Conservation of wallpapers from St Pancras Chambers

The renovation of St Pancras Chambers (Midland Grand Hotel) in London provided an excellent opportunity for in-depth research into the wallpapers used in decorating this historic building. Initially a hotel owned by Midland Railway, the building was subsequently used as offices and staff accommodation by British Rail before it finally closed in the 1980s. During the restoration project, many wallpapers were uncovered from previously hidden areas, in addition to other papers that were still on view on the walls. All the wallpapers were at high risk from damage and loss during the extensive building works, and in order to keep a record of that evidence wallpapers were collected and removed from the site. Spanning just over 100 years of wallpaper from the 1870s to the 1980s, the papers were cleaned and conserved, and stored within Melinex pockets, acid free envelopes or rolled Melinex, as appropriate. They now comprise a historic wallpaper archive, available for access for researchers, students and other interested parties, held at the University of Lincoln.