1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Brief
Architectural paint research was commissioned by James Edgar (CON London) to research and document the early painted decoration applied to the interior and exterior of 68 Dean Street. David Bieda, the owner of the house kindly allowed access to his house while the research was being carried out.
1.2 Historical background
Nos. 67 and 68 Dean Street were built by John Meard in 1732. Meard also built the houses in Meard Street. It is thought that No.67 was to be his own house while No. 68 was to house his mother.
(Full text to be edited by James Edgar)
1.3 Present decoration
The house is thought to retain some decorations applied in the mid-nineteenth century when the ground floor had been used as a shop and store rooms.
The upper rooms in the house had been retained twentieth century decorations.
The front first floor room had been redecorated for a period film in dark reds and yellow buffs.
1.4 Sources of data
Historical information provided by James Edgar and David Beider.
2. CURRENT RESEARCH
2.1 Sampling
Paint samples were removed from the following areas:
Ground Floor
Area A Front room, south wall - panelling and skirting
Area A1 Rear room, east wall - ceiling and cornice
Area A2 Front room, north wall - boxed ceiling and cornice
Area A3 Rear room, north wall - cornice
Area B Rear room, west wall - panelling and skirting
Area C Rear room, west wall - window shutters
Area D Entrance hall, north wall - panelling and skirting
Area E Rear passage, north wall - panelling and skirting
First Floor
Area F Front room, west wall - panelling and skirting
Area G Front room, west wall - door and door architrave
Area H Front room, south wall - panelling above fireplace
Area I Rear room, west wall - panelling, shutter and skirting
Area J Half landing, south wall - panelling and skirting
Second floor
Area K Front room, west wall - panelling and architrave
Area L Half landing, south wall - marbled wallpaper on upper wallface
Third floor
Area N Front bedroom (small) south wall - plaster wallface
Area O Trapdoor to attic room
Exterior
Area P Front door pilasters
Area Q Front door
Area R Railings
2.2 Analysis
The paint samples removed were mounted in cross-section and examined under high magnification.
2.2.1 First Floor
Panelling
The examination of samples removed from the two main rooms on the ground floor suggest that the some of the elements have undergone stripping at some period. However samples taken from the dado moulding (Ref. DS68/1/3) and dado panel frame (Ref.DS8/2/7) probably retain traces of early decorative schemes.
There are traces of a thin red priming layer on the surface of the wood of both samples which suggests that the original decoration has survived. Both samples display a build-up of about nineteen sperate decorations.
The earliest decoration applied to the panel moulding and panel frame is a warm white oilpaint. This decoration was repeated about eleven times befor the application of a blue decoration.
The blue decoration was overpainted in a plain cream/warm white decoration. However the next decoration indicates a return to a blue scheme which may have picked out in cream coloured oilpaint. The exact appearance of these blue decorations requires further clarification. The identification of the pigmentation of this layer may provide some information on the date of application.
The second blue decoration was overpainted in a warm cream decorations which was repeated two/three times.
The current graining is visible in cross-section on both samples. The graining in the rear room has a coarse buff ground while that of the front room has a white undercoat and a much lighter bufff coloured ground. This suggests that two rooms were grained at different times/by different craftsmen, and/or were intended to have different appearances.
The existing graining is thought to have been applied in the mid-nineteenth. Can be confirmed?
Skirting
Samples from the skirting in the rear room (Ref.DS/4/10) bears a build-up of early decorations below the present grained decoration. There are traces of red primer on the surface of the wood, and above this the warm white decoration found on the wallpanelling. However the skirting has been further embellised with a dark brown layer applied over a distinctive reddish-pink ground colour.
(It was standard prcatise to paint out the skirting in the white colour applied to the wallpanelling and then apply the dark grey/black decoration to the skirting)
In the course of the six subsquent decorations the skirting was painted in dark grey/black while the panelling was decorated in warm whites.
At a later date there was obviously a change in taste and the skirting was painted the same colour as the panelling. When the panelling of the room was fully grained in the nineteenth century, the graining was also applied to the skirting.
Shutters
Samples taken from the window shutters of the rear room (Ref.DS68/4/11) show the same sequence of decorations as the skirtings. The early dark (possibly grained) decoration is found at the first layer. This has been repeated about three times.
At a later date the shutters were painted the same colour as the wallpanelling. The two blue intermediate decorations noted on the wallpanelling were also applied to the shutters.
the shutters were then painted white and then grained twice.
Note about samples from ceiling and cornice
Later alterations to the room
Hallway stripped
First floor
later skirting applied ninettenth century -confirms dec found on ground floor
2.3 Summary of decorations
2.4 Pigment Analysis