Dating to the 1590s, this scheme, which survives within a Grade II listed building in Evesham, is a remarkably complete example of vernacular domestic wall painting of the period. Characteristic of a decorative tradition found in English domestic interiors of the late sixteenth century, it is thought to have been executed shortly after the building’s construction.
The surviving section of painting comprises a frieze decorated with scrolling and grotesque ornament; a central panel containing a male and female figure, likely to represent the original owners of the house, set within an architectural framework and separated by panels of Tudor roses; and a lower band of quatrefoils above a black skirting. The costumes of the figures enable the scheme to be dated precisely to the 1590s. Evidence within the room, and the decorative tradition of the period, suggest that the decoration is likely originally to have extended around the room, with additional fragments potentially surviving concealed beneath later finishes.
The painting is executed on a limewash ground, over plaster panels and across the timber framing that holds them, in a palette of earth and mineral pigments typical of the period. Its relatively straightforward execution suggests that it was produced by building craftsmen working within established decorative traditions rather than by specialist painters. As such, it provides a valuable insight into the appearance of vernacular domestic interiors at the close of the Tudor period.
A recently completed conservation project focused on the conservation of this significant scheme.
The painting before and after conservation
The wall painting had been covered by multiple layers of limewash, plaster and wallpaper, as well as a protective twentieth-century stud wall, reflecting the building’s continuing history and successive phases of alteration. Over time, the natural ageing and deterioration of the original materials, structural movement, environmental fluctuations and accidental damage, compounded by the presence of later added layers, had led to considerable areas of detachment and losses within both the plaster and paint layers, leaving the scheme highly vulnerable and at risk of further loss.
Details of areas of damage and detachment before conservation
I undertook the conservation treatment prior to a wider programme of repair and adaptation of the building. The work aimed to stabilise the painting, prevent further deterioration and loss, and ensure its long-term preservation. Following detailed assessment and investigation, the work focused on securing the surviving plaster and paint layers, improving the legibility of the decoration and reducing the risk of further loss. The intervention was one of stabilisation rather than full conservation involving uncovering and final presentation.
Light surface cleaning reduced accumulated deposits, improving the legibility of the painting and revealing further details, particularly in the woman’s face and dress, and in the hands of both figures. The covering materials were removed or reduced mechanically where loose, where their presence was exacerbating instability, or where necessary to enable stabilisation of the underlying original material. A previous phase of rough uncovering, undertaken principally around the figures and closely associated areas, had left residues of later limewash layers; these were reduced under magnification where appropriate, although complete uncovering was not undertaken.
Detachment between the plaster and substrate, and between the paint and plaster layers, was secured by injecting a thin lime or lime-based grout behind the areas of separation to read here them to the underlying material. Vulnerable edges and areas of loss were supported with lime mortar repairs. Areas of powdering paint were consolidated, and where sections of the timber framing showed evidence of historic woodworm damage, the wood was consolidated.
This treatment secured the structural stability of the painting, addressing detachment, loss and material vulnerability while retaining surviving original material in situ. Prior to wider building works, the painting will be enclosed within a breathable partition incorporating a viewing panel, and will remain within this protective framing system thereafter, ensuring continued protection and allowing inspection of this extensive and rare survival from a Tudor domestic interior.
The figures after conservation
Details of the hands, and a Tudor rose, during the conservation process