Output details

The Gaskell’s House, 84 Plymouth Grove, Manchester: an analysis of decorative finishes & wallpapers with focus on Elizabeth Gaskell’s period of occupancy (1850 – 1865) [architectural paint research]

Context:

This research led to an authentic reinstatement of a decorative scheme for the house in 1861.

The research resides within:

• Site visits and sampling allowed researchers to use their knowledge of historic interiors to select appropriate places from which to take paint samples (main report i.e. p. 2,7)

• Microscopic analysis revealed patterns in the paint stratigraphy allowing individual paints to be identified (main report i.e. pp19-21)

• Primary and secondary historical research allowed researchers to place the chronology of the paint stratigraphy within a historical sequence and evaluate the scheme in relation to Gaskell's life writing and fiction (Gaskell Journal vol. 27 pp. 28-48)

• Collation of the paint sample analysis in tabular form to allows analysis of the decorative scheme as a whole (main report i.e. p.31).

Insights

• Collated paint sample analysis demonstrated that the family executed two major decorative schemes during Elizabeth Gaskell's lifetime in c. 1855 and c. 1859

• Absence of paint on some walls faces indicated the use of wallpaper, important examples of early papers were discovered and analysed by researchers (main report, pp. 11-15)

• The restraint of the decorative schemes suggests Gaskell's negotiation between an affluent middle class interior and more austere interiors. (Gaskell Journal vol. 27, pp. 28-48)

• The interiors reflect some of the concerns that Gaskell articulated through fictional interiors in her novels (Gaskell Journal vol. 27, pp. 29-30)

Sharing:

Commissioned by Manchester Historic Buildings Trust and shared in a series of reports. A joint authored article was published in The Gaskell Journal.

Contribution:

Michael Crick-Smith was principal researcher for: sampling strategy, interpretation of paint stratigraphy, interpretation of research findings. He was co-author of the reports and collaborator for archival research. He is the co-author of the reports and the article in The Gaskell Journal.