Older walls and lining paper in Willingham
Council Tax records put about 230 Willingham properties before 1900 and a further 220 or so between 1900 and 1939. Walls of that age have usually been patched, replastered in places and painted many times. A good paper shows every bump underneath it, so we often hang lining paper first to give the finish paper an even surface.
If stripping uncovers loose plaster, our plasterers can make it good before we carry on, and we'll agree any extra cost with you first. Our plastering service explains how that fits into the same job.
Choosing wallpaper for a listed or period house
The parish has 32 listed buildings and a conservation area. Inside a listed home, heritage designs such as William Morris papers often suit the rooms better than modern prints. They are expensive and sometimes hand-printed, so we check batch numbers and plan where every join will fall before cutting.
Nearly 70% of Willingham households own their home, and for owners papering tends to be a longer-term choice. We'll hold samples against the wall so you can judge the scale of a pattern in the room. Our William Morris staircase project shows the planning involved.
Willingham at a glance
- 8 milesby road from our Landbeach base, about 14 minutesOSRM routing
- 15%of properties were built before 1919VOA Council Tax stock
- 7%date from 1919 to 1939VOA Council Tax stock
- 1,844householdsCensus 2021
- 32listed buildingsHistoric England
- 70%of homes are owner-occupiedCensus 2021
How we approach wallpapering
For Willingham's older cottages we strip back to the plaster, wash off old paste, fill and size the wall, then line it where it's uneven. Newer homes usually go straight to sizing. We set out the pattern from a plumb line, plan the repeat around chimney breasts and windows, and follow each paper maker's instructions. The full method, products and FAQs are on our wallpapering page.