The Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College
Sometimes referred to as the ‘Sistine Chapel of the UK’, the Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich has been magnificently refurbished in a project shortlisted for the 2019 RIBA London Awards.
The Painted Hall opened after a two-year National Lottery Funded conservation project which has brought its magnificent painted interior vividly back to life.
The hall’s vast decorated interior, extending to 4,000 square metres, is the masterpiece of English baroque art.
The £8.5-million conservation project, supported by a £3.1-million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), has reversed years of decay and conserved the Painted Hall for generations to come. Main contractors for the project were Coniston.
Its reopening of the hall is part of a major transformation project by Hugh Broughton Architects – with conservation advice from the college’s Surveyor of the Fabric, Martin Ashley Architects – that will also see the reopening of the King William Undercroft.
Situated below the Painted Hall, the newly restored Undercroft space will now house a new café, shop and interpretation gallery, The Sackler Gallery.
The Painted Hall is the centrepiece of the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren as a ceremonial dining room for what was then the new Royal Hospital for Seaman, the Painted Hall was completed in 1705.
Its vast decorative scheme was painted by Sir James Thornhill, the first British artist to be knighted. Started in 1707, it took 19 years to complete. The paintings celebrate England’s naval power and mercantile prosperity, as well as its newly installed protestant monarchy. Successive monarchs William III and Mary II, Anne and George I join a cast of hundreds of figures, mythological, allegorical, historical and contemporary.
The ground-breaking project to clean and conserve the paintings started in 2016 under the supervision of specialist conservators Stephen Paine and Sophie Stewart.
Since the last campaign of restoration in the 1950s the paintings have deteriorated, with large areas of ‘blanching’ or whitening covering the surface and obscuring the detail.
For two years, a small team of conservators have been working to stabilise and rejuvenate the paintings, with spectacular results. The colour, clarity and richness of the paintings can now be enjoyed, illuminated by a new state-of-the-art LED system.
Meanwhile a range of new technologies have been introduced to stabilise the hall’s environment and ensure the long term preservation of the paintings.
The Interpretation Plan and accompanying design strategy for the Painted Hall was developed by Simon Leach Design. Construction specialist Scena turned this concept into a workable solution. Elements produced by Scena included graphic light boxes, mirrored tables with bronze castings and three slim tables with illuminated graphics, fixed bronze models and modest interactives. These tables were finished in a penny bronze patina and were extremely challenging to fabricate bearing in mind the structural requirements and the clients desire to keep them as fine as possible in their visual appearance.
Paul Norman, Scena Director, commented:
“The painted Hall is the architectural centrepiece of this World heritage site of the Old Royal Naval College based in Greenwich. This project was a great opportunity for our organisation to display our versatility in the specialist interior fit-out sector, not only for fine finishes but also bespoke engineering.”
A series of finely carved oak benches, made when the hall served as an art gallery in the 19th century and removed 100 years ago, will return as part of a new collection of elegant furniture which will allow visitors to sit (or lie down) in comfort and experience the beauty and wonder of Thornhill’s masterpiece.
The King William Undercroft, a grandly proportioned vaulted space – mirroring the plan of the Painted Hall above and designed by Christopher Wren and his Clerk of Works, Nicholas Hawksmoor – has been lovingly restored to its original form.
20th-century additions, including part of a large modern kitchen, have been removed to reveal the majesty of the space and the beauty of the baroque architectural details. This space, originally used as a day-to-day dining room for the naval pensioners, will now house a shop, café and The Sackler Gallery where visitors can learn about the history and meaning of Thornhill’s masterpiece, prior to ascending into the Painted Hall itself.
William Palin, Painted Hall Project Director and Conservation Director at the Old Royal Naval College, said: “This project has been an epic undertaking and represents a huge collaborative effort. The sheer scale and complexity of the project meant that we were constantly seeking innovative solutions – from the carefully developed conservation techniques to the design of the vast internal scaffolding, which had to be fully accessible for the visiting public.
“The transformation of the Undercroft space below has brought one of Britain’s great historic spaces back into use, providing a beautiful prelude to the wonder of the Painted Hall above.”
