September 2008
Matthew Boulton's house gets facelift for 2009 Bicentenary
Soho House Museum in Handsworth, home of Matthew Boulton (1728-1809), is to get a facelift in time for the 200th Anniversary of Boulton's death next year.
The house was originally constructed in brick around 1757. It was acquired by Boulton in 1761, and he continued to make improvements and amendments to it throughout his life. The most significant alterations were undertaken between 1796-99 when the house was enlarged and refurbished in the latest neo-classical style based on the designs of architects James and Samuel Wyatt.
One of Wyatt's most innovative works was to clad the brick house in slate which was then decorated with a sanded paint to replicate the appearance of stone. This technique was extremely rare - the only other site where a similar approach was used was Shugborough Hall in Staffordshire.
When the house was restored as a museum in the early 1990s, great care was taken to reproduce the unique sanded paint finish. However, after fifteen years it has started to fail on two of the elevations and so the City Council has commissioned conservation specialists to undertake the redecoration work using the same techniques employed in the 1790s.
The work will be completed by early November. The Grade II* listed building will remain open to the public until it closes for the Winter on Sunday 2nd November.