Help us to tell the story of a remarkable Victorian artist decorator, David Parr, who transformed his family home with hand painted decoration over 40 years from 1887 to 1927 and whose granddaughter Elsie, moved into the house aged 12 and lived there for 85 years.
By supporting us you will help to make sure we can share the house with as many people as possible. Like many organisations, we’ve had no paying visitors for nearly a year, which has caused an extra strain on our finances whilst fundraising for the endowment. Since 2017 supporters, funders and donors have given generously and now we are only £10,000 away from raising our first £1 million which will secure the future of the house.
It is completely unique to find exquisite hand-painted decoration and ornament in a working-class home combined with the preservation of a typical two-up-two-down terraced railway cottage complete with all the ephemera of 19th and 20th Century family lives – the combination makes for a time travelling experience in a rich jewel-like palimpsest. In August 2020 Historic England listed the house as Grade 2* because ' it is an extraordinary and unique example of the exquisite work of an artisan decorator and nothing else like it is known to survive elsewhere.'
Unlocking this potential through the establishment of an endowment by securing a permanent full-time post curator for the house is the best way to share the stories of the house so please take a look at our amazing handmade rewards and support with a gift if you can and please tell your friends!
The rewards are all unique, not available anywhere else and have been lovingly developed with artisans and crafts people especially for this crowdfunding campaign to say thank you for your gift so that you have something from the house to keep.
Rewards include:
- a private tour and tea for 6 people with Founder and Chair Tamsin Wimhurst
- two designs of silk scarves by Saskia Huning who restored David Parr’s hand-painted decoration and ornament https://huningdecorations.co.uk/
- beautiful handmade journals and notebooks by Helen Perry of http://helenhandmadebooks.com/
- signed copies of our newest publication about the F.R Leach firm where David Parr worked all his life
- delicious organic, sustainable and ethically sourced David Parr House patterned chocolates by Kellie Mewett of https://chokoleti.co.uk/
(Left to right) Saskia Huning , Helen Perry, writer Shelley Lockwood and Kellie Mewett.
Enamelled David Parr House badges
Help us to tell the stories of the house, forever.
Restoration and conservation of the house, its collections and gardens are complete and that means that they are now safe but making them fully accessible to the public is yet to be realised. Since opening in May 2019 visitors have been able to explore the house but we have so many more secrets to share. We want to continue with our physical and virtual tours in 2021 and beyond, launch new audio tours, take our House on a Bike out to meet people, host talks and events with specialist experts and explore new community partnerships. The house has been closed to visitors since March 2020 and is completely dependent on ticket sales and support from donors. In October 2020 it was one of the first art and heritage venues in the UK to launch virtual tours. Visitors book a ticket for an online tour and are led around a 3D virtual David Parr House by house-guide volunteers in real-time. Plans for reopening the house itself later in 2021 are in progress.
Image credits David Parr House CIO, Howard Rice, Shelley Lockwood, Saskia Huning, Helen Perry and Kellie Mewitt.