Under the Roof 1

A new series of writings for this week on features found in UK housing over the last century or so. 

Lincrusta

I get to see a lot of houses of the Victorian Era (1837 to 1901)

It was a time of rapid advancement in domestic arrangements and amenities seeing the introduction and wide-scale adoption of indoor toilets, gas and electric services and a revolution of interior decoration from furnishings to wall hangings.

The Victorians were known to be prudish in attitude and obsessed with sanitation with the period seeing huge civil engineering projects to provide drainage for an increasingly urban-based population.

Two inventions by Frederick Walton appealed to the fastidiousness of the progressive Victorians.

The first was linoleum for floors which he began to manufacture in 1860 providing a cheap and widely available option to carpets followed in 1877 by Lincrusta, a linoleum derivative to be used as a wall covering.

I still come across examples of Lincrusta, in excess of 100 years old, obviously original decorative finishes in old housing in my local area and in perfect condition, albeit under multiple layers of paint applied by enthusiastic successive owner occupiers.

It was formed from a mixture of oxidised or gelled linseed oil, gum, resin,paraffin wax and wood flour (only differing from linoleum by the omission of cork) which was backed by, initially, canvas but later waterproof paper, before being put through pairs of mechanical rollers.

One set of the rollers with an embossed decorative design imprinted onto one side of the material.

In this way Lincrusta became the first machine made, mass produced and marketed decorative finish of the period.

Being Linseed oil based meant that after being embossed the material had to be hung in a heated environment for two weeks before it could be shipped. The Linseed took considerably longer than this to dry out and so even when in situ it became increasingly tougher and stronger in a sort of curing process.

The marketing of Lincrusta emphasised its great characteristics to the general public. It's sanitary qualities of being impervious to water and scrubbable appealed to homes and hospitals alike. Indestructibility was also emphasised in that it could be alledgedly trodden on, beaten, hit with the sharp end of a hammer, immersed in water, exposed to weather and was also unattractive to ants and tropical insects as a source of food.

These attributes saw Lincrusta in use in early motor cars, railway carriages, on shop fronts and in heavy use areas .

I most frequently come across the distinctive Lincrusta patterns in the hallways, stairwells and landings of Victorian period houses where grubby hands  and furniture movements could damage lesser materials.

Again, after 100 or so years it appears as though brand new.

Original production designs could be mistaken to for bespoke leather, fine plaster, intricate carved wood, ivory and even metalwork.

Lincrusta was more expensive than conventional wallpaper but was seen as cost effective because of its longevity but perhaps more for its mimickry of much more costly materials which met another Victorian criteria- value for money.

The high esteem of Victorian decor continued into the consumer-led 20th century and notable and prominent citizens such as Rockefeller and Carnegie specified the use of Lincrusta in their mansions and estates. The ill fated Titanic included such finishes in its salons and state rooms.

The public were keen to follow the fashion trends of the rich and powerful and under Licensing to a US Company the range of products was expanded to include designs influenced by Ancient Egypt, Persia, Medieval and Rennaissance periods.

Most UK production however remained rather conservative. This however appealed to the home based market as the raw Lincrusta patterns could take many different paints and techniques including water based, oil, marbling, scumbling, glazing and gilding.

It is not surprising that Lincrusta is still manufactured today and remarkably using the original machinery although with slight variations to the 1877 formula.

Demand remains high from those keen to authentically renovate their Victorian homes or in imitative decorative schemes in contemporary and new build projects.

In my day to day encounters with  Lincrusta it certainly is an exceptional product combining style and versatility with a stubborn but reassuring everlasting quality.