Dublin Plasterwork - with thanks to Richard Ireland The re-appearance of lime as a building product during the last twenty or so years has clearly brought many advantages especially in the restoration of historical...
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Palette of Historic Paints
This article was originally published as "Palette of Historic Paints" in Country Life, 20th February 1992: 56-57. Papers and Paints can be found here: View Larger...
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Parsons’ Decorative Finishes (9) – Water Paint
Parlyte' Water Paint Samples - Page One A previous post has already introduced the subject of a most useful work that was published in the 1930s - Parsons' Decorative Finishes. Subsequently I have used it as a...
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Soft Distemper
Soft distemper on the walls of this almshouse - Geffrye Museum Soft distemper (sometimes known as Calcimine) is a traditional water-based coating for plaster surfaces. As it allows the wall beneath to ‘breathe’...
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Edwinsford, Carmarthenshire
Edwinsford Exterior - From the National Monuments Record of Wales: © Mark Baker Those in the know might be puzzled as to why I have included what is clearly a ruin amongst the buildings that I have worked in. ...
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Barnbarroch, Wigtownshire
In the early hours of October 23rd 1941 a blaze began in one of the bedrooms of Barnbarroch House, Wigtownshire. Servants, woken by the noise, raised the alarm. Some jumped from windows, seriously injuring...
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Roman Baths, Bath
The reception hall at the Roman Baths and Pump Room site was completed in 1897 as a concert hall extension to the Pump Room. The extension was part of a larger programme of works which was designed to develop the...
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Calke Abbey, Derbyshire
In 2007 the World of Interiors magazine commissioned me to write an article on the interiors at Calke Abbey. My words were to accompany a set of wonderfully evocative photographs taken by Lucinda Lambton. One of...
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