Pargeting is believed to have been introduced to England in the sixteenth century by Henry VIII who imported Italian plasterers to decorate Nonsuch Palace. The craft was referred to as ‘stucco’ in Italy, but became known as ‘pargeting’ in England. Either patterns were stamped or scratched into the surface of wet plaster, and the most skilled pargeters created their own designs which they then modelled directly onto the wall using their fingers and a spatula to create designs in high or low relief. From the introduction of cement c1880, parget patterns stamped into wet cement render became popular, especially in Essex
Pargeting was highly fashionable from the Restoration until it dropped out of favour during the Industrial Revolution. If became fashionable again during the Arts and Crafts period, and popular again in the last 20-30 years with several people taking an interest in the trade (although some are plaster sculptors doing small panels which aren’t integral to a building, rather than entire elevations).
While the craft is mainly associated with East Anglia and particularly Suffolk and Essex, historically it was much more widely employed and examples can be found in the West Country, Kent (Maidstone), Cheshire (Chester), Wirral peninsular (Port Sunlight) and Staffordshire (Stoke on Trent). Examples of early pargetting also exist in Wales, Scotland, Yorkshire, although in these areas it is much more common to find internal work.
Pargeting is most frequently seen on the outside of houses, particularly in areas where there is no good building stone. However, pargetting can be found in areas where good building stone is present. It is most commonly found on timber framed properties (more prone to fire damage than brick or stone built) but it was not necessarily a substitute. It can also be found indoors on overmantels and ceilings.
Stucco
The term ‘stucco’ or ‘hand modelled plaster’ is commonly used to refer to indoor decorative lime plasterwork. As with pargeting it was brought to the UK by Italian craftspeople and it has remained a much more common skill in Italy.
Stucco was a lost craft in the UK until it was revived in the 1990’s in order to restore the fire damaged historic buildings of Uppark and Windsor Castle. Some conservators will also have knowledge of the craft.
It is usually found indoors on overmantels and ceilings.
Scagliola
First used in the UK in the 17th century, most often in churches and homes of the wealthy and influential, our earliest examples of scagliola are inlaid table tops, decorated ‘slabs’, fireplace surrounds and hearths. Later examples were brought to the UK in the 18th century by ‘Grand Tourists’ from Italian scagliola workshops; these workshops produced the highly-decorated altar fronts still in place in many Italian churches of the period.
Famous UK examples of scagliola interiors from this time can still be seen at Wentworth Woodhouse, Castle Howard and Syon House. Scagliola was being used by architects of the highest regard and made by some of the most celebrated craftsmen of the period. Its versatility and adaptability have allowed it to flourish through ‘waves’ of architectural movements – from gothic church interiors to neoclassical country houses. The early 19th century saw extensive use of scagliola; the Staircase Hall at Lancaster House, the Grand Staircase, Music Room and Blue Room columns at Buckingham Palace and the complex and richly coloured scheme at the Reform Club in London being prime examples.
A number of factors contributed to scagliola’s eventual decline at the end of the 19th and early 20th century, among them: World War I and II; a proliferation of firms competing in a narrowing market; a decline in quality of the product due to the rapid expansion of the field and practitioners who possibly had not mastered the techniques. In the 1960s and 70s, when the plasterwork in historic houses and public buildings was being restored after bomb damage from the second war, scagliola became of interest once again and the craft was picked up by a few interested practitioners. The craft was often self-taught using those historic plasterwork texts that mentioned it or included ‘recipes’ from the previous century. Using these, much trial and error and ensuring the methods are taught, developed and passed along, the field has expanded to where it is today, with a small handful of firms and independent practitioners manufacturing full time at different capacities of production.
Freehand modelling of plaster, either in high or low relief. Pargeting can be found in a number of finishes and is not restricted to lime plaster, although this is the most common. In Essex cement based parget is more common than lime based parget. Simple repeating panels can be combed or stamped.
Lime plaster applied and modelled by hand using plastering tools and a variety of home made implements and tools. Specific pargeting tools are not available so home-made versions are the order of the day. Repeat decorative patterns may be made with wooden stamps or by scratching or impressing the wet plaster. The finest pargeting is hand-modelled bas-relief motifs like coats of arms, fruits, animals, green men etc.
Stucco
The techniques are very similar to pargeting although the ingredients in the plaster (lime based putty, aggregate, animal glue and a small amount of gypsum plaster) are slightly different.
Scagliola
Plaster, coloured pigments, water, and melted glue (to delay setting time) are worked into a dough-like consistency. Different-coloured balls of this ‘dough’, as well as a thinner ‘slush’, are broken up and tumbled together, imitating the mashing together of various rocks and deposits that forms natural marble underground. When this ‘lump’ is sliced and placed into moulds, the different colours and textures within it emulate the veining and figuring of natural marble. After the ‘dough’ has set hard, the surface is sanded to reveal these markings more clearly, and any air holes that have opened are filled with a fine plaster stopping mix. This process is repeated with a finer grit sandpaper each time until the surface has a mirror shine like polished marble.
Different plasters are used in different areas e.g. sand and lime, chalk and lime. Also patterns tended to be grouped in certain areas, although maybe the local pargeter/plasterer had a particular stamp he was fond of. These demarcations are less distinct today.
Scagliola
Methods may vary maker to maker, but basic ingredients and techniques are quite consistent. That said, scagliola ‘recipes’ and methods are difficult to write down and difficult to decipher, even by experienced practitioners, so some techniques may only be known by one or two people. Internationally methods do vary – ‘American’ scagliola, or marezzo, uses a variation on the traditional method by applying the veining effect using silk threads dipped in pigment.
Allied crafts:
Pargeting
Stucco
Scagliola
There is no guild of pargeters and there is no specific guild or representative body for scagliola craftspeople.
A major problem with keeping the pargeting trade live is that there is no training school or apprenticeships or courses beyond the occasional introductory day school
Anna Kettle has produced a series of short YouTube films, freely accessible on @AnnaPargeter. They teach how to do stamped parget, combed parget, freehand parget. They talk about the history of pargeting, costing your work etc.
As of 2018, Joe Pattison has retired from pargeting and is now concentrating on sculpture.
Stucco
Scagliola
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