Anna Kettle Pargeting

Anna Kettle
Pargeter
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Your personally designed parget is
modelled in lime plaster with a
creative eye, fingers and a spatula
It could be a simple combed pattern
or a highly ornamental design in
high relief
Conservation
History
Links
Anna Kettle
Pargeter
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Traditional Oak Carpentry
This fine team creates some of the
best new timber frames I have seen
and do very sympathetic repairs to
old ones.
The Queen Elizabeth
Scholarship Trust
Sponsors of my master craftsman
training
Society for Protection of Ancient
Buildings
Building Limes Forum
The top source of information about
using lime mortars for building.
Links to other sites
Anna Kettle
Pargeter
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The History of Pargeting
Pargeting is a traditional English craft of
creating ornamental designs on buildings using
lime plaster. It was introduced to England by
Henry VIII who imported Italian plasterers to
decorate Nonsuch Palace with nymphs and
goddesses and other mythological creatures.
In Italy this was called ‘stucco’ but in England
the same set of skills became highly
fashionable as ‘pargeting’. and soon any
English plasterer with an artistic eye was
decorating their clients’ houses.
Simply to enliven blank plaster walls, patterns
were stamped or scratched into the surface of
the wet plaster.
Rectangular panels were outlined between each
window and door. Each panel was filled with a
traditional pattern like basket weave, zigzag,
wool skein, sparrow picking or fan.
The most skilled pargeters could create their
own designs which they then modelled directly
onto the wall using their fingers and a spatula
to create designs in high relief which are full of
sensuous curves like this rural scene which
was added to Sparrowes House, Ipswich in the
early 17th century.
Pargeting is most frequently seen on the
outside of houses but it can also be found
indoors on overmantels and ceilings like this
one in Sutherland House, Southwold.
Anna Kettle
Pargeter
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I am a qualified plasterer and plaster
conservator and I offer
Planning reports and heritage statements
Conservation of ornamental and historically
important plaster work
Run and spun plaster work such as cornices
and arches
Plaster Conservation
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Anna Kettle
Pargeter
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An overmantel with a Bayeux theme features a ship in high relief, trees in low relief,
incised ships and horses modelled on the bench
Anna Kettle
Pargeter
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Detail of the Bayeux themed overmantel
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Pargeter
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In the same room as the Bayeux themed overmantel are several panels. These
three are of Edward I, Edward’s palace and William the Conqueror
Anna Kettle
Pargeter
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A one metre diameter panel balanced an odd space on the side of an old house.
This parget cost about 1500 GBP
Anna Kettle
Pargeter
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Adam and Eve overmantel in high relief
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Anna Kettle
Pargeter
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Detail of Adam and Eve overmantel. Adam is sweet and innocent but Eve has eaten
an apple, so wears a necklace and has calculating eyes
Anna Kettle
Pargeter
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Between each window and door of this cottage are panels combed with
basketweave with a frieze between the floors. Total cost about 7000 GBP.
Anna Kettle
Pargeter
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Download this site as a PDF. It is a large file.
I charge 35 GBP an hour from my door, plus
materials and travel at cost. For reasonably
straightforward pargets I can give you a fixed
price if you prefer.
[email protected]
01359 230642
07976 649862
For 50 GBP plus travel, I give a Photoshop
illustrated talk on pargeting, covering subjects
like the history of pargeting, types of pargeting
and materials used.
Please feel free to phone or email for free
advice.
I trained as a plasterer, worked as a
conservation plasterer and then learned to do
freehand modelling on the Mastro (master
craftsman) course in San Servolo, Venice with
the support of the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship
Trust.
In 2002 I started my business in Suffolk,
England creating new pargets and conserving
old plaster.
My illustrious students worked assiduously for
a few minutes before realising that parget is
remarkably like making mud pies.