Occupations - Painters and Decorators
Harry Thomas Samuel TAGG was a painter and decorator. A family photo
shows him standing outside the shop that he worked from in Kenton Road,
Wembley. Tracing his family tree has shown that other members of the family
worked in the same trade.
 Painters
and Decorators in the Family
The first painter that we encounter in the family tree is Thomas
TAGG, who married Mary Ann PRITCHARD on 26 March 1865 in the Parish
of New Brentford. Thomas's father was a coachman and Mary's was a gardener.
When Thomas's son, Harry George,
was born in 1872, Thomas's occupation was recorded as Journeyman Painter.
The family were living at 12 Princes Road, Ealing. They were still living
at this address when Harry George married Mary Jane NORCOTT in 1894. The
marriage certificate shows that Harry George had become a painter and
also that Mary's deceased father (Samuel
NORCOTT) was a painter. The 1881 census shows that Mary's brother,
Robert had followed Samuel into the painting trade.
When their first child, Harry Thomas Samuel TAGG was born in 1895, Harry
George's occupation was recorded as decorator. Later, Harry Thomas Samuel
was to become the third and last generation of TAGGs to go into the painting
and decorating profession. In 1931 he was working as a builder's merchant's
assistant at Churchill Parade, Kenton Road, Wembley.
The
New Suburbs
In Thomas's time, there was no family tradition of working in the painting
and decorating trades. The 1881 census shows that enormous numbers of
people had moved into the town from more rural areas and were working
in a variety of building and decorating related trades. Hounsell
(1991) tells us that in the period between 1861 to 1881 the number
of houses in Ealing rose from just over 1,000 to nearly 3,000 so many
builders and decorators would have been required.
Mingay (1990) tells us that
migration from the countryside to the town continued throughout the 19th
century. Not only was there an agricultural depression in the 1870s but
towns offered better housing and employment. He goes on to state that
most new town dwellers came from within twenty to thirty miles of the
town. Thomas TAGG fits in with this pattern, having been born in Bagshot,
about 20 miles from Ealing.
Style
of Architecture and Decoration
Gray (1994) and Barrett
& Phillips (1993) describe the development of house styles and decoration.
Victorian house styles can be divided into three main phases:
- 1830s onwards - Italianate - in which the Victorians
moved away from the classical style using individual features and heavier
detail to break up the plain regularity of Classical terraces
- 1855 onwards - High Victorian - the emphasis was
on vertical, gothic and asymmetrical forms - polychromic brickwork was
also popular
- 1875 onwards - Red Brick or 'Queen Ann Revival' Phase
- with shaped gabling and details taken from traditional 'everyday'
houses - e.g. use of local materials and traditional features.
After the Victorian era, many of the fussier details were abandoned -
the familiar mock Tudor became popular.
As house styles changed so did decoration:
- The early Victorian years continued the relatively restrained Georgian
tradition. Panelling had already been reduced to a dado rail a few feet
from the floor dividing a fairly plain area below from perhaps a striped
wallpaper above - details on cornices etc. were fairly simple.
- Moving into the High Victorian era, interiors became much more ostentatious
and cluttered. The wallpaper tax was abolished and wallpaper became
available in rolls which, being cheaper than hangings (strips), made
it available to nearly all households. Heavily patterned wallpapers
and fabrics were used throughout the house. Gothic appearance outside
was reflected in very ornate plasterwork and all sorts of detail throughout
the interior.
- Later in the Victorian era, picture rails became popular. This and
the dado rail divided the wall into three strips, each of which would
be decorated differently. A dark or painted textured paper would be
used for the dado at the bottom. The filling below the picture rail
and the frieze above would be filled with densely patterned wallpapers.
Tiles were another way of adding colour and pattern.
- After the Victorian era, interiors because lighter and less fussy.
People
in the Trade
Today's relatively simple interiors and labour saving materials mean
that most people do their own house decoration. Even if professionals
are employed, one or two people can decorate an entire house. In Victorian
times, with every surface decorated and embellished, with no non-drip
paints or ready pasted wall papers, there was more need to specialise.
So Thomas TAGG is referred to as a painter while a 'paper hanger' would
specialise in hanging wallpapers. Some would combine trades. For example
William LORAN, who lived in the same road as Thomas TAGG, was described
as Grainer, Painter & Paperhanger. As well as painting and hanging
wall paper, he would have created grain effects using thin 'scumble' paint.
As well as the differences between trades we still see individuals described
as:
- apprentice - learning their trade
- journeyman - had served their time as an apprentice
and was fully qualified
- master - had served time in their trade and was often
in charge of others.
References
Barrett, Helena & Phillips, John. (1993) Suburban Style - The British
Home, 1840 to 1960, Little, Brown and Company
Gray, Edmund. (1994) The British House - A Concise Architectural History,
Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. Random House. London
Hounsell, Peter. (1991) Ealing and Hanwell Past, Historical Publications
Ltd, London
LDS CD-ROM 1881 census index:
- TAGG, Thomas - Ealing, Middlesex - Piece 1346, Folio 23, Page 40
- NORCOTT, Robert - Ealing, Middlesex - Piece 1345 Folio 90 Page 11
- LORAN, William - Ealing, Middlesex - Piece 1346, Folio 22, Page 38
Mingay, G. E. (1990) Rural Life in Victorian England - illustrated
edition, Sutton
Waters, Colin. (1999) A Dictionary of Old Trades, Titles and Occupations,
Countryside Books, Berkshire
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