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A smart Georgian town to the
north of the Firth of Clyde at the mouth of Gare
Loch, Helensburgh became a seaside resort in the
18th century and its bathing master, Henry Bell,
invented ‘The Comet’ - the first-ever sea-going
vessel powered by new-fangled steam - to transport
visitors down the loch. The town is still noted
for its sailing, as well as fishing and golf.
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The town’s best-known building by far is Hill
House, which was designed in 1902 by the art
nouveau practitioner Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
The remarkable structure was commissioned by the
publisher Walter Blackie and is regarded as the
finest example of Mackintosh’s domestic design.
The interior is just as he designed it, down to
the last detail. |
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John Logie Baird, creator of television, was also
born here in 1888, while the anthropologist Sir
James Frazer, author of ‘The Golden Bough, went to
school here.
Helensburgh is also home town
of Scottish artist, Reyner Holder (1917 -
2007) without whose
influence this web site would never have been
created!
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