The story of
Wainman
House
Welcome to
Wainman House
Who lived here and what was Georgian life
like? Here we reveal a little more of the story
of this historic townhouse, the family that
called it home and the exciting project that
restored it to its former glory.
We start by turning the
clock back to 1949, when
the house was transferred to
the National Trust from the
National Land Fund. Around
the same time, the Hon.
Alexandrina Peckover also
gifted 50 acres of land in the
town and her family home,
Bank House, next door.
Following a large-scale
conservation project, it is
now a holiday let with added
historic interest. Decorated
and furnished in a style from
the late Georgian period, the
house has been named after
the Wainman family who
occupied it at that time.
Bank House was renamed
Peckover House and opened
to the public, whereas this
townhouse was let to private
tenants until 2009.
Now it’s your turn to experience
living in this historic gem.
Georgian
Wisbech (1760 – 1820)
The history of
Wainman House
Wainman House was part of the early
eighteenth-century (c. 1720) development
of the thriving merchant town of Wisbech.
Many houses of this period have been
sub-divided and altered over the years,
so it’s not surprising that this rare
survival is now Grade I listed.
Some changes have
occurred here nevertheless.
Originally it was a threestorey, three-bay house
(three windows wide), but
sometime between 1770
and 1850 the house was
extended with another two
bays added. Not only did it
increase the size, but also
the status of the house.
Wisbech was flourishing,
bustling with a population
of nearly 5,000
(c. 20,000 today).
Thomas Clarkson of
Wisbech was waging a war
to abolish the slave trade.
Ships carried produce from
the surrounding farms
to the ports of Hull
and London.
For £1.15s (£110 today)
the Mail Coach ferried
passengers, daily, to and
from the attractions
of London.
Wisbech also had its own
attractions with balls and
assemblies held monthly at
the Rose and Crown Hotel,
in the marketplace.
“You could travel from Wisbech to London for
just 12s.6d (£37 today) if you travelled on the
outside of the coach!”
After 1850, a substantial
series of rooms at the rear
were built and used as
doctors’ consulting rooms
for the next 100 years.
The old surgery rooms were
removed by the National
Trust in 1960 to leave the
house we see today.
As we turn the clock back, we find George
III on the throne. Suffering from recurrent
fits of madness, it was during his reign
that Britain lost its American colonies but
emerged as a leading power in Europe.
“…one of the most
perfect Georgian
streets of England”
Description of North Brink,
Wisbech by Nikolaus Pevsner
in The Buildings of England:
Cambridgeshire
Who
Wainmans?
were the
We know little of those who lived in the house before the late
1700s when it was home to the surgeon Oglethorpe Wainman,
his wife Ann and daughters Marian and Beatrix.
Oglethorpe was a learned
man who wrote a number
of medical books, and was
interested in the world
around him.
Oglethorpe died
prematurely in 1800, aged
49. Ann remained here until
her death in 1850 at the
age of 90.
The family led a comfortable
life here, attended to
by servants.
Following Ann’s death the
house was occupied by
a succession of doctors
and their families.
They would have entertained
at home and it’s likely they
attended the assemblies
and balls held at the
Rose and Crown.
A
family home
In Georgian times, North Brink was a prestigious address
and properties were expensive.
It’s thought Oglethorpe
conducted his business
from the house, which
was common practice at
the time. His neighbours, the
Peckovers, ran their business
from a purpose-built banking
hall attached to their home,
hence the original name
Bank House.
After Oglethorpe’s death,
his wife Ann extended the
house and rearranged
the rooms, including the
Drawing Room, which
was moved downstairs,
providing two additional
bedrooms upstairs.
“When Oglethorpe insured the house
against fire it was valued at £800, which
is equivalent to over £1,000,000 today.”
A late night
After dinner the ladies retired to the Drawing Room,
where Ann would prepare and serve tea. The men would
join them later for coffee and cards.
The Wainmans may have
suffered in the morning
from the excesses of the
night before. An infusion
of bark dissolved in a little
water was recommended
for heartburn, a hangover
headache could be improved
by washing the hair with
cold water, while indigestion
could be cured by drinking
sea-water.
Dinner
with the
Wainmans
As darkness fell, the rooms would most likely have been
lit by candles, though oil lamps were available.
Mirrors adorning the walls
helped reflect light back
into the room.
and used the same knife,
fork and spoon throughout
their meal.
Dinner would have usually
consisted of two courses,
each containing as many
as 13 individual dishes, and
would have been served
around 8pm.
These would then be
cleaned by a servant
between dishes, and
wine glasses were rinsed
in a water-filled container
each time a different wine
was selected.
