Interior of Blairtummock House

Furnishing of the interiors

One of the main ways in which the meaning and history of the house is explained is through the furnishings, particularly of the entrance hall, staircase, and the three public rooms.  These have been carefully decorated and furnished to look – as far as is practical in a non-museum setting – like the traditional public rooms of a country villa.  

The light fittings, curtains, chimneypieces, joinery and furniture have all been selected using historic family photographs which provide accurate evidence of the appearance of these rooms in the 1920's and 1930's.  However, because these rooms are used for public functions, it has not been possible to restore some details such as antique cutlery, ornaments and table lamps.   

The historic photographs have been been reproduced at large scale, and fitted into large antique picture frames, which give the rooms both their historic appearance and interesting information to the visitor.  Other data is provided on interpretation boards and historic maps, also in antique frames to add authenticity.   

The office areas of the building will not be open to visitors, with the occasional exception of the office containing exposed 17th century masonry on the first floor (by special arrangement only), see details below.

Entrance Hall

The entrance hall has been restored with the help of a historic photograph which hangs here.

Another framed board acknowledges the funders' contributions towards the fine restoration of the building.

Billiard Room

No longer used for Billiards, this room can be used for a range of activities, including conference presentations.  The boards in this room continue the explanation of the history of the house in its landscape context, through showing historic maps of the area.  The most attractive historic map of the area is the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey of 1896, which shows the nearby farms and landuse in great detail.  To either side of this large image there are details from earlier and later maps, including up to the present day.

The historic photograph in this room is a view through the doorway into the drawing room -  hung beside the doorway so that the photograph can be compared to the view today.   

Drawing Room

It has not been possible to fit this room with sofas and armchairs, however the decoration, curtains and light fittings are all compatible with its historic character.

There are three boards here: the historic photograph of the room, the architect’s drawings of 1904 which show the extension where this room and the Billiard Room are, and a specially commissioned artist’s impression of the house and landscape as it might have been in the early 20th century. 

It is particularly important to explain the historic setting of the house in its agricultural landscape, now completely lost.  The reconstruction painting by David Simon has been based on historic Ordnance Survey maps of the area, and shows a birds-eye view of the house and landscape in its heyday, including the walled garden with herbaceous borders, a greenhouse and decorative urns, and farmbuildings behind.

Many of these features have now been lost.  The landscape context includes Glasgow in the distance, together with coal mines and industry and the Monkland Canal, now buried below the M8 Motorway, in the foreground.   

The historic photograph of the room shows the chimneypiece and over-doors, which had been lost by the 1990s, and which were recreated as part of the restoration.  

Dining Room

The dining room has been painted a traditional red colour, and a large antique style dining table has been sourced, with a set of 12 dining chairs which resemble the Hepplewhite design of the furniture shown in the historic photograph of this room.  

An antique black marble chimneypiece, again the traditional style for dining rooms of this sort, has been sourced and fitted.

The windows of this room look east into the Walled Garden, and two boards here give information on the history of the garden, and of the pavilion.  The other board in this room is another historic photograph of the room from the Lamberton family collection.  

Office 3/6

During the restoration work a piece of carved masonry dating from the 17th century was found in this room.  

Until this discovery, Blairtummock was not thought to contain any material which dated from earlier than the 18th century.  A small panel with information on the stonework is fixed to the wall beside the exposed stone.