To make up for yesterday Thursday was another Mackintosh day. The morning was spent at the Scotland Street School which he designed in 1903. He had two sets of plans, one which was submitted to the School Board for approval and a second set with all sorts of Mackintosh flourishes which he gave to the builders. Half way through the build the authorities spotted this deception and were not amused especially as the extras put the costs up.
Not surprisingly this was the last public building Mackintosh was contracted for in Glasgow and his career never really recovered.
One of the requirements was “separate playgrounds, entrances and staircases must be provided for boys and girls so they should not mingle until they were under the eye of a teacher in the classroom”.
The school houses a museum of school life between 1890 and 1970, many of the displays reminded us of our own time at school. As well as the three R's the boys were taught woodwork, the girls cooking and ironing.
Women teachers had to give up if they got married so not a long career in most cases.
After that we visited another restored Mackintosh tea room (there were four originally, two survive) and had a very nice but expensive afternoon tea.
We also called in at the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art but apart from two Beryl Bainbridge and one Stanley Spencer paintings and a striking pot by Grayson Perry there was not a lot to see