Published: Sunday, 18th May, 2008 10:00
Prestigious Leiper design mansion is on the market
By Rachel Lamb
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SPLENDOUR: If you've been saving towards the £1.5m price tag, then Lynton could be yours.
FAMILIES hunting for the ideal home, could be about to strike gold.
A stunning masterpiece by the acclaimed architect William Leiper is up for sale — but the exclusive six-bedroom mansion doesn’t come cheap.
Lynton, on Upper Colquhoun Street in the heart of Helenbsurgh, is on the market for offers over £1.5 million.
But Savills of Glasgow, who are selling the impressive property, claim it is well worth the hefty price tag as clients will be buying into a piece of Scottish history.
Lynton is an example of the English Arts and Crafts style built by William Leiper in 1908. The red sandstone, B-listed villa is full of inventive flourishes, combined with the attention to detail and practicalities that proclaim a first-class architect.
William Leiper was born in Glasgow in 1839. He was apprenticed as an architect in Glasgow and London. In 1865 he was commissioned to design Dowanhill United Presbyterian Church and went on to become one of Glasgow’s leading architects, working in the Gothic style, designing churches, mansions, and commercial buildings.
He won a silver medal at the 1900 Paris International Exhibition for his design for the Sun Insurance office at the corner of West George Street and Renfield Street. He is best known for the exotic Templeton’s Carpet Factory on Glasgow Green, which was inspired by the Doge’s Palace in Venice.
Leiper lived in Helensburgh from the early 1870s and became the town’s most prolific and influential architect. Lynton is arguably one of his greatest works.
The grounds of this impressive town house are accessed through listed gate piers with electrically operated gates and a sweeping driveway leading to the rear of the house.
Much of the interior is unaltered and retains the original fixtures and fittings, including solid brass door handles, magnificent sandstone chimney pieces, inglenook fireplaces and Kauri pine panelled doors fixed with wooden pegs instead of nails. On the ground floor, a panelled hallway leads to three interconnecting reception rooms, designed for entertaining.
There is a luxury fitted kitchen and butler’s pantry with original hardwood units. Off the kitchen, a breakfast room leads to a laundry/utility room, store rooms and an additional WC.
On the first floor is the master bedroom with en-suite bathroom and dressing room along with five additional double bedrooms (two en-suite) and a living room-cum-kitchen.
On the second floor is a large playroom with eaves storage.
The house is surrounded by an acre of well-maintained mature gardens complete with terraced lawns, fine trees and shrubs and an ornamental pond and to the north of the property is a double garage with electric up-and-over doors.
Lynton lies in one of the town’s finest locations in the Upper West End conservation area and just a stones throw from Macintosh’s famous Hill House.
Peter Gillespie of Savills said: “For lovers of arts and crafts, it really doesn’t get any better than this. It’s 100 years old, but a perfect family home for the 21st century.
“It just exudes quality, and has been so well looked after by it’s owners.”
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