Patricia Margaret Douglas, who died in 2016, was a
Cockney, born within the sound of Bow Bells, and a Girl Guide
Commissioner. She was a housewife at a loose end when
a part-time job ignited a passion for the work of Charles Rennie
Mackintosh. While working at the New Glasgow Society her initial
interest in Mackintosh burgeoned into a ceaseless quest to promote and
protect his legacy, resulting in an MBE for services to preserving his
architecture. Becoming the dynamic Honorary Secretary and, later,
Director of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, now at Glasgow's
Mackintosh Queen’s Cross Church, she typically worked 13-hour days as a
volunteer. Liaising with fellow enthusiasts and scholars worldwide,
helping to deliver important initiatives highlighting the designer's
achievements and forming a supportive network for his legacy.
Patricia’s connection with 78 Derngate started as early as the 1970s and
she was an obvious choice to become a Trustee when the Charity was
formed in 1998. As a tribute to Patricia her family commissioned a
competition for students at Glasgow College to design and make a bench
for the garden at 78. Greig Dunbar, the winning student writes:
Patricia Douglas worked tirelessly to preserve many of Mackintosh's
works, so when tasked with designing a memorial bench for her it was
easy to draw inspiration from Derngate as it is quite a special example,
and I think Patricia must have thought so, too. While researching the
rooms and styles I found the main room very striking and loved the
unforgettable first impression it leaves on you and I knew then that I
wanted to include the focus- grabbing lattice wall into my design
somehow.
My main idea with the design of the bench was to bring elements from
other parts of the house to the outside and tie the bench to the rest of
the building while keeping its style as close to Mackintosh's as I
could. This concept quickly developed into a high, straight back and a
simple clean design, with the lattice work forming the back and the long
parallel lines forming the seat. Using the design of the planter from
the front of the building to create a planter to go alongside the bench
afforded the opportunity to mirror one of the first visually impactful
sights that can be seen of the house.
As Mackintosh's work was the main inspiration for the project, oak had
seemed the perfect material to use initially, but due to the outdoor
location of the bench and the nature of the British weather it seemed a
better idea to look to a more resilient timber, so iroko was chosen.
This is African hardwood which is perfect for outdoors and is incredibly
resilient. The stained glass look was achieved using an extremely hard
wearing Perspex, so hopefully it will last a very long time. Each
element was hand built in my small workshop and with a bit of help from
some friends, the bench came together and the result is one of which I
am genuinely proud!
Patricia maried civil engineer,
Tom Douglas.
Their first home together in 1952 was a Nissen hut by the
Maragwa River in Kenya; where Tom was working on the power station, but
on their return to the UK they settled first in Bearsden, and then
Killearn, Stirlingshire.
They were committed Episcopalians, and were keen
tennis players and swimmers, and were leaders in youth organisations:
Patricia with the Girl Guides and Sea Rangers, Tom as Chairman of the
Shakespeare Street Youth Club Management Committee.
Patricia died at Auchlochan Garden Village, on 29th August 2016, Patricia Margaret
Douglas MBE (FRSA), aged 85 years. Beloved wife of Thomas Harrison
Douglas, dear mother of Antony and Gavin, mother-in-law of Catriona and
a much loved grandma of Adam, Richard, James, Jonathan, Harris and Kern
and great-grandsons Seth, Heath and Harrison.
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