NEWS tended to travel slowly in those days, so it was a while before Glasgow - and Scotland - got to hear of the death of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Mackintosh, Scotland's greatest architect, and one of the best-known in the earliest part of the 20th century, died in a London nursing-home 85 years ago this week, on December 10, 1928.

He had not long been diagnosed with cancer of the tongue.

It would, however, be another five days after his death before an obituary appeared in our sister paper, The Herald.

An appreciation that appeared beneath the obituary referred to Mackintosh as a 'brilliant architectural genius'.

The writer recalled a conversation he'd had, just before the 1914 outbreak of war, with a friend who had just returned from an extensive tour of the Continent.

"What strikes me most," this friend said, "is the European reputation of your Glasgow architect, Mackintosh. "His name is a household word in Vienna and Budapest, in Turin and Munich, in Paris and all over Holland."

Mackintosh was born in Glasgow on June 7, 1868, and in 1883 he enrolled as a part-time student at Glasgow School of Art.

Such was his potential that in 1888 he joined the office of the noted Glasgow architect, John Honeyman. The firm later became known as Honeyman and Keppie, and by 1901 Mackintosh had risen to the position of partner.

Over a long and highly distinguished career he created many masterpieces in the city of his birth.

His many successes included Glasgow School of Art's Mackintosh Building, The Hill House, Sauchiehall Street's Willow Tea Rooms, The Lighthouse, Windyhill, the Mackintosh Church at Queen's Cross, and Scotland Street School.

Throughout his career Mackintosh also proved to be an excellent designer and artist; he painted flowers, he designed textiles, furniture, and book covers.

Despite his many Glasgow commissions, and despite winning considerable respect overseas, he believed he had not always received the appreciation that he felt was his due.

To quote from the website of the Glasgow-based Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society: "By 1914 Mackintosh had despaired of ever receiving the level of recognition in Glasgow that he felt he deserved. He became increasingly obstinate and incapable of compromise and it is known that this exerted unnecessary pressures on his colleagues.

"In an attempt to resurrect his career, Mackintosh resigned from the practice and with his wife Margaret Macdonald moved to Walsberwick and then London."

This, however, coincided with the outbreak of war, which severely hampered all building projects. Mackintosh's few works during this period included 78 Derngate, in Northampton.

In 1923, he and Margaret relocated to the South of France, where he turned his considerable talents to watercolour paintings.

Stuart Robertson FRSA, director of the 1200-member Society, which was established in 1973, said: "Eighty-five years after his death, Mackintosh is highly regarded because his designs are so timeless.

"They were so far ahead of their time that many of them look contemporary today. We're continually having new people discover his creative genius.

"He has never lost his relevance or influence. Mackintosh's iconic designs are used today to promote the city around the world".

Part of his continuing relevance, of course, is that Glasgow should still have so many of his buildings on daily public show.

"To see the real Mackintosh you need to come to Glasgow," said Mr Robertson. "It's where the majority of his buildings can be found.

"His masterpiece, the art school, is still, of course, a highly functioning school which, after one hundred years is still fit for purpose. We ourselves are based in the Mackintosh Church at Queen's Cross, which really does qualify as a hidden gem.

"But I have to say that people who live in the city generally don't realise that Glasgow has so many world-class buildings.

"It may be that you take things like that for granted, until a visitor to the city remarks on the existence of so many fantastic buildings."

The Society without any core funding from the city certainly has done more than its fair share to keep the Mackintosh flame burning. It runs tours and promotions, and its membership comes from all across the world.

And it is usually the first port of call for any questions relating to Mackintosh.

Two months ago it staged a special 40th anniversary event at the church. In September it took part in the Doors Open weekend, and it has also exhibited a recently-discovered Mackintosh-designed Music Cabinet.

Eighty-five years since his death in London, Mackintosh's presence can still be felt in Glasgow. You only have to look.

l http://www.crmsociety.com/