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M317 Design for a bandstand, the Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle

Address: Barnard Castle DL12 8NP
Date: 1911–12
Client: Bowes Museum
Authorship:

(Office)

In 1901, Owen Scott, curator of the Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, was granted leave of absence to become the organiser of the Fine Arts section of that year's Glasgow International Exhibition. During his time in Glasgow he made the acquaintance of John Keppie. 1

In 1906, Keppie was invited to adjudicate a competition for improvements at the Bowes Museum, for which he was paid 20 guineas. 2

In late 1911, Honeyman, Keppie & Mackintosh were invited to submit a design for a new bandstand to be constructed on the parterre in front of the museum. Their handsome drawing shows an octagonal Beaux-Arts-style pavilion, apparently in stone, with elaborate metal railings. Its fluted Corinthian columns supporting a dome with statuary reflect the renewed preference for classicism at that time. The cost of construction was estimated at £2900 and was rejected by the Bowes Museum Trustees as too expensive. However, the practice received a payment of 40 guineas for its design work. 3

The opening ceremony for a cheaper, cast-iron bandstand, designed by Parker, Winder & Achurch of Birmingham, and made by the Lion Foundry of Kirkintilloch, was held on 5 August 1912. 4

Honeyman, Keppie & Mackintosh's drawing was exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1912 and was described in the Scotsman as an 'imposing design'. 5

Authorship: There is no evidence to connect Mackintosh with this design. The drawing is signed by John Keppie.

Status: Unbuilt

Grid Reference: NZ 05562 16318 (The Bowes Museum)

GPS coordinates: lat = 54.542095, lng = -1.915543 (Map)

Notes:

1: Bowes Museum Trustees minutes, 16 October 1900. Information supplied by curator Howard Coutts, 26 July 2012.

2: Bowes Museum Trustees minutes, 15 March 1906. Information supplied by curator Howard Coutts, 26 July 2012; The Hunterian, University of Glasgow: John Honeyman & Keppie / Honeyman, Keppie & Mackintosh / Keppie Henderson cash book, 1889–1917, GLAHA 53079, p. 99.

3: Information supplied by curator Howard Coutts, 26 July 2012. The Hunterian, University of Glasgow: John Honeyman & Keppie / Honeyman, Keppie & Mackintosh / Keppie Henderson cash book, 1889–1917, GLAHA 53079, p. 149.

4: Information supplied by curator Howard Coutts, 26 July 2012. Opening ceremony on 5 August 1912 was photographed: The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle: 1998.34.14/ARC.

5: 'The Royal Scottish Academy's Exhibition: Architecture', Scotsman, 25 June 1912, p. 8.

'Mackintosh Architecture' led by The Hunterian, University of Glasgow, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council; with additional support from The Monument Trust, The Pilgrim Trust, and the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art; and collaborative input from Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.