Bowhill’s 138-year-old Smoking Room to open to public for first time
16th June, 2016
A 138-year-old room at Bowhill House – the country home of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch – has been restored and will be accessible to the public for the first time from July.
The House’s Smoking Room, once regarded as the ‘gentlemen’s inner sanctum’, has even been given a contemporary twist by two of Scotland’s renowned textile and tapestry studios – Timorous Beasties and Dovecot Studios.
It is part of a suite of rooms added to the house in the 1870s along with a dining room, billiard room and chapel, but later fell out of use and was used as a store room.
The Duke of Buccleuch enlisted the help of art historian Ben Divall to bring the room back into circulation. Rather than using textile designs popular in the 1870s, which may or may not have been in situ, it was decided to commission new designs enabling the room to be reimagined for the 21st century.
The Duke of Buccleuch said: “Not only is the Smoking Room at Bowhill House historically significant, but it also holds fond memories for my family and I. It was, in fact, rarely used as a smoking room; but had a number of other uses for various family members.
“My grandmother used to wrap Christmas presents in the room during the festive season, and I used it for periods of quiet study during my university years. I have been lucky enough to know the warmth of the room, and am delighted that visitors to Bowhill will – more than a century after it was completed – be able to share this.
“The room has remained true to our family history, and now boasts some fantastic contemporary touches.”
Paul Simmons of Glasgow-based textiles design studio, Timorous Beasties, has designed textiles inspired by the Victorian room’s original furnishing, including bespoke curtains printed depicting plumes of smoke, linens and cushions, as well as a showpiece sofa featuring the south façade of the house on its back.
Meanwhile Kristi Vana of Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios – internationally famed for its tapestry designs – has created a one-of-a-kind hearth rug depicting smoke and an intertwined Buccleuch & Queensberry family insignia using wool from the Bowhill Estate.
Great care has been taken to preserve the original paint and wood surfaces with minimal intervention, evoking the spirit of the room through pictures, ornaments and furniture based on the original inventory.
Paul Simmons of Timorous Beasties said: “The more different and diverse the project, the better as far as I’m concerned, and this one certainly was. The furniture had loose covers which were nowhere to be found and we knew there were curtains but, with little historical reference about the fabrics, it meant we could start from scratch and think about something appropriate for today.
“The designs incorporate a very subtle trellis of smoke and within that trellis we have little vignettes, scenes and symbols from Bowhill.”
Kristi Vana of Dovecot Studios added: “For me, this was quite an unusual commission and collaboration as it was for a domestic space. Whilst Dovecot has made many rugs that have ended up in houses, they are often hung on the wall. So it was nice to make a rug that was meant to be walked on – a utilitarian piece.
“When I was commissioned the project was up and running and the vision for the room was in place, however the idea for the rug was not too prescriptive giving me the freedom to try a variety of samples, look at the ways in which the light affected the colours, and ultimately create something that told the story of the room.”
The Smoking Room will feature on all guided tours of Bowhill House following its unveiling.
