The art of restoring Eastnor Castle’s ceilings

Breathtaking. Detailed. Magical. These are just some of the words we’d use – and have heard used – to describe our ceilings at Eastnor. They’ve been one of our prized features since esteemed designers, including A.W.N. Pugin, first decked our halls.

But keeping them ship-shape isn’t easy. That’s why we work with Ruth McNeilage, a leading conservation specialist who has spent her career preserving some of Britain’s most important heritage buildings.

‘It’s a magical place, quite unlike anywhere else I’ve worked,’ she says, reminiscing on her first visit to Eastnor. ‘The arrival alone is awe- inspiring, stepping through the vast entrance doors, climbing up the main steps and arriving in the Great Hall with the ceiling seeming to float high above the grand fireplaces.’

Ruth and her team spent months returning the castle’s ceilings to their former splendour, sitting at the top of scaffolding and meticulously reattaching flaking paint until the ceilings were their vibrant selves again. So, we asked her to fill us in on the art of ceiling restoration, as well as any challenges – and joys – she faced along the way.

What condition were the ceilings in when you first came to Eastnor Castle?

The library ceilings were suffering from severe flaking of the painted decoration. The decorative scheme, painted in oil, had been applied over an earlier, softer distemper layer. Unfortunately, oil paint forms a more rigid film and is inherently incompatible with the powdery distemper beneath. As a result, any environmental fluctuations – such as changes to heating or water ingress – can accelerate deterioration.

Oil paint also dries and shrinks with age, so if it isn’t well bound to the layer below, it begins to detach. In the case of the library ceiling, it had curled away from the surface in alarmingly large flakes that were sometimes barely attached. This flaking was extensive across both the mouldings and the picture panels.

In the dining room, flaking paint was again an issue, but one of the main challenges was removing waxed tissue that had been applied to many of the panels in the 1960s as a protective measure. We developed a treatment method using turpentine-based poultices, which were left on the surface for a set period to soften the wax before removal.

How did you go about fixing this?

Reattaching the loose paint was a slow and painstaking process. It involved carefully applying Japanese tissue to the surface before treatment. Consolidants were then injected behind the flakes, which were gently eased back into place.

The paintings had also been coated with a thin layer of since-discoloured varnish. This was removed using solvents applied with cotton wool swabs, and the ceilings were then revarnished with a clear conservation-grade varnish.

What are some of the biggest challenges when working with the historic plasterwork and decorative ceilings at Eastnor?

One of the main challenges is the size of the work involved; estimating the time required is particularly difficult. The work needs to be methodically organised to ensure that every area is covered, especially on a coffered ceiling like the one in the library, where many of the panels appear almost identical.

You’ve spent a lot of time face-to-face with the ceilings at Eastnor – are there any details that visitors might not have noticed?

I always feel it’s a privilege to be up on the scaffolding and be so close to these ceiling paintings that most people only glimpse from the floor. It’s only at that proximity that you truly appreciate the remarkable skill of the original artists. For example, the allegorical scenes in the library, inspired by the Psychomachia by Prudentius, are filled with wonderful details – many of which are likely lost to view from below.

Plus, the paintings in the library were largely executed freehand, while some of the foliage decoration in the dining room was created using stencils.

Conservation work can often be very slow and painstaking. What part of the process do you find most rewarding?

Uncovering wall paintings is always very rewarding as each day brings a new discovery. However, I also find great satisfaction in consolidating areas of flaking paint, such as those at Eastnor Castle, where it was a considerable challenge to lay the curled flakes flat.

I also enjoy the opportunity to bring together a large team as we had at Eastnor. There was a real sense of collaboration, particularly around the table in the Gothic Drawing Room during our coffee breaks.

What is your favourite room in the castle?

That’s a difficult one to answer. I have many fond memories from our time working at the castle, wandering through the different rooms. If I had to choose, I’d say the Gothic Drawing Room, with its spectacular vaulting.