Willow Tea Rooms creator Kate Cranston honoured on new £20 note

The £20 note celebrates the contribution of turn of the century entrepreneur who commissioned Charles Rennie Mackintosh to create the famous venue and others, which offered women a place to socialise ‘unchaperoned' by men.

The note was created with the help of the Glasgow School of Art and top contemporary designer including Timorous Beasties and Nile HQ and will enter circulation in 2020.

It is the third in a series of ‘Fabric of Nature’ themed notes with new security features that make it difficult to counterfeit but easy to authenticate.

Read more: Mackintosh at the Willow opens after £10m revamp

Kate Cranston, from Glasgow, made her mark for her series of tearooms across the city including the flagship venue at 217 Sauchiehall Street.

Following her death in 1934, her fortune was left to support the poor and the homeless in the city.

Celia Sinclair, Chair of the Willow Tea Room Trust, said: “We are delighted that the image of Kate Cranston is on the Royal Bank of Scotland £20 note.

“ She was a very interesting and intelligent woman, an excellent businesswoman who changed attitudes.

“The Salon de Luxe, the centrepiece of Mackintosh at the Willow, was a symbol of social change in Glasgow where women began to socialise outside the home.

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“She was serious about training – she ran all of her own courses and all her staff had to toe the line.

“She grew her own flowers for the tearooms, fresh foods were supplied by her own dairy. I think there were many women like Kate Cranston around at that time, but history simply doesn’t remember them, but now I am glad to say we are with this very fitting tribute.”

Malcolm Buchanan, chair of RBS Scottish Board, said: “Kate Cranston’s legacy touches so many aspects of Scottish life that we, as a nation, are justifiably proud; entrepreneurialism, art, philanthropy and dedication.”