Lindisfarne Castle is recognised as one of the most important creative collaborations between arguably the finest British architect of the 20th century, Edwin Lutyens, and one of the most influential arbiters of taste in Edwardian Britain, Edward Hudson, owner of both Lindisfarne Castle and Country Life magazine.
Inside the castle, the finest example of this creative process is perhaps the Wind Indicator, by the artist MacDonald Gill. Painted on a large wooden panel, the indicator depicts a map of the Northumberland Coast lined with a defensive network of castles. To the right, the fleeing Spanish Armada - dispersed by strong winds - is shown.
Gill was a celebrated commercial artist, designing some of the early London Underground maps and a wind indicator for the celebrated liner Queen Mary.
Lindisfarne Castle became a place that attracted some of the great creative figures of the 20th century, including the garden designer, Gertrude Jekyll, the influential writer and critic, Lytton Strachey, and the great cellist, Guilhermina Suggia.
By Macdonald Gill (1884 – 1947)
On display at Lindisfarne Castle, Holy Island
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lindisfarne-castle
