78 Derngate, Northampton, UK is a rather special address to those in the know. For this is a house whose owner, upon purchasing it in 1916, commissioned the designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh to update it. The house has recently been restored to how it looked in that era, using sources such as photographs, plans and the memories of surviving visitors and relatives.

Who Owned the House?

The house was bought by Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke, a local businessman, who planned to move into it with his new bride in 1917. Bassett-Lowke was a manufacturer of model steam engines and ships. Many British seaside resorts had one of his miniature steam trains, which were just big enough for adults to ride on. His bride was to be Florence Jane Jones, herself from a local manufacturing family (in this case, shoes, for which the area is renowned).

Bassett-Lowke travelled widely and was influenced by styles he saw overseas. He liked objects to be practical as well as decorative. He ran a mail-order business and had a shop in London. During World War I his factory produced gun gauges. He and Florence sent specially designed Christmas cards, the first of which was also drawn by Rennie Mackintosh.

Bassett-Lowke had his own ideas about how he wanted his new home to look; he and Mackintosh corresponded a great deal about the designs and ideas for each room. Sometimes the designer had to acquiesce to the design ideas of the home owner. Bassett-Lowke was not a fan of Mackintosh’s ‘rose’ designs; instead preferring the more geometrical style for which the designer is also well-known. Margaret Macdonald, the wife of Rennie Mackintosh and a designer in her own right, is believed to have worked with her husband on some of the designs found in the house.

The Designer

Charles Rennie Mackintosh is nowadays well known for his art nouveau designs. He was originally from Glasgow, Scotland and worked as an artist, designer and architect. His designs can be seen on a number of buildings in Glasgow. His style remains popular and is reproduced in numerous pieces of furniture, clocks and mirrors made by others for the mass market today.

When he was asked to redesign the house on Derngate, Rennie Mackintosh had left Glasgow, where his attempts to be recognised as an artist had almost failed. Although his work was liked in mainland Europe, in 1915 he turned to architecture and interior design. His work was not to become appreciated until some time after his death in 1928. His interior design work is mentioned in Functions of Chairs in the 20th Century.

Where Can I Find the House?

78 Derngate is in the centre of Northampton and pay parking is available nearby. The entrance to the house and exhibition is via 82 Derngate. Booking is essential and you are advised to allow one and a half hours for your visit (two hours may be a better estimate of the time needed).

What Will I See?

Currently there are four elements to your visit. These are a video fronted by Eric Knowles (of Antiques Roadshow UK fame), a small display about the purchase and restoration of the house, a bigger exhibition about the house, its owners and Rennie Mackintosh, and of course the house itself. The reason for booking your visit is that you are escorted around the actual house with a volunteer guide, all of you wearing fetching plastic overshoes to protect the flooring.

Not all of the furniture and decoration you will see are original. Some have disappeared with time and other pieces are in museums in Glasgow and London. Much of the original furniture was made by Germans interned on the Isle of Man during the First World War. It is thought that Bassett-Lowke sympathised with their predicament: they were not captured soldiers but ordinary Germans living in the UK when war broke out. Experts have consulted fabric and wallpaper samples, letters and plans etc in order to recreate the house as closely as possible.

The rooms which have been restored are the kitchen, bathroom, sitting room/hall, master bedroom, guest bedroom and dining room. There are also balconies and the patio/garden area. The house has a study and toilet which have not been restored to their 1917 state.

• The kitchen has original floor tiles and rounded wall edges (to ensure hygiene through ease of cleaning).

• The bathroom has a copy of the original wallpaper, which is printed to look like mosaic tiles. One can also see the small mirrored pane in the window which Bassett-Lowke used for shaving.

• The hall-lounge is so named because this is the room one entered through the front door, directly from the street. It was therefore both entrance hall and lounge. One of the most striking rooms, one wonders what the new Mrs Bassett-Lowke thought when being carried across the threshold of her new marital home. The colour scheme is mostly black with geometric yellow patterns. An interesting choice for the only sitting room!

• The master bedroom was not designed to impress visitors, being a private area of the house; as such it is not overly decorated. It does, however, have a built-in vanity area in one corner of the room, with a sink and glass shelves. This room has a balcony.

• The guest bedroom is another very striking and memorable room. It is decorated in bold black and white striped fabric which is stuck to the ceiling above the twin beds like a canopy. The pattern is reflected in the matching bedspreads. George Bernard Shaw, the writer, stayed at the house at least twice. When told that the guest bedroom may not be to his taste he reportedly uttered the words ‘Don’t worry about that, I tend to sleep with my eyes shut’!

• The dining room is an example of a combination of the designs of homeowner and designer, as the dining table and sideboard were designed by Bassett-Lowke. There are cleverly hidden coal and wood-scuttles in the wooden sideboard. The wall lights are in the style of Rennie Mackintosh, as are the window catches, which are an example of the detail within the house.

The official website 78 Derngate includes photographs of the restored rooms.

What Happened to the House After 1917?

The Bassett-Lowkes had a new house built in Northampton and moved out of 78 Derngate in 1924. It had a number of owners and in 1964 became one of the buildings owned by Northampton School for Girls. The rooms became form rooms and classrooms for the 6th Form (age 16 -18). The school owned the house until 1993. The 78 Derngate Trust became lease-holders in 1998.

The video room, display of the restoration project and a small shop are housed in 82 Derngate. The exhibition is in 80 Derngate. In time the trust hopes to update 82 Derngate, adding a cafe and more toilet facilities.