Monday, 15 October 2012, 9.30am to 5pm

The course

In this course, Ian Bristow and Kathryn Davies will explore the way the houses of the middle and humbler classes were decorated from Tudor times to the nineteenth century.  This subject is much less researched and understood than the way in which aristocratic houses were treated, and knowledge is farm from comprehensive.

Following a resume of basic painting methods, the decorative paintings of the aspiring classes in the decades around 1600 will be discussed, and examples at the Museum visited.  Attention will then be turned to exterior colour, and the day will conclude with an examination of décor in everyday Georgian and Victorian interiors.

This course is aimed at all those with a curiosity for the tastes and aspirations of the past, both professional and amateur.

Programme

Common painting techniques and colours, Ian Bristow

Coffee

Tudor and Jacobean domestic wall paintings in everyday houses, Kathryn Davies

A look at the Museum’s examples of domestic wall paintings

Lunch

Exterior vernacular and suburban colour from Tudor times to the nineteenth century. Ian Bristow

Tea

Middle and lower class interiors in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Ian Bristow

Questions and discussion

The tutors

Ian Bristow DPhil FSA ARIBA is an architect who has specialised in work on historic buildings.  His particular expertise is in historic architectural colour, and in 1996 he published through Yale University Press two major works on the topic: Architectural Colour in British Interiors 1615-1840; and Interior House-painting Colours and Technology 1615-1840.  He lectures regularly on various university and other courses.

Dr Kathryn Davies has recently completed her Doctoral thesis on Tudor and Jacobean domestic wallpainting.

Participant information

No special clothing or equipment is required.

Fee

 £99 per person, including lunch, teas & coffees.

The Museum

The Weald & Downland Open Air Museum has over 45 historic building exhibits.  It is also home to the award winning and innovative Downland Gridshell, which houses a conservation workshop and artefact store, and is also used for many practical courses.  The Museum runs a full programme of courses in historic building conservation and traditional rural trades and crafts, along with MSc programmes in Building Conservation and Timber Building Conservation. Please telephone for further details.

To book, download a form here. Alternatively, fill in the booking request below.

Make a Booking Request

 
This is an initial booking request form, and does not guarantee a place on the course. The Adult Learning Team will check the availability of the course, and reply to you as soon as possible - usually within one working day.