Palace of Westminster, House of Lords’ Chamber

Completed in 1847, this magnificent chamber by Sir Charles Barry, with superb gothic detailing by Pugin, has the finest interior in the Palace of Westminster. After a large carved pendant boss fell from the ceiling, the practice carried out an urgent survey from a scaffold platform erected just below and found much degradation of the timber, or ‘brashness’, caused by the close proximity of 19th century gasoliers. The ceiling was methodically recorded and carefully dismantled. Defective joinery was renewed, carvings consolidated, painted panels restored and the whole reassembled, redecorated and selectively regilded. The redecoration work being carried out by Campbell Smith & Co. work was programmed to take place only in the mornings, so as to allow uninterrupted afternoon sittings of the Lords below, and was completed on time and within budget.