David Parr House

{{Short description|Preserved house in Cambridge, England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}

{{Infobox building

| name = David Parr House

| status =

| image = David Parr House frontage.jpg

| image_alt =

| image_size =

| caption = David Parr House

| map_type = United Kingdom Cambridge

| building_type = Terraced house

| architectural_style = Arts and Crafts,
Gothic Revival

| structural_system =

| cost =

| ren_cost =

| client =

| owner = The David Parr House CIO (Registered Charity){{EW charity|5043566|The David Parr House}}

| location = 186 Gwydir Street, off Mill Road
Cambridge, {{postcode|CB|1|2LW}}
United Kingdom

| coordinates = {{coord|52.20019|N|0.13864|E|display=inline,title|region:GB_type:landmark}}

| groundbreaking_date =

| completion_date =

| renovation_date =

| height =

| floor_count =

| floor_area =

| architect =

| architecture_firm =

| structural_engineer =

| services_engineer =

| civil_engineer =

| other_designers =

| quantity_surveyor =

| main_contractor =

| awards =

| designations =

| ren_architect =

| ren_firm =

| ren_str_engineer =

| ren_serv_engineer =

| ren_civ_engineer =

| ren_oth_designers =

| ren_qty_surveyor =

| ren_awards =

| rooms =

| parking =

| website = {{URL|https://davidparrhouse.org}}

}}

The David Parr House is a preserved terraced house in Cambridge, England, with interior decoration in the Arts and Crafts style, executed by its owner, David Parr, between 1886 and 1926. The house is open to the public for guided tours in small groups.{{cite web |title=David Parr House |url=https://davidparrhouse.org/ |website=David Parr House|access-date=5 January 2022}}

David Parr was a working-class Victorian decorative artist who worked for the Cambridge firm of F. R. Leach & Sons. The firm was a contractor to leading Arts and Crafts and Gothic Revival architects and designers, and Parr worked on projects for clients such as George Frederick Bodley, William Morris and Charles Eamer Kempe. In 1886 Parr purchased 186 Gwydir Street, a terraced house off Mill Road in Cambridge. Over 40 years he decorated his own home in the style of the notable interiors he worked on for his employers.

After Parr's death in 1927 his widow, and later his granddaughter, preserved the house interiors over the next 87 years. In 2014 the house was purchased by a charity established to ensure its continued preservation, and a major conservation programme was undertaken.{{cite web |title=Archaeological Excavations at David Parr House |url=https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/issue.xhtml?recordId=1181831&recordType=GreyLitSeries/ |website=Archaeology Data Service|access-date=7 January 2022}} The house opened to the public in May 2019 and became a Grade II* listed building in 2020.{{cite web |title=Cambridge Home and Workplace of Unsung Artisan Decorator David Parr Listed |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/in-your-area/east-of-england/home-and-workplace-of-david-parr-listed/ |website=Historic England|access-date=5 January 2022}}{{cite web |title=David Parr: Artist's 'awe' at 1880s artisan decorated house |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-47552856/ |website=BBC|date=17 March 2019 |access-date=7 January 2022}}{{cite web |title=Discover Cambridge's best kept secret: Mr Parr's House |url=https://theartssociety.org/arts-news-features/discover-cambridges-best-kept-secret-mr-parrs-house |website=The Arts Society|access-date=7 January 2022}}{{cite news |last=Ferguson|first=Donna |date=10 March 2019 |title=Labourer who turned his cottage into a William Morris showcase |url= https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/mar/10/david-parr-house-cambridge-labourer-cottage-william-morris-showcase |work= The Guardian|location= |access-date=7 January 2022}}{{National Heritage List for England|num=1470294|desc=The David Parr House|grade=II*}} At the same time, Leach's showroom at 3 St Mary's Passage was listed Grade II.{{National Heritage List for England|num=1469340|desc=3 St Mary's Passage|grade=II}}