The Cambridge Paperhanger

As we look forward to our next restoration, it is rewarding to contemplate the original work invested in the old buildings we have thus far had the privilege of restoring. Tradesmen in previous generations perpetuated skills that are less called upon today.

These craftsmen of the past rarely left personal evidence of their work. Perhaps they took the view that the work itself was enough of a testimony to their labours. Occasionally, however, we are rewarded with more direct provenance. Stripping wallpaper in a mansion in Cambridgeshire we were rewarded with a direct link to the decorator. These walls were 40 years old when he arrived to decorate them. Do paperhangers today have such stylish handwriting? Do they still leave evidence of their presence for future generations to discover?