10 members of Kilbarchan visited Holmwood House in July over 2 visits in the Cathcart area of Glasgow. This home was acquired by the National Trust for Scotland in 1994 when it was in danger of being demolished and the grounds developed for housing. It has been restored to a very high standard, a lot of the work required was the undoing of the alterations made in the 1920s.
It was built in 1858 for James Couper a paper manufacturer whose paper mill was nearby. The architect was Alexander “Greek” Thomson who was asked to provide a family home and Holmwood is considered to be his finest and most elaborate residential villa.
Our guide Carol was excellent and we learned much about what it was like to live at Holmwood, details about both the family and the architect and also the many phases the house went through including being owned by a vet then nuns.
We also learned how both Thomson and Couper gave much back to the city including the Alexander Thomson Travelling Studentship which is still in existence. The second recipient of the scholarship being Charles Rennie MacIntosh. Ironically the furthest Thomson travelled was briefly to London.
A good day out despite the weather. We finished the visit in the cafe, where else!
