BOWNESS-ON-WINDERMERE.- Blackwell marks its 125th anniversary with a major exhibition celebrating architect and designer M H Baillie Scott.

For 125 years, Blackwell has stood overlooking Windermere as a remarkable expression of the Arts & Crafts ideal: that the places we live should be beautiful, thoughtfully made and filled with objects that enrich everyday life.

This September, the celebrated house will turn the spotlight on the man who created it. Opening on 18 September, a major new exhibition at Blackwell will celebrate architect and designer M H Baillie Scott (1865–1945), bringing together furniture, textiles, interior designs and decorative works from collections across the country.

Baillie Scott was one of the most distinctive designers of the British Arts & Crafts movement. His vision extended beyond architecture. He designed houses as complete artistic environments, where buildings, furniture, colour, pattern and craftsmanship were brought together harmoniously.

That philosophy is at the heart of Blackwell. Its carved woodwork, stained glass, textiles, furniture and richly detailed interiors were designed to work together, making the house itself one of the exhibition’s most important objects.

The exhibition brings together significant works from Blackwell’s own collection alongside loans from national, regional and private collections, offering visitors a rare opportunity to explore the full range of Baillie Scott’s creative practice.

Highlights include the recently acquired Daffodil Dresser and a decorative copper and iron fire surround on loan from the Manx Museum Service. Together, these works reveal the imagination, craftsmanship and attention to detail that defined Baillie Scott’s approach.





Naomi Gariff, Blackwell’s Programme Curator states: “It is wonderful to be able to celebrate this milestone year at Blackwell with an exhibition dedicated to its architect, M H Baillie Scott. The exhibition explores Baillie Scott’s artistic legacy beyond his architectural practice, looking at the design philosophy that underpinned his wider approach to interiors. It brings into focus some of the key works by Baillie Scott in our collection that otherwise sit elegantly but discretely throughout the house; the occasional chair usually positioned by the fireplace, or the daffodil inlayed mirror hung in the Yellow Bedroom.

The exhibition delves deeper into these objects, and excitingly, brings in loans from national and private collections that visitors may not have had the opportunity to see before. This includes a beautiful collar designed by Baillie Scott and embroidered by his wife, Florence Nash, on loan from the Victorian and Albert Museum, and a dramatic copper and iron fire surround and basket on loan from the Manx Museum Service. I hope that our visitors will leave the exhibition feeling closer to the man behind the designs.”

The exhibition coincides with the launch of a new edition of Baillie Scott: The Artistic House by Diane Haigh, edited by William Fawcett, providing fresh insight into the designer’s work and the ideas that continue to shape how we understand the Arts & Crafts movement.

There will also be a talk, M H Baillie Scott: In Conversation on 18 September, with author William Fawcett and Lakeland Arts’ Senior Curator Will Cooper. The event will explore the work and legacy of the celebrated architect and designer. Tickets �12.50, bookable via the Lakeland Arts website. lakelandarts.org.uk/events/m-h-baillie-scott-in-conversation/

For visitors who know and love Blackwell, the exhibition offers a new perspective on a familiar house. For those discovering it for the first time, it is an invitation to look more closely at the craftsmanship, the objects and the remarkable creative vision that brought the house to life.

M H Baillie Scott: Architect & Designer opens at Blackwell on 18 September 2026, closing on 20 March 2027.