Mackintosh Illuminated
Donate todayWill you help us protect and share the legacy of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh?
Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh were at the heart of the Glasgow Style, a period of extraordinary creativity that placed Scotland at the forefront of international art, architecture and design at the beginning of the 20th century.
Today, we care for two publicly accessible places central to their story: the Hill House in Helensburgh and the Mackintosh Tearooms on Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.
Mackintosh Illuminated is our ambitious programme – made possible thanks to the support of The National Lottery Heritage Fund – to conserve, celebrate and share their legacy, protecting these important places while deepening understanding of the people, partnerships and ideas behind them.
Through conservation, research, interpretation, learning and engagement, Mackintosh Illuminated will:
- Undertake vital conservation work to secure the future of the Hill House
- Invest in the future of the Mackintosh Tearooms
- Develop new interpretation and experiences at both properties
- Deepen understanding of Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh’s work and influence, and the wider creative community around the Glasgow Style
- Create new opportunities for people and communities to engage with this internationally significant heritage
Together, the Hill House and the Mackintosh Tearooms give us an extraordinary opportunity to protect this heritage while revealing more of the people, partnerships and ideas that shaped it.
Mackintosh Illuminated
Help us protect the artistic legacy of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh.
Why your support matters
The Hill House
The Hill House was built in Helensburgh between 1902–04 for Glasgow publisher Walter Blackie and his family, and is one of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s most significant works. It has been in the care of the National Trust for Scotland since 1982.
Designed as a complete work of art, the house brings together architecture, furniture, textiles and decorative arts. Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh also contributed to its remarkable interiors, including the gesso panel The Sleeping Princess.
Mackintosh’s use of Portland cement in the external roughcast was deemed innovative for its time, but over the decades it has contributed to one of Scotland’s greatest building conservation challenges. The impermeable coating trapped moisture within the walls, leaving the building saturated and threatening its internationally significant interiors.
In 2019 the National Trust for Scotland constructed the Hill House Box, a pioneering chainmail structure to protect the building from the worst of the west coast weather while allowing it to begin to dry. This innovative project earned the Trust the 2021 RIAS/Scottish Government Client of the Year Award.
In 2026, the complete removal of the external roughcast marks a major milestone in the conservation of the Hill House. With the impermeable coating removed, the building can continue to dry while specialists monitor its condition and gather vital evidence to inform the development and testing of a replacement render.
This work is a critical step towards securing the long-term future of the Hill House and protecting its remarkable interiors for generations to come.
The Mackintosh Tearooms
The Mackintosh Tearooms occupy the original Sauchiehall Street location of The Willow Tea Rooms, first opened by Glasgow entrepreneur Catherine Cranston in 1903 and designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
Over the following decades, the building had several different uses – including a department store and jewellers – and many of its original features were lost or altered. Following an extensive restoration, the building reopened in 2018 as Mackintosh at the Willow, with its celebrated tearoom interiors restored to Mackintosh’s designs.
The National Trust for Scotland became custodian of the property in 2024. In 2026, it was renamed the Mackintosh Tearooms and is now one of the two properties at the heart of Mackintosh Illuminated, alongside the Hill House.
Through Mackintosh Illuminated, we will build on this work with new research, interpretation and experiences that explore the people, partnerships and ideas connected to the building, including the contribution of Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh and the wider story of the Glasgow Style.
The Mackintosh-Macdonald legacy
Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s work is recognised around the world, but the story of this remarkable period of Scottish creativity is much broader than that of one individual.
Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh was an important influential artist and designer in her own right. Her work and creative partnership with Mackintosh were integral to the development of the Glasgow Style, alongside a wider network of artists, designers, makers, patrons and collaborators.
Mackintosh Illuminated will deepen understanding of these relationships and bring greater attention to Margaret’s work and influence.
Through new research and interpretation, the programme will reveal a richer and more complete picture of the people and ideas behind the Glasgow Style and explore why their creativity continues to resonate more than a century later.
Mackintosh Illuminated Supporters
Thank you to everyone who has supported our Mackintosh Illuminated project.
Building community through heritage
Mackintosh Illuminated is about protecting internationally important heritage while creating opportunities for more people to connect with it.
Throughout the development of the programme, we are working with communities and audiences in Helensburgh and Glasgow to understand how people want to engage with the Hill House, the Mackintosh Tearooms and the stories connected to them.
Community engagement will help inform future activity and interpretation, while the wider programme will create new opportunities for learning, participation, volunteering and skills development.
By working with local communities, schools, young people, volunteers and partner organisations, Mackintosh Illuminated aims to broaden access to heritage and create meaningful opportunities for people to participate in the project.
This work will help ensure that these places and their stories remain relevant and accessible, while creating opportunities for a new generation to discover the art, architecture, design and ideas associated with the Glasgow Style.
Will you help illuminate their legacy?
Your support will help us protect two internationally important places and ensure their stories can continue to be explored, understood and enjoyed.
Donations to Mackintosh Illuminated will support the vital conservation of the Hill House, the future development of the Mackintosh Tearooms, and new research, interpretation, learning and engagement across the programme.
Please donate today and help us conserve, celebrate and share the legacy of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh.
Every donation, large or small, will help us move closer to delivering this ambitious programme and protecting this extraordinary heritage for future generations.
Mackintosh Illuminated
Help us protect the artistic legacy of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh.
Featured Places
The Hill House
Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s architectural masterpiece turns art into a home.
The Mackintosh Tearooms
Original Mackintosh-designed tearooms, est. 1903
Read next
The Mackintosh Tearooms enter a new era
We are celebrating the newly renamed The Mackintosh Tearooms, the iconic Sauchiehall Street location of the last remaining original of the Mackintosh-designed tearooms.
Digging deep into the condition of the Hill House
Research into the condition of the walls at the Hill House allows for cautious optimism, but the clock is still ticking on Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s masterpiece.
Hill House: options for the future
How will the National Trust for Scotland proceed with the conservation of this unique building?
Taking Mackintosh’s coat off
Work to remove the render at the internationally famous Hill House is underway.