Syrie maugham biography

British interior decorator (–)

Gwendoline Maud Syrie Maugham (néeBarnardo, formerly Wellcome; 10 July – 25 July ) was a leading British interior decorator of the s and s who popularised rooms decorated entirely in white.

Birth

Syrie Maugham was born in England on 10 July ^[1] She was the daughter of Thomas John Barnardo, the founder of the Barnardo'scharity for destitute children, and his wife, Sarah Louise "Syrie" Elmslie.

Gwendoline was the eldest girl in a family of six. As an adult, she preferred to be known by her last christian name (Syrie).^[2]

Syrie's Irish-born father had converted at age 16 to Protestant evangelicalism and believed in daily Bible reading, obedience, strict punctuality and the forgoing of worldly pleasures including drinking (alcohol), smoking and visiting the theatre.^[2]

Career

In the s, Maugham began her interior design career as an apprentice under Ernest Thornton-Smith for a London decorati