A full house at St Joseph’s Church Hall was treated to a fascinating talk by antiques expert and u3a committee member Hilda Burden on the subject of our changing tastes in interior decor.
With reference to the nearby Falklands Road and Hampstead Road, Hilda began by describing how homes came to be constructed at the turn of the last century, with the builder erecting a three-storey house at the junction of two roads, from the top of which he could observe progress on the building of a row of two-storey homes alongside. When the builder moved on, the ground floor of his three-storey house often became the local ‘corner shop’.
A typical interior from the mid-1960s
Using an array of exquisite 1/12th-scale room sets that Hilda herself had made, she revealed decade-by-decade how the contents of our front rooms had changed, reflecting the transformations in our way of life through the past century.
Starting in Victorian times with the coal fire as a focal point beneath the ornate mantelpiece, cornices and picture rails, we saw how the atmosphere produced by the fire, tobacco smoke and burning candles could be dangerous to one’s health. The popular green wallpaper containing arsenic was also a mortal hazard.
Speaker Hilda Burden
Unveiling one miniature room set at a time, each containing objects and furniture typical of its period, Hilda took us through the coming of gas and electricity and evolving soft furnishings, floor and wall coverings right up to the point when modern owners knocked down walls to create the more spacious open-plan living area that is in vogue today.
After the very entertaining talk members gathered round the display of room sets to take a closer look at the craftsmanship and details, no doubt recognising artefacts and fashions from their own home lives.
Mike Docker