Blackwell House

Blackwell House was designed by architect Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott and built between 1898 and 1900. It belonged to wealthy Manchester brewery owner Sir Edward Holt and was a holiday home for him and his family. Whenever Scott reported to him that his plans would be very expensive, Holt assured him that money was not a problem! Scott was part of the 'Arts and Crafts' movement, Blackwell house is exquisitely constructed and decorated in that style. Overlooking Lake Windermere in the Lake District, the house had extensive grounds and gardens. On the death of Sir Edward Holt, Blackwell passed to his second eldest son, also named Edward who rented it out.
During WW2 a girl's school evacuated from Liverpool occupied the building and it continued to be used as a school until 1976. Sold in 1978, it then was used as a combination of office and accommodation space. Quango 'English Nature' used the entire house for their offices until 1997 when it fell into disuse. Thankfully during all this time, little alteration or damage was done to the building so when The Lakelands Arts Trust bought Blackwell House in 1999 a lot of the original features, external and internal, remained intact. Most of the land and furniture had been sold off long ago. After expert restoration and refurbishing with appropriate 'Arts and Crafts' furniture Blackwell House opened to the public in 2001. Inside there are also education rooms and exhibition space for artists. The interior is absolutely stunning and I had a hard time deciding which photo to post but went with an external shot in the end. You can also see the sculpture 'Sitting Couple on Bench' by Lynn Chadwick on the lawn in front of the house.
Like I mentioned yesterday, we're away so I'm limited by mobile broadband allowance plus time to how long I can spend online. So please only leave a comment if you don't mind not getting a reply or one on your own post - as due to the number of journals I subscribe to I won't be able to catch up on all the entries when home.