Recalling the great Pantheon of Rome, it contains sixteen great scagliola columns, supporting an entablature with carved satyrs in the metopes. This entablature is surmounted by a spectacular plaster frieze showing a procession of triumphant soldiers in high relief.

Containing two hundred and eighty human figures, the frieze supports a huge elliptical coffered dome which reaches a height of over seventeen metres. The plasterwork of the dome is spectacular, and nearly every single one of the one hundred and sixty coffers is different in shape and size due to the elliptical design. But it’s the floor of the saloon which gives the room its name, as it is comprised of over seventy-two four-foot squares of Massa Carrara marble.

Project overview

The restoration of Stowe House is one of the largest, multimillion pound restoration projects ever undertaken in Britain (currently £39.6 million). Our expertise and fundraising energies were concentrated on a specific section of the overall programme. After consultation with the Stowe House Preservation Trust, we agreed to work on one of the most visually arresting rooms at Stowe, the Marble Saloon.

Roman grandeur

Awe-inspiring is an understatement. The Marble Saloon brings Roman grandeur and a sense of history to pupils and thousands of visitors every year. Years of deterioration, fractured stonework, and damage by school pupils have taken their toll.

The first challenge was the urgent roof repairs. Lack of maintenance meant that water penetration threatened the integrity of the interiors. In order to provide protection from the elements, cast iron water tanks were removed from the roof over the plastered dome. The roofs were then renewed to their original form with lead and slate coverings.

Intricate detailing

This project was conservation in its purest form and presented many such challenges. For example, parts of the intricate detailing of the frieze had been lost and damaged. A policy of minimal intervention was adopted, combining a sensitive cleaning of the ceiling with a sympathetic restoration to elements of the frieze. As there was no repeat pattern to the design, a nineteenth century photographic survey had to be consulted. The painstaking reattachment of broken elements, as well as the re-creation of missing pieces was a remarkable achievement. The appointment of Cliveden, a contractor with the relevant experