The Highwayman in the Front Room

Find out what happened when Dick Turpin galloped into Penge...

Dick Turpin wallpaper BADDA4864

Sample of Dick Turpin themed wallpaper, ca.1955, Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, BADDA4864

Most museums have acquisition policies to define what they consider suitable donations (the Natural History Museum are unlikely to accept a Vivian Westwood ballgown but they might suggest the prospective donor try their neighbour, the V&A). At MoDA we are interested in objects related to the history of domestic design and architecture, which are in good condition and come with contextual information (a background story) or connections to known designers or companies.

Earlier this year we received an offer that ticked every box for us (except for the one about a known designer): A late 1960s wallpaper in perfect condition with an interesting back story about a home, a family and a particular DIY incident. Today’s blog post is about the newest addition to MoDA’s collection: A Dick Turpin the highwayman themed wallpaper from the 1960s.

The paper was acquired in the late 1950s by the donor’s father: Peter Joseph Brown. He picked it up in a sale at Olby’s, a sanitaryware shop on the high street in Penge, London. He decided to use the paper in the front room of his home at 13, Raleigh Road, Penge, SE20 which was a terraced, two storey dwelling with two bedrooms and a little garden.

The donor recalls that as soon as the paper went up, the family (Peter’s wife and daughter) realized it was a mistake. However he persevered and completed it. The room was photographed by Jack Warner – an employee of a camera shop where Peter’s wife worked as a cleaner.

Photograph of the front room at 13, Raleigh Road, Penge by Jack Warner, around 1960, Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, (BADDA4865.1)

Photograph of the door into the hall, from the front room at 13, Raleigh Road, Penge, around 1960, Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture (BADDA4865.2)

The reflection in the mirror above the mantle confirms that the room was papered wall-to-wall with the Dick Turpin wallpaper. No wonder the donor remembers how claustrophobic the whole thing felt.

The front room was on the lower floor and was used only on high days and holidays and was freezing until the fire had been lit. The photograph also shows part of the green three-piece suite in the room, the fireplace, anti-maccassars and some ornaments on the mantle – including a photograph of the donor’s uncle in army uniform.  She also gave us three other photographs including one showing a sideboard in the room.

 

Photograph of 13, Raleigh Road, Penge, around 1960, Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture (BADDA4865.3) The bay window with the netting curtains is the one for the front room shown in the photographs above.

No one ever spoke out about their dislike of the paper, however a year later Peter re-did the room again with a lighter, less busy wallpaper. Left over rolls of the Dick Turpin wallpaper were used for an inside loo in the house of an aunt who lived over the road, and some were kept by the family. Peter passed away in December 1960.

We can’t accept everything we are offered because we don’t have unlimited space.  But we understood how significant this offer by Peter Joseph Brown’s family was. We see it as one of the more special papers in our collection now. Along with the photographs and other documents supplied by the donor, we have been able to recount the story of how the wallpaper was used. We also appreciate how this story challenges the assumptions we have made about the way consumers use wallpaper and what designs belong in what parts of a home.

9 Replies to “The Highwayman in the Front Room”

  1. Mrs Small says:

    I have some vintage fabric in this gorgeous design and it is by Sanderson, stamped on the selvage. This piece is old, 1950’s at the latest, but probably earlier as it is narrow, only 76cm wide.
    I would attach some photos for you if I knew how.

  2. John Patrick says:

    I have a pretty good partial roll of this exact wallpaper. It hung in my grandparent’s home until they died and house was eventually sold. My mother found a leftover roll and sent it to me since I am the creative one in the family. I’ve taken some of the roll cut and framed it and hung it on one of my walls to remind me of times spent with them in their home. I was going to hoard it but have even decided to share some of the wallpaper with my uncle who grew up in the house and one cousin. I Googled to the wallpaper to see if it was still being made and found this page. My grandmother passed in 2003 so it’s been stored in a tube for quite some time. I don’t know when the paper was originally purchased and installed in the home but she was born in 1912.

  3. Liz Phillips says:

    I have several metres of fabric in this design, I’m a collector and business owner in textiles (mainly Sanderson).
    A while back I contacted Sanderson and they told me the fabric was designed in 1932. Does that tie in with your information?
    By coincidence I was selling at a fair a couple of years ago and a customer purchased a cushion in the fabric because she had been renovating her house and had uncovered a frieze in this design.
    Is the Sanderson ‘Coaching Inn’ fabric a ‘relative’ of this design? I understand it was made in the mid/late 40s for the interiors of roadside inns that were popping un on arterial roads…..
    so lovely to read about this design.

    1. Zoe Hendon says:

      Hi Liz, thanks for getting in touch about the highwayman wallpaper, it’s one of our favourite objects! The sample in our collection dates from the late 1950s: but I suspect that lots of similar designs were produced by various companies between the 1930s and the 1950s. It’s the kind of design that still gets recycled again and again in slightly different ways!

  4. Valerie Christie says:

    We’ve just found this wallpaper whilst repairing the wall in The Green Tree Inn, Brompton, Northallerton, North Yorkshire.
    Great to be able to date the wallpaper. We are trying to turn the pieces into something we could frame and place alongside photographs of the Inn across the generations.
    The Inn was built in the late 1800’s.

  5. richard lumb says:

    Dear Suzanne
    You can contact staff via moda@mdx.ac.uk

  6. richard lumb says:

    Glad that you liked it.

  7. Hello, is there an email address where I can contact you? I couldnt find one on the site

  8. Anonymous says:

    What a great story and some interesting snippets, and unbelievable wallpaper!

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