Guests would only select
the dishes they wanted,
“Light levels in the
main rooms of the
house were low,
similar to that of
a 30 watt bulb.”
When it came to freshening
your breath, brushing your
teeth was not the solution!
Tooth powder was not often
used at that time and when
it was, it was made up of
four ounces of charcoal,
beaten, sifted and mixed
with two ounces of
powdered bark.
“The Georgian card pack was made up of the
Jack of Spades, Jack of Hearts, and King of
Diamonds all drawn in profile, whilst the rest of
the court are shown with a full face”.
If Ann Wainman was to return to her home today, the
current furnishings, their arrangements, the fabric and
curtains would be of a style familiar to her.
The
conservation
project
A combination of severe
structural problems,
extensive dry rot and a lack
of modern amenities meant
that a huge conservation
project was needed to
reinstate the structural
integrity of the building and
bring this historic
townhouse back into use.
Early investigations revealed
that emergency work was
needed to prevent the
building collapsing, after we
discovered a load bearing
beam wasn’t holding
anything up!
Work continued until the
summer of 2013 to conserve
and convert the building –
including roof repairs,
joinery (particularly
windows), addition of a new
kitchen and bathrooms, as
well as the restoration of
the historic décor.
We’ve used illustrations and
inventories of the contents
from similar properties of
the period to help us
restore the house. And
when it came to the painted
finishes of the walls and
woodwork, we took a
number of paint samples
and examined them under
the microscope - some
rooms revealed as many as
thirty successive
decorative schemes!
Traditionally, Ann’s house
would have been decorated
with lead paints. The
colours we’ve used closely
replicates a decorative
scheme thought to have
been introduced by the
Wainman family.
“Lead poisoning was a common cause of
death amongst decorators, often referred
to as painter’s colic.”
“The house has been furnished with Georgian
antiques and a number of modern replicas
made by local craftsmen.”
Can you tell the difference?
We’ve used fabrics made
from robust modern
materials, specially
designed to meet the
needs of everyday use, but
emulating Georgian patterns.
Did you know that the
Georgians had fitted
carpets? These had to be
made in 27 inch wide strips,
due to the technology
available and stitched
together to make one large
fitted carpet. In the Drawing
Room you’ll see a replica
carpet, based on a 1790
design, made in this
traditional fashion.
It’s not unusual to make
discoveries during
restoration work in an
historic building such as
this and we’ve certainly
uncovered some surprises,
including a particularly fine
array of wallpapers.
These papers illustrate the
development of wallpapers
from early Georgian
hand-printed to the
mass-produced machine-
printed examples of the late
Victorian age. We even
revealed a particularly rare
hand-printed wallpaper in
one of the first floor
bedrooms, dating back to
1720, which was originally
fixed to the wall with nails.
It’s one of the earliest
wallpapers in the collection
of the National Trust.
Fragments of newspapers,
pencil sketches, long-lost
“Grafitti left by a tradesman when replacing
the window, says: ‘After doctor’s riot, 1913’.
According to newspaper reports this refers
to a baying mob of locals surrounding the
house of a doctor. It follows another popular
doctor killing himself after allegations that he
had been slandering other GPs in the town.
Eventually, the angry crowd dispersed, but not
before smashing the window.”
letters stuffed behind wall
panelling and a 100-yearold message scribbled on
a window frame were
also discovered. These are
now archived in the
collection at Peckover
House.
It’s amazing to think we’re
still uncovering the stories
of our places and their past.
The story
continues
The outside of Wainman
House enhances the historic
importance of the interior.
A rare survival, it’s not often
a domestic property along
with its detached Grade II
stable buildings and
enclosed gardens
remain intact together.
At some time between Ann
Wainman’s ownership in
1803 and the National
Trust’s acquisition in 1949,
the stables were altered
and extended further.
Today, the stabling still
appears as it did in use,
however the upper floor
was converted in 2000.
The ‘Coach House Loft’
outside
is now a bright and
spacious two bedroom
holiday cottage, sleeping
up to five, which can be let
with Wainman House for
larger groups.
The small cottage adjacent
to the stables provides
additional accommodation
for Peckover House.
Don’t forget to explore the
garden of Peckover House
next door.
We hope you enjoy your stay and we look
forward to welcoming you at Peckover
House, where the story continues…
Get in touch 0844 800 20 70
Photography © National Trust Mike Henton, Sue James and Fisheye Images © National Trust 2013.
The National Trust is a registered charity, number 205846.
www.nationaltrustcottages.co.uk