I had heard many positive whispers about Blackwell for a while prior to visiting. Before this point, I didn’t know much about the Arts & Craft Movement either outside of the name ‘William Morris’, but Blackwell flipped that on its head.
A House for a Brewer
The house was built for Sir Edward Holt, a wealthy brewery owner from Manchester, between 1890 and 1901. Rather than getting an ‘Escape to the Country’-style team on the case to find him a dream house, Holt employed the services of Mackie Hugh Baillie Scott to create an idyllic countryside retreat for himself and his family overlooking Windermere, and boy didn’t he do well.
As mentioned, Sir Edward was a brewery owner. He took control of the Joseph Holt brewery from his father in 1882, and it’s a business that is still in family hands today. During his time in control of the company, Edward will have lived through some fairly significant events, such as the construction and the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal and the 1904 Public House Licensing Act. Holt was also an active member of Manchester’s local government, being created Lord Mayor of the city between 1907 and 1909. He was keen on many good causes, such as improving buildings, libraries, waterworks, and sewage treatment works for the people of Manchester. He was an all-around good guy.
The Arts & Crafts Movement
Blackwell is a fine example of the Arts & Crafts style that swept the country in the 20 years either side of 1900. Arts & Crafts was a reformist movement that was based largely in anti-industrial feeling, pioneered by great thinkers and artists of the time, such as John Ruskin and William Morris. These reformers were reacting primarily to the rise in poor quality, mass-produced items being spouted from the factories and wanted to see the return to a manufacturing process that stayed ‘true’ to the materials.
The country had come out the other side of the Industrial Revolution and was headed towards a second. Daily life had shifted away from being based on agriculture and more towards, you guessed it, industry. There are plenty of arguments out there about how much good came from the Revolution, but it doesn’t change the fact that William Morris actually said:
“Apart from the desire to produce beautiful things, the leading passion in my life has been and is a hatred of modern civilisation.”
He wanted us to go back to a time where the items we needed were handcrafted by skilled workers who knew their trade inside and out. Morris took it to the nth degree by insisting that nothing should be made in his workshops that he couldn’t make himself. Now that is dedication!
Back to Black(well)
Returning to Blackwell, though. Mackie Hugh Baillie Scott was the brains behind the design of this house and it’s safe to say that it completely oozes ‘Arts & Crafts’. Baillie Scott was known for his intense attention to detail which shows in every single room at Blackwell. Take a look up to the ceilings or to the carved capitals of the White Drawing Room and you’ll see what I mean. I have to say, this room, despite being the finest decoratively speaking and having some awesome views, is only my second favourite at Blackwell.
The Main Hall takes my number one spot partly for the design but mostly for the impact it makes when you first see it. What I wouldn’t give for this room in my own house.
The Hall would have been the warm and welcoming centre of the home and the perfect place for a party. I can picture the mingling party-goers, drink in hand, being drawn to the action at the billiards table which used to sit beneath the beaten copper lampshades, and the enthusiastic musician playing a jolly tune at the piano on the other side of the room. When I visited, there was actually a member of the public playing said piano. It was a classical piece but the room still brightened – it sounds a bit strange, I know, but I swear it lit up! Be sure to head over to the fireplace in the nook as well – the tiles of the surround are absolutely fantastic.
It’s a far cry from how I imagine the house in its school days. When the junior girls class of Huyton College was evacuated from Liverpool in 1941, Blackwell became their home. The girls who lived here would help to harvest potatoes, weave baskets, and even take their swimming lessons in the lake. In the harsher winter months, the Headmistress, Miss Murphy, would flood the courtyard with water and after it froze, it could be used as a makeshift ice rink. Absolutely genius idea in my opinion! Some ex-pupils still have memories of their creative Headmistress and the staff at Blackwell have put together a wonderful small exhibition in an upper-floor room dedicated to these stories and recollections.
Today, obviously, the house is a tourist attraction which still retains its homely feel. Sadly when I visited, the weather was atrocious so I was unable to get any photos of the outside of the house and the gardens but rest assured I will be back!
To find out more about Blackwell, you can head over to their website here, and if you want to see more from Holme & Away, you can catch me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.