, acanthus leaves, rosettes, stars and lotus, on the woodwork, floors,
fireplaces, doors and walls. Most of these motifs and colourways can be
evidenced from Owen Jones’ “Grammar of ornament” book.

The downstairs parlour was used as a daytime room, and the ceiling rose has
a sun burst to reflect the daytime activity. Whereas, the drawing room
directly above, was used in the evening – and this is reflected by the ‘starry
night’ plasterwork ceiling. But the highlight of Holmwood is surely the dining
room which has the highest height ceiling within the house. It is decorated
with a frieze depicting the stories from Homer’s Iliad – taken from illustrations
by Flaxman. There is a substantial console, used as a serving buffet with
mirrors above at roughly dado height. When you sit at the dining table, not
only does the daylight from above the console table reflect daylight around
the room, but it reflects those sitting at the table, meaning dinner guests get
to see themselves within this lavishly decorated space. As the room was used
for entertaining potential clients, I have a feeling this was done deliberately –
after all the house is designed to impress! Overall, there are too many clever,
practical and symbolic details to mention in detail in this post (the butler’s
pantry window arrangement, and the later addition of the roof over the
kitchen court for example) so I recommend you go visit this wonderful
property to see for yourself, as it is the only Thomson villa open to the public.
Information on opening days and times can be found on the National Trust for
Scotland’s page here.

Thomson died on 22nd March 1875 at 1 Moray Place, in the end terrace home
he designed for himself and family in Strathbungo, on the south side of
Glasgow. He didn’t leave his native Scotland, but he left a legacy in his will to
allow aspiring Architects to have that opportunity – as money for a travelling
scholarship. The second recipient of this award was a young Charles R.
Mackintosh.