Plastering Plain and Decorative 4th introduction

George Percy Bankart was an architect highly influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, who had chosen to work as a decorative craftsman. Arts and Crafts was, at least initially, an English movement dedicated to the idea that architecture could be inspired by a revival of traditional building crafts and materials. It started with the writings of John Ruskin and was driven by the ideas of William Morris. Although most people associate the movement with the late nineteenth and very early twentieth centuries, there were still many active Arts and Crafts architects and thinkers around in the 1920s.

Bankart was born in Leicester on 20 January 1866, and was a great friend of Ernest W. Gimson, another Leicester born architect, just over a year his elder. Both men studied and became architects, and shared a creative passion for the handicrafts. Whilst Gimson's career included embroidery design, traditional chair-making and furniture design, as well as decorative modelled plasterwork, Bankart concentrated primarily on plasterwork. Their different activities were true to the ideas of the Arts and Crafts movement, and their designs reflect the movement’s interest in a return to nature.

Bankart’s career as an author started in 1909, with the publication of The Art of The Plasterer (B. T. Batsford Ltd). He seems to have taken a break from writing until the mid-1920s, when, together with his son G. Edward Bankart, he produced two books, Modern Plasterwork Construction (1926) and Modern Plasterwork Design (1927), both published by the Architectural Press. These were in drawing portfolio form, with large loose-leaf plates. It was also in 1927 that B. T. Batsford Ltd published the revised fourth edition of Millar’s Plastering Plain and Decorative.

One only has to look at the title page of the fourth edition to get an idea of Bankart’s confidence and belief in the post-Victorian view of craft and design. He refers to this edition being revised and enlarged, even though it is actually shorter (347 pages compared to 604 pages in the first edition). He and the publishers clearly believed that bringing it up to date with added knowledge and information, along with the removal of (in his view) immaterial parts, had actually increased the scope of the book. The fourth edition has nineteen chapters, as opposed to twenty-one in the first, but more significantly one can sense the change in attitudes and understanding as George Bankart picks out and patches in paragraphs and chapters around William Millar’s original work.

Reading the first edition of the book gives a real sense of the way Mr Millar, a Victorian plasterer, thought about and understood the skills of his trade. At times his writing style may seem to ramble slightly, but this adds to the feeling of being in conversation with him. The fourth edition carries on this conversation, but with George Bankart adding his ‘voice’ as he implores us to engage with the importance of craftsmanship. He obviously has a deep respect for William Millar, but is keen to highlight the shortcomings he saw in the move towards mass-production (symbolised by the Victorian ceiling rose), and wants to explain not only how the craft had been in the past but also how it could be developed in the future.

There would be little merit in trying to describe or analyse all the changes made in the fourth edition, but we hope that by highlighting a few we can give some insights into the differences between the two editions.

Chapter I, on the history of plasterwork, was originally written by George Robinson. It has been edited very slightly and more illustrations have been added, but still retains subjective views and prejudices from the first edition, including negative remarks about the Adam brothers and the ‘death’ of hand modelling. Chapter II (moved from chapter XVI in the original), was originally entitled Foreign Plasterwork and has been renamed Eastern and Continental Plasterwork, possibly reflecting a slightly more enlightened view of the rest of the world!

The next three new chapters, on lime-stucco, modern plasterwork and modelling in relief, are pure Bankart, and give a real sense of his passion and interest in hand modelled plasterwork. He uses them to illustrate and explain his commitment to Arts and Crafts ideals.

Chapter VI is on tools (moved from chapter XXI in the original), and has additional illustrations and notes. This is followed by two chapters on materials, all brought up to date with more photos and drawings. As one reads on it becomes clear that, while still retaining much of Millar's text and illustrations without alteration, Bankart has inserted sections into the original chapters to make them more contemporary. He assumes less background knowledge from his readers and adds further explanation where he believes it will help plasterers and others who want to understand the mechanics of plastering.

A good example of this is in chapter XV, where a description headed Renovating Old Ceilings (page 243), which comes from the first edition, is then followed by a new section called For Renovating Old Ceilings (pages 243 and 244), which gives a detailed description of how to save an old ceiling using plaster and scrim to reinforce it from above. The chapter ends with an illustration (page 272) showing how this method works, and a further treatise (page 273) on saving historic decorative plaster.

In this same chapter there is an illustration (page 249) entitled ‘Typical Victorian Centre Flower "Horrors" in Plaster’. Bankart does not hide his distain for Victorian ceiling roses, or the period they represent. While understanding his plea, we need to remember that his views on design and production, although heartfelt and challenging, are as much a reflection of his time as the ceiling roses are of the nineteenth century. His views on ‘mass-production’ and the importance of ‘hand craft’ are pertinent to current debates about sustainability, but we should bear in mind that ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ and that the passage of time can also give value to objects.

