Are remnants of wallpaper and linoleum as historically valuable as personal diaries and letters? They may be less specific in their details, but they still speak volumes. Homes, after all, are our private spaces were we let down our guard and – give and take the constraints of money – express who we truly are.

A coat of new paint, a new layer of lino or the installation of electric light may not seem like much, but at Susannah Place the many layers of paint, wallpapers, linoleums, modifications and repairs reflect the lifestyles of past inhabitants, and their desire to make these spaces their own.