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‘At home’ in Standen: a study of the Beale family’s lived experience of their late-nineteenth century Arts and Crafts home, 1890-1914

thesis
posted on 2023-06-09, 02:55 authored by Anne Stutchbury
This thesis is a study of the social and cultural significance of Standen from the perspective of the Beale family’s lived experience of the property from 1890 to 1914. The Beales commissioned architect Philip Webb to design Standen in 1891, they were sole owners of the property until it was bequeathed to the National Trust in the early 1970s. Although Standen is recognised by architectural historians as a fine and complete example of Art and Crafts architecture of the period and is celebrated for its William Morris wallpapers, little is known about how the family experienced the house. Drawing on Henri Lefebvre’s theory which understands a user’s space as lived and not represented, this thesis moves away from traditional architectural accounts to focus on the family’s lived experience and the role they played in the creation of Standen. It analyses family and estate archives, the property and its collection of objects and photographs to reveal that Standen’s decorative interior, as an ‘eclectic’ mix of styles blending Arts and Crafts with Aestheticism, was interwoven with social and cultural meaning. Representing original and innovative research into the history of domestic interiors and living space, this thesis aims to encourage new ways of engaging with and critically understanding the late-nineteenth century Arts and Crafts Movement.

History

File Version

  • Published version

Pages

428.0

Department affiliated with

  • Art History Theses

Qualification level

  • doctoral

Qualification name

  • phd

Language

  • eng

Institution

University of Sussex

Full text available

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2016-09-16

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