David Parr House is a modest three-bedroom terraced residence acquired in 1887 by David Parr, a working-class decorative artist and painter. Within this domestic setting, Parr recreated the Gothic Revival and Arts & Crafts decorative schemes that he produced professionally while employed by F. R. Leach & Sons. The firm contributed to the embellishment of numerous significant ecclesiastical and civic commissions throughout Cambridge and collaborated with prominent figures including the architects George Frederick Bodley, George Gilbert Scott Jr., and the designer William Morris.
In collaboration with the University of Lincoln, the conservation team was commissioned to replicate and restore two Lincrusta-Walton panels positioned to the left of the entrance door. It is believed that the hallway decoration was devised by David Parr through the creative assembly of multiple offcuts derived from the original Lincrusta-Walton Design No. 1128, entitled Hampton Court.
The original embossed panels measured 18 inches in width and were commercially available through wholesalers at a retail price of two shillings and nine pence. The earliest catalogue reference identified to date originates from 1898, where the design was offered in the colour “Cedar,” also designated as “B,” described as a warm chocolate-brown finish.
Over the course of more than a century, two of the six panels located beneath dado height to the left of the front entrance had deteriorated significantly, exhibiting curling and detachment from the wall substrate. These elements were subsequently conserved and restored.
The replication process involved the production of a replica mould derived from one of the surviving intact panels. Using this mould, thin relief casts were created from a composite gypsum material suspended within an acrylic resin matrix. Once partially cured, the replicated sections were carefully trimmed to size and adhered to the wall using a high-strength conservation adhesive. The surfaces were then filled, finished, and colour-matched to correspond with the rich dark-brown appearance of the original Lincrusta-Walton material.
Embossed Raised-Relief Wallpapers
Lincrusta Heritage provides specialist expertise in the identification, conservation, and material analysis of embossed raised-relief wallpapers. This knowledge has supported the accurate identification of historic decorative wallcoverings both in situ and through the assessment of archival and photographic imagery.
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