The 78 Derngate Centenary Exhibition, “Charles Rennie Mackintosh & The Great War” opened on 1st February 2017 and ran until 29th April 2017. The Exhibition examined the impact of the First World War on Mackintosh’s life and how this shaped the design work he was able to undertake during this period.
The exhibition was unique in focussing on the story of Mackintosh’s late career in Britain in the location most strongly associated with his final major architectural work, 78 Derngate Northampton. 90 works were on show comprising a mix of original pieces and high quality replicas from major collections (The Glasgow School of Art, Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, RIBA, University of Strathclyde Archives, Brighton Museums, The Willow Tea Rooms Trust and Northampton Museum). The exhibition period saw a 30% uplift in the seasonal visitor attendance at 78 Derngate and a similar increase in website, social media traffic and follower engagement. Analysis of online activity indicated a wide geographical spread for the material. Messages and enquiries of interest were received from Europe, Canada, Australia and the US as well as from all parts of the UK including much interest from Scotland and especially the Glasgow region – Mackintosh’s home city. This web archive has been established to make the material available free of charge and form the basis of further development.