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Staring

AT THE FOUR WALLS

If you’re going to be staring at the four walls of your home they’d better be good looking walls! Lucinda MacPherson examines the Arts& Crafts wallpapers of Emery Walker’s house in Hammersmith.

If walls could talk, the beautifully covered ones at Emery Walker’s House at 7 Hammersmith Terrace would speak the language of Arts & Crafts, an influential Victorian aesthetic influencing homes to this day. For this house museum belonged to a key member of the Arts and Crafts movement, and its walls are clad in original Morris & Co hand-blocked wallpapers communicating the movement’s social and aesthetic aspirations. William Morris, a close friend of Walker, railed against the rapid social change brought on by the industrial revolution, extolling the virtues of the medieval guild made up of skilled craftsmen and women who created handcrafted items from good quality materials. These ambitions are evident in his wallpapers, as Morris’s company rejected mass-produced roller printing, introduced in the 1840s, in favour of hand-cut wallpaper blocks which had to be printed individually. Each part of this time-consuming process (only one colour could be printed a day, as it had to dry before the next block was applied) demanded a team of skilled artisans. Despite his best intentions to bring high quality craft to the masses, Morris’s production techniques were prohibitively expensive. St James’s Palace boasts Morris’s most expensive paper which involved a grand total of 68 print blocks. All of Morris’s designs at 7 Hammersmith Terrace are inspired by nature and some are instantly recognisable to the contemporary viewer. If you watch Channel 4’s Gogglebox, you will know ‘Willow Bough’ for the way it envelops Mary Killen and Giles Wood as they watch TV, with the curtains, wallpaper and chair cover all of the same pattern. “It does make us look a bit obsessive” Mary admits. A sharp-eyed Jennifer Saunders, watching the programme, spotted its comedic value and turned it into a comedy sketch in her 2017 Christmas show, with herself as Mary, dressed head to toe in ‘Willow Bough’ pattern fabric and all but disappearing in the foliage.

‘Willow Bough’ runs rampant up three flights of walls by the staircase at Emery Walker’s House, as if seeking sunlight on the top floor. A similar pattern called ‘Willow’ preceded it by 13 years and can be seen in an unusual dark blue colour scheme in the Dining Room.

‘Poppy and Apple’ wallpaper can also be seen on house tours in unusual colourways, but the rarest wallpaper at the house is thought to be what was enigmatically called ‘Wallflower’ (it isn’t). It is believed this design was created exclusively for Robert Bulwer-Lytton, who became the British Ambassador to Paris after he had resigned as Viceroy of India. After the paper had been hung, several rolls were left over, and these were given to Walker by Lytton’s artist son Neville.

Wallflower in the Drawing Room

Willow wallpaper in the dining room

As well as nature, Morris studied medieval illuminated manuscripts, which he studied both in the Bodleian Library in Oxford when he was a student, and in the British Museum. ‘Daisy’, for instance, the very first wallpaper published by Morris’ firm, and which can be found in the main bedroom at Walker’s house. was inspired by the 15th century Froissart’s Chronicles and features plants in white, red, and yellow on a pale ground, flecked with streaks, suggestive of grass.

Coronavirus permitting, Emery Walker’s House holds specialist tours focusing on its wallpaper collection in which visitors explore the history of wallpaper and see archive designs, rarely on show to the public, at The William Morris Society’s premises before a tour of Emery Walker’s House.

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Contact us for the latest results on our latest International Benchmarking Tests (IBT). They show that students at Ashton House School are achieving at a very high level and are competitive with children anywhere around the world. Ashton House School has for the past 80 years been offering high quality primary education to children from the surrounding areas; enriched by a purposeful environment with high academic standards and an inspiring, broad curriculum. We have an excellent exam and scholarship record with the vast majority of children moving on to the school of their choice. Our academic record certainly makes us one of

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Ashton House School has for the past 80 years been offering high quality primary education to children from the surrounding areas; enriched by a purposeful environment with high academic standards and an inspiring, broad curriculum. We have an excellent exam and scholarship record with the vast majority of children moving on to the school of their choice. Our academic record certainly makes us one of

the highest achieving independent schools in West London. Choosing a school for your child?

Be inspired: Find out how we can help your child today.

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To find out more call us on 020 8560 3902 or visit our website: ashtonhouse.com 50/52 EVERSLEY CRESCENT ISLEWORTH MIDDLESEX TW7 4LW T: 020 8560 3902 F: 020 8568 1097 E: principal@ashtonhouse.com