Snob screen
Category
Fixtures and fittings
Date
1800 - 1825
Materials
Wood and brass
Measurements
590 x 530 mm
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Peckover House, Cambridgeshire
NT 781531.1
Caption
Adjustable at the top, not only were these ‘snob screens’ an ingenious and practical way of shielding from the sun - a forerunner of modern Venetian blinds - they also offered privacy to the Peckovers from customers queuing outside the property to do business in the family bank. The Peckover Bank was so successful, that in 1896 it went on to form part of the Barclays partnership with nineteen other private banks.
Summary
A pair of sun shutters or snob screens which cover the lower panes of the windows, with moving slats to regulate the sunlight passing through and also to provide privacy. Mechanism operated by brass finial at top of each screen. Hinged. Green-painted wood slats.
Provenance
Peckover House with its fixtures and fittings was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1948 by Alexandrina Peckover (1860-1948)