The Mackintosh Building

Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh

This building was designed by Mackintosh and dates from 1903–4, a time when he was doing his very best work. It was commissioned, by a local draper and ironmonger as a shop with a flat above and workrooms in the attics. The first floor flat with spacious, airy rooms and touches of Mackintosh’s design flair is now the Landmark apartment.

We have redecorated the flat, which has good and characteristic details. The main room runs into the projecting turret, or tourelle, which Mackintosh added to the outer angle of the building in a nod towards Scottish Baronial architecture. This gives it an airy feel and a view of the River Earn and the wooded hills beyond.

Exploring the Highlands

The Mackintosh Building is in the centre of Comrie, a typical highland village, with a bridge over a pebbly river, a whitewashed church and a small square, on the corner of which stands this distinguished and surprising building.  There are good places to eat here and if you might catch a performance by the local pipe band in the square below. The highland scenery unfolds around Comrie and Loch Earn is only a short drive away, as are the towns of Perth and Stirling.

Before long, however, Mackintosh enthusiasts were knocking on the door asking to see the flat and gradually the Smiths came to take an equal interest in their own property. They had, for example, been about to remove the fireplace from the sitting room, but upon learning of its designer they immediately gave up the idea.

So when, in 1984, they decided to move Mr Smith was concerned that any new owner, besides caring for the property, should make it possible for more people to see the flat. He had heard of the Landmark flat in Mackintosh's The Hill House, Helensburgh, and so he asked his lawyer to approach the Trust.

The Trustees were immediately interested; the building at Comrie is a minor one, but it dates from the years in which Mackintosh was doing his finest work, 1903-4, and it is still very complete, both the flat and the shop having retained most of their original fittings. In particular they saw the importance of flat and shop being re-united in one ownership in order to safeguard the future of the building as a whole. As a step towards this the flat was bought by Landmark early in 1985.

As work progressed a patch of original wallpaper was uncovered in the kitchen and above the door some distemper, which must have formed a 'frieze' along the top of the wall, above the wallpaper. Both patches have been left showing.

Two fireplaces had been removed; one from the small bedroom, which must have made it awkward to furnish and one from the kitchen. The latter was replaced with a surround which, like the cupboards and shelves along the wall, were designed to fit in with the surviving Mackintosh details.

The local joiner who made these and the bathroom cupboard took great trouble, as did all the men from Carmichael's, the building firm who did the work, to see that every detail was finished to the highest standard.

The linoleum in the kitchen, which fitted both for design and size, came from the lodge at Saddell in Kintyre, recently acquired by the Landmark. It was brought from there by Mr and Mrs Tod on the roof of their car, rolled up, secured to a board and singing melodiously all the way, like an organ-pipe, as the wind whistled through it.

The green fittings in the bathroom were almost brand new, so after some qualms it was decided to keep them and they do seem to fit in with the rest of the decoration quite well.

Throughout the flat, apart from the cupboards already described and new storage heaters, nothing has been added to the original design. The curtain rail in the sitting room was replaced by one less aggressively shiny and the curtains themselves were hand printed by Mrs Packer, who makes many of the curtains for Landmark, with the same design that was used at The Hill House.

The furniture in the flat is almost entirely the work of early 20th century architects and designers, such as Baillie Scott, Gordon Russell and Heal's, in most of which the influence of C.R. Mackintosh can be detected, as in so much that came after him.

All the work was carried out very quickly and the flat was ready by the end of 1985. Then in 1986, Miss Hamilton, the grand-daughter of the Mr Macpherson who was inspired to commission Mackintosh to rebuild his shop, agreed to sell it to Landmark and so the original aim of uniting the two was realised. She will continue to run it, however, until her retirement, when it is hoped that someone else will be found to carry on selling everything that you can imagine or wish for over one counter.