2021 Bursary Recipient: Rachael Thomas
Auchindrain Township: Documenting wallpapers from Scotland’s last surviving township
Auchindrain Historic Township is the last remaining example of many thousands of similar settlements that were once spread across Scotland. It is first mentioned within historical records in the 16th century, but its origins are almost certainly older. During the 19th century the community adopted some aspects of agricultural improvement, and major rebuilding phases in and before the 1840s led to much of what can be seen today – a scattered group of houses, barns and byres, built anywhere that was unsuitable for crop cultivation.
Peaking at a population of 76 inhabitants in the 1851 census, after 1937 only two families remained within the township. As the last legally constituted joint tenancy in Scotland, the importance of this group of houses and the surrounding land was recognised at a national level by those working in the heritage sector.
Auchindrain Township in the 1890s. From the collection of Auchindrain Township.
Two of Auchindrain’s longhouses with Stoner’s House to the left and Martin’s House to the right. Photo courtesy Auchindrain Township.
In 1964, after the last tenant retired, Auchindrain Township began a redevelopment programme to create a museum. Today, the site consists of 22 A-Listed buildings on 22 acres of land, and the landscape, buildings, original fittings and archaeological finds are a Recognised Collection, designated by the Scottish Government as being of national importance.
The box bed within Eddie’s kitchen, including 20 years of wallpaper. Photo courtesy Auchindrain Township.
Layers of wallpaper with emulsion covering in Eddie’s kitchen. Photo courtesy Auchindrain Township.
Over time, much of the Auchindrain Trust’s attention has been focused on preserving the building exteriors from gradual decay and the inclement weather, and since the museum opened in the 1960s there has been little documentation of wallpaper and coloured lime washes. Thanks to the Merryl Huxtable bursary, four of the Township’s houses have now been fully explored and over 100 samples of wallpaper have been removed, cleaned and stored to ensure ongoing preservation.
Sanitary wallpaper from Eddie’s kitchen. Photo courtesy Auchindrain Township.
Floral wallpaper from Eddie’s kitchen. Photo courtesy Auchindrain Township.
With occupants of the township using wallpaper for insulation and the prevention of dust, as well as decoration, the project has accumulated samples from kitchens, bedrooms, box beds and ‘best rooms’. These rare survivals are extraordinary due to their provenance: as a site of continuous occupation, changes to interior styles can be matched to occupants through census data, and to architectural improvements through archival documents.
Martin’s kitchen, an example of a typical kitchen within one of Auchindrain’s buildings. Photo courtesy Auchindrain Township.
Now a relic of what was once common across Scotland, the wallpaper samples found within Auchindrain reflect under-documented schemes which are poorly represented within Scottish museum collections. Not only do they tell the story of this isolated, rural farming community, but also that of the thousands of similar townships and dwellings that have been lost over time.
https://www.auchindrain.org.uk/
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Full findings from this project are published in the 2024 Wallpaper History Society Review.
Rachael Thomas
Rachael Thomas is a freelance museum curator and conservator who spent three years as Assistant Curator at Auchindrain Township. Her areas of interest include the material culture of Scotland’s Gypsy/Travellers, and the interior decorations, fixtures and fittings of Scotland’s vernacular buildings.
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Instagram: @rachaelthomasconservation