Issue 37 Spring 23 WEB - Flipbook - Page 70
The two original 1620s decorative plaster work ceilings
in the State Bedroom and Drawing Room were in good
condition considering their age, but required removal of
previous unsightly or unsound restorations, in addition to
stabilisation and consolidation to water damaged areas
and some additional repairs.
standing in the eighteenth century, it was judged that a
silk damask wall hanging would be appropriate. A specially-woven hanging, mimicking a 1730s-50s design and
dyed in a contemporary blue, adorns the refurbished room
as it would have during this time.
Specialists undertook the wider crack repairs to these
ceilings in a bespoke mix of lime putty and aggregates to
match the analysis of the original, and the smaller cracks
were repaired in a mix of lime and marble flour.
The original decorative plaster frieze discovered in the
1960s in the State Bedroom had significantly deteriorated
and a section of this on the north side required rebuilding.
Specialists carried this out by remodelling in mortar to
match the properties and hair proportion of the original,
to enable the room to be read as it was originally intended.
The Drawing Room
The Drawing Room is the jewel of the house and retains
its magnificent and finely-worked early-17th century
plaster ceiling and ornate overmantle.
The decision to restore the room to its mid-18th century
splendor was based on the notable change made to the
size of the windows in the 1730s which would have
dictated a new decorative scheme.
Research undertaken in 2019 uncovered blue silk fibers
on one of the walls, suggesting that the walls had once
been hung with fabric: given this evidence, and given that
the family would have been at the very height of social
Above State Drawing Room (Blue Room)
Below, Harriet (project architect) uncovering the wallpaper
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Conservation & Heritage Journal
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