Issue 39 Sept 23 - Journal - Page 57
The State Dining Room was the last of the great rooms
to be restored and the comprehensive package of
restoration and conservation work was delivered by
Messenger as the lead contractor. This room had lost
many of its original decorative assets. The most striking
feature of the State Dining Room is the highly decorated
ceiling painted by Venetian painter Francesco Sleter,
depicting mythical animals with Venus in the central
panels. The conservation repair of the intricate and
elaborately gilded original 1750s ceiling, which had
suffered serious damage following water ingress, has
transformed the room. Detailed conservation cleaning
and restoration, regilding, consolidation and repair of
plaster and reconstruction of one of the painted walls, has
been carefully carried out by Chroma Conservation. The
revived ceiling now incorporates a discreet and energy
efficient lighting system.
Works to The Temple Room were largely carried out
during the Covid-19 interruptions. During the weeks
when the school was temporarily closed there was an
opportunity for skilled craftspeople to carry out their work
without disrupting the scholars, enabling them to
continue employment through this testing time. To add
to the complications, the restoration of the Notre Dame
in Paris had depleted stocks of French oak needed for the
floorboards, causing interruptions to the programme. The
original inch thick floorboards had lost over 50% of their
thickness resulting in localised failings.
A new oak floor was also installed in the State Drawing
Room, whilst the lath and plaster ceiling was repaired and
fully redecorated to match the decorative scheme from
1800. Analysis confirmed that the gold leaf on the
cornice, frieze and capitals was the original decorative
scheme. Historical research revealed that the walls had
been lined with a patterned orange silk damask. However,
to withstand heavy daily use by the school, the walls
have been lined with an orange decorative paper as an
interpretation of the original linings.
The floor had been well worn, not just by the thousands
of school children that have inhabited the house since
1923, but in its use first as a State Gallery and then in the
later 18th century as the State Dining Room. Boards for
the new French Oak floor were procured by Whitmores
and installed by Capital Flooring. The floor has been laid
to replicate the original board widths and waxed to ensure
the new floor is both robust and aesthetically pleasing.
The State Library and Ante Library had suffered
significant damage to the internal plasterwork when the
roof failed. During Initial inspections traces of gold leaf
on the ceiling were detected and this information
informed the repairs, leading to a spectacular restoration.
To match the highly decorative ceiling, new internal
fittings we installed including ergonomic computer stands,
integrated systems tables and new light fixtures, and
bespoke furniture for independent study and informal
social study areas.
When the room was transformed into a dining room in
the later 18th century, the works of art were transferred
into the State Drawing Room and replaced with a magnificent set of Flemish tapestries depicting the triumphs
of classical deities, composed of five large and sixteen
smaller pieces. The tapestries, which were sold off along
Above, Stowe Library (c) Will Pryce
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Conservation & Heritage Journal
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