Chapter XI, Exterior Plastering and Sgraffito, is another completely new chapter added by Bankart. This method of decoration (also spelt Scraffito) involves applying contrasting layers of coloured plaster to a moistened surface, and then scratching away parts of the top layer to produce an outline pattern or drawing. The art of sgraffito (early examples of which can be found in Bavaria and Italy) was introduced into Britain during the late nineteenth century, and this chapter reflects the enthusiasm in the early twentieth century for this technique.

Bankart continues to update the content right through to the penultimate two chapters on Compositions (XVII and XVIII). This encompasses gesso, papier-mâché, carton-pierre, and an assortment of other products, and can be a very useful research reference when faced with the repair of such materials. Knowing that alternative, and sometimes novel, materials were used in decorative plasterwork from the latter part of the eighteenth century onwards is important. If, for example, decorative features have been formed using a glue binder they may be more susceptible to damp than plaster (and even become ‘soggy’ to the touch), but may simply solidify again once the ceiling or wall dries out. Unfortunately if the glue stays damp too long, it may encourage or sustain mould growth.

The last chapter, on quantities, weights and recipes, contains fascinating practical information on proportions and sizing of materials, including the coverage achieved using different plasters. There are explanations of the measures used, but as many are no longer in common usage it can be difficult to immediately translate them into modern terms. The description of the wide palette of materials that was available to plasterers at the time is a salutary reminder of how limited our own knowledge really is. We can only hope that the republishing of this book will begin to inspire a revived interest in the techniques and tricks of the trade that have been forgotten. There is a brief entry on ‘Wages’ (page 321), which reflects on the shortage of skilled plasterers in the 1920s, due to the First World War. Fortunately for Bankart, he did not know of things to come, with another World War and the subsequent deskilling of the plastering trade.

The book finishes with an Appendix, outlining developments in American plastering, which offers some fascinating insights. This includes descriptions of new techniques and alternative materials, including a surprising reference to plasterboard (page 333). We are also told about the use of brightly coloured external stucco, developed by a Mr O. A. Malone of the Californian Stucco Products Co, which is referred to as ‘Jazz plaster’, much loved by Hollywood film stars. This is the beginning of the Art Deco movement, which started in Paris in 1925.

Sadly George Bankart, who seems to have been intrigued by the idea of coloured external stuccos, did not live to see the spread of this new fashion. He died in Welwyn Garden City, England, two years later in 1929, aged 63. His life was dedicated to promoting the ideals of craftsmanship and his legacy can clearly be seen in his books. The Arts and Crafts movement owes a great deal to a man who sought to develop and encourage the art of the plasterer.

At the time of writing this introduction, Jeff Orton is in America visiting the American College of the Building Arts in Charleston. He has been discussing Plastering Plain & Decorative with the students, and it seems particularly appropriate to conclude with their observations on the fourth edition. Their comments reflect on the challenges we face on both sides of the Atlantic.

At a time when speed of production takes precedent over quality of craftsmanship, mass-produced, pre-fabricated building materials have become the standard of current building practices in the United States. This has resulted in a sharp decline of artisans in our country. We, the plaster students of the American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, South Carolina, have a unique opportunity to revive the traditional building methods of the past. William Millar's writing on the trade provides us with an invaluable resource for guidance and inspiration. Millar not only specifies the proper techniques of plastering, but in the revised fourth edition George Bankart exhorts students to self-expression and artistic exploration. In the chapter Modelling and Design in Relief (page 74), he encourages students to develop their desire to create decoration and ornamentation:

By studying old work and Nature at the same time - by absorbing inspiration from both, by uniting that knowledge of both in developing our own ideas with good taste, judgement, simplicity of arrangement, variation, industry, and practice, the student must surely acquire and cultivate the art of decorative design for himself. …But he must be content to learn.

We are grateful to the students Cody Donahue, Michael Lauer and Bethany Costilow for their thoughts and observations. For more information on the American College of the Building Arts visit www.buildingartscollege.us

Jeff Orton & Tim Ratcliffe

(February 2009)

Tim Ratcliffe (Architect) BA DipArch RIBA

Tim Ratcliffe is an architect working on historic buildings in and around the Midlands and North Wales. He joined Donald Insall Associates in 1997, having previously worked for Rodney Melville and Partners. In 1987 he was awarded a travelling scholarship by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and has also worked as a labourer for a number of specialist plastering and conservation contractors. He sits on the Technical Panel of the SPAB.

Jeff Orton (Plasterer) CRP MPCG

Jeff Orton served a full plastering apprenticeship from 1963–1968 with a traditional family firm, and gained a distinction in the Advanced Craft City and Guilds Examination. He is registered with the Worshipful Company of Plasterers (CRP) and in 1981 he attended the San Servolo Architectural Conservation Course for Craftsmen in Venice. Since 1987 he has worked for Trumpers Ltd, repairing and reinstating plasterwork in historic buildings for private clients as well as The National Trust and English Heritage.

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Plastering: Plain and Decorative

Donhead Publishing 2010