Light switch surrounds and fingerplates: a short history

Light switch surrounds descend from the Victorian fingerplate. A fingerplate is a panel fixed to a door beside the handle so hands mark the plate rather than the paint. When electric light arrived in homes, the wall around the switch became the next place to collect fingermarks, and decorative plates and surrounds followed.

Today a switch surround is mostly decorative: a frame in plaster, wood or metal that sits around the switch plate and turns a plain fitting into a detail. It still protects the wall. If fitting one means removing the switch plate, that is electrical work, and it should be done by a qualified electrician.

The Victorian fingerplate

Fingerplates are closely associated with the Victorian period, when door furniture of every kind became more decorative and more widely available. They were typically fixed above and sometimes below the handle on the room side of the door. Materials ranged widely:

• Brass. The commonest, often cast or pressed with scrolls, beading or foliage.
• Porcelain and ceramic. Plain white or painted with flowers, matching porcelain door knobs.
• Glass. Clear or coloured, sometimes with a painted design behind it.
• Cast iron and later nickel or chrome. Sturdier versions for busier doors.

Their purpose was practical. The painted door beside a handle is touched constantly. A plate could be wiped or polished, while marked paint had to be redone.

Electric light and the first switches

Electric lighting reached a few British houses in the late 1870s and 1880s. Cragside in Northumberland, the home of William Armstrong and now cared for by the National Trust, is described by the Trust as the first place in the world lit by hydroelectricity. In 1880 its library received Joseph Swan's new incandescent bulbs. In 1884 John Henry Holmes of Newcastle upon Tyne patented a quick-break switch. Its contacts snapped apart fast enough to stop the arcing that burnt out earlier switches, and the principle is still used.

Early domestic switches were often mounted on a wooden block, called a pattress, fixed to the wall. Brass and later Bakelite switches with round or rectangular plates followed. The toggle switch was patented in the United States in 1917. Later in the twentieth century the flat square plate with a rocker became the British standard. A standard UK single switch plate is about 86 mm square.

A switch is touched more than almost anything else in a room. Framing it is as much about wear as about looks.

From plate to surround

As switches became flat and uniform, the decoration moved to the edges. Two types of surround are common:

• Back plates. A larger decorative plate that sits behind the switch, so the switch plate fixes through it. These need the switch plate removed and refitted.
• Overlay frames. A frame that fits around the outside of the existing switch plate and fixes to the wall. Depending on design, these may not need the switch touched at all.

In period houses, surrounds help a modern white switch sit more comfortably against cornices, panelling or a deep heritage colour. In modern rooms they can echo a ceiling rose or wall light, carrying one design through a space.

Plaster suits the job well. It can be cast with fine detail, it takes paint readily and a surround can be painted to match the wall so only its shape shows, or in a contrast so it frames the switch. Unlike a metal plate, it never needs polishing.

Fitting a surround safely

Any work that involves removing a switch or socket plate should be done with the circuit isolated at the consumer unit, and by a qualified electrician. Working on live circuits is dangerous. In England and Wales, electrical work in homes falls under Part P of the Building Regulations, and some work is notifiable to building control. A good electrician will also check the back box and wiring while the plate is off, which is worth doing in an older house.

A few practical points before you order:

• Measure the plate. Note the width, height and depth of your existing switch or socket plate, and whether it is single or double.
• Check the space. Look for door architraves, corners or skirting close to the switch that could limit the surround's size.
• Paint first. Seal and paint the surround before fitting, so no paint gets near the switch.
• Keep it clear. The surround must not cover vents, screws or labels on the switch, or stop it working freely.

Find a surround

Our switch and socket surrounds are hand-cast to order in Shrewsbury and arrive as natural plaster, so you can paint them to match your walls or pick out a contrast. Our guide to painting plaster covers sealing and colour, and the same method works for surrounds.