Holmwood House, Glasgow

Endowment for and repairs to Holmwood House, in Cathcart on the southern fringe of Glasgow, built in 1857-58 for James Couper who, with his brother Robert, owned the nearby Millholm paper mills on the River Cart. It is the finest of the many modest villas designed by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson (1817-75) for successful industrialists and merchants around the City and down the Clyde estuary. Despite his name, 'Greek' Thomson was no conventional Greek Revivalist. He used the Greek and other styles to tackle all the building types that the expanding second City of the British Empire needed - warehouses, shops terraces, tenements, churches, and villas - and arguably had more impact on Glasgow than any other architect. That Holmwood still stands is in fact something of a miracle, as there was a grave risk of its destruction when it ceased to be a school six years ago and the grounds were ripe for development. However, with generous contributions from various external funding partners, principal of which was the NHMF, The National Trust for Scotland saved Holmwood for the Nation standing, today, within the designated 'Green Belt', and in a remarkably complete state of preservation having been restored considerably. The purchase, endowment and restoration of Holmwood House saved for the Nation excellence that can now be enjoyed by all.