78 Derngate Charles Rennie Mackintosh house

78 Derngate is a Grade II* listed Georgian house in the Cultural Quarter of

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, originally built in 1815. Its interior was extensively remodelled in 1916 and 1917 by the architect

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macd ...

for businessman Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke as his first marital home. Mackintosh's designs for the house are considered to be one of the first examples of the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style to be seen in Britain. The rear elevation also features an extension with two elevated balconies which, in 1916, overlooked meadowland to the edge of Northampton. The design origins of this extension have been the subject of some scholarly debate and a myth of Mackintosh as a

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

pioneer in his late career has persisted. Recent research– History of the house compiled by Sylvia Pynches, former curator of 78 Derngate.
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Bassett-Lowke Bassett-Lowke was an English toy manufacturing company based in Northampton. Founded by Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke in 1898 or 1899, the company specialized in model railways, boats and ships, and construction sets. Bassett-Lowke started as a ...

and Alexander Ellis Anderson (a Northampton-based architect who supervised the remodelling) may also have had a hand in the design of this structure as well as Mackintosh. In 1926 the Bassett-Lowkes moved to New Ways, a modernist house designed by

Peter Behrens Peter Behrens (14 April 1868 – 27 February 1940) was a leading Germany, German architect, graphic and industrial designer, best known for his early pioneering AEG turbine factory, AEG Turbine Hall in Berlin in 1909. He had a long career, desi ...

close to Abington Park; this house is also Grade II* listed. Between 1964 and 1993 the building was used by Northampton High School for girls, initially as offices but later as classrooms. In 2002 work started to restore the house to Mackintosh's original design. This work was under the direction of architects John McAslan + Partners and involved a team of specialist contractors for restoration, or replication of, the original features of the Mackintosh period scheme. After eighteen months of restoration, the house was opened to the public in late 2003. Small group guided tours or self-guided visits are available and provide an insight into this Mackintosh-designed house in England. A supporting museum adjoins 78 Derngate and is housed in number 80. In 2003, the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

aired a documentary series hosted by Eric Knowles titled ''The House That Mackintosh Built''. The series followed aspects of the property restoration as it was in progress. In May 2007 a new visitors centre at 82 Derngate was opened to provide further facilities and exhibitions for visitors. This building, also restored by John McAslan + Partners, houses a restaurant, art galleries, meeting rooms, shop, visitor reception and administration offices. A regular programme of exhibitions and events is offered and an active 'Friends of 78 Derngate' group continues to raise funds for ongoing development of the project. On 3 October 2013,

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Richard Alexander Walter George; born 26 August 1944) is a member of the British royal family. He is the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, the youngest ...

, visited 78 Derngate to commemorate the 10th anniversary of its opening to the public.https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=597621430278935&set=a.597623026945442.1073741835.272894872751594&type=1 On 21 March 2017 a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the marriage of W. J. Bassett-Lowke and Florence Jane Jones was held at 78 Derngate. A centenary exhibition
"Charles Rennie Mackintosh & The Great War"
ran from 1 February – 29 April 2017. This comprised exhibits from the late career of Mackintosh and examined the wider context for his work on 78 Derngate against the background of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The exhibition was the largest display of Mackintosh design in England. A series of related events during the exhibition run featured experts giving public talks and workshops on related themes. Artist and television presenter Lachlan Goudie featured 78 Derngate in his BBC documentary, ''Charles Rennie Mackintosh: Glasgow's Neglected Genius''. This was produced to mark the 150th anniversary of Mackintosh's birth and was first broadcast on

BBC Two Scotland BBC Two Scotland is a Scottish free-to-air television channel owned and operated by BBC Scotland as a variation of the BBC Two network. It was broadcast via digital television and was the sister Scottish channel of BBC One Scotland and Gaelic-l ...

on 5 June 2018. Goudie assessed the work on 78 Derngate as " e dazzling work of an artist willing to risk losing control", with the interior decor being presented as a bold 'comeback attempt' by Mackintosh which was to prove to be in vain against the background of the First World War.

References

External links

78 Derngate website78 Derngate online archiveBBCi: 78 Derngate
{{Northampton, state=collapsed Houses completed in 1917 Grade II* listed buildings in Northamptonshire Houses in Northampton Historic house museums in Northamptonshire Art museums and galleries in Northamptonshire Charles Rennie Mackintosh buildings Art Nouveau architecture in England Art Nouveau houses