[2] 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.

In 2014 the house was purchased by a charity established to ensure its continued preservation, and a major conservation programme was undertaken.

[4][5][6][7][8] At the same time, Leach's showroom at 3 St Mary's Passage was listed Grade II.