This Scottish National Trust property is an elaborate villa designed by Alexander "Greek " Thomson, who enjoys an international reputation as one of Scotland's most original designers. Thomson's output was prolific in the middle of the 19th century when Glasgow was growing to become an industrial giant and the "Second City of the Empire".
Holmwood was built in 1857-8 near what was, at that time, the village of Cathcart (but is now part of the urban sprawl). The house is perched above the river, looking towards the woods of the Linn Park, one of Glasgow's many public spaces. It was built for two brothers, James and Robert Couper who owned a paper mill nearby, on the banks of the White Cart Water. In those days, traditional villas were built in Italian or Tudor styles so Thomson's Greek composition was most unusual. Thomson also created plasterwork moulding and decoration inside the building (described at the time as "one of the most important and experimental nineteenth-century Scottish interiors") as well as carpets and furniture.
While the furniture is now gone, the coloured decorations are being uncovered and painstakingly recreated by the National Trust. If the wall decoration is not yet renovated, there is no such problem about the magnificent cupola (pictured here) over the mahogany, carved bannisters of the main stairs or the spectacular, curved glass windows of the sitting room (pictured below).
