Search This Blog

Archaeology of domestic life in early 20th century Britain

The aim of this blog is to publish data on early 20th century buildings, whilst this is still accessible. Much material of interest to the historian is being destroyed through 'home improvements' and DIY, and objects are increasingly being divorced from their context through dispersal after the death of their owners. By creating an easily accessible contextual record of material culture, it is hoped that those interested in this period of history may have a resource through which the details of domestic life might be studied.

If you have any artefacts of interest, or make discoveries during the process of your own investigations that you would like to share, please contact me!

Friday 7 October 2011

Lymhurst Lounge

Having had the opportunity to take a look at most of the walls in the 'Lounge', there's nothing that's really exciting, but I'll record what I've found, which may be of use to someone - there are a few imprints & stains that give an idea of furniture placement, and some of the fittings have left a trace.

The chimneybreast reveals the imprint of triangular shaped early light fittings (the visible brass light fittings are later additions). The position of some fature (perhaps a picture?) can just about be seen at the the left, by a dust / wear mark:


In the centre of the chimneybreast, above the top of the original light oak fire surround, are marks showing the position of an object - it may be conjectured, perhaps related to a clock (measurements to follow):


The original copper plated light switches have been reinstalled at some point: the ceramic fitting can here be seen with modern wiring:




The position of probable furniture may be indicated here by marks on the wall. The presence of holes shows the position of probable shelving (or panelling) - the filling appears to be a mixture of older and modern material, so although it's not possible to be certain of the phase of this feature, it may be conjectured that it's an earlier feature, which has been consolidated during a later phase of decoration:

It appears here that a surface once rested here, upon which a heated feature (lamp, or possibly electrical feature, such as a radio) has left a patch of burning on the wall:




No comments:

Post a Comment