Episode 76. David Parr House, Cambridge

SYNOPSIS

Undistinguished from the outside, 186 Gwydir House, a small terraced house in the backstreets of Cambridge, provokes a sense of wonder in all who enter it. Those who do so are immersed in beauty, with walls, ceilings, architraves, picture rails and doors painted in rich mixture of colour and pattern, drawing for inspiration from Arts and Crafts and Gothic Revival movements.

The decorative skills on display are those of a working-class apprentice and artisan David Parr, who bought the family house in 1886. He proceeded to transform it over decades, using the methods that he had absorbed from a lifetime’s employment with F. R. Leach and Sons, a firm of master decorators, mural and stained glass painters, who contracted work for William Morris and several renowned church architects. After his death in 1927, the house passed eventually to his grand daughter, Elsie Palmer who lived there for 80 years, leaving the house largely untouched out of reverence for David Parr’s work.

Annabelle Campbell and Bob Hewis take up the story of how this remarkable house came to the attention of the social historian Tamsin Wimhurst in 2009 and the steps then taken to preserve it for posterity. The conversation delves into the histories of both David Parr and F. R. Leach and Sons and the social and religious context of their work.

GUESTS

Annabelle Campbell is Director and Bob Hewis Visitor Experience and House Manager of David Parr House. The property is open to the public for part of the week and the now expanded Gwydir Street site hosts relevant exhibitions.

For further information about David Parr House, please visit its website

Simon’s interview with Annabelle Campbell and Bob Hewis was recorded at David Parr House on 30 September 2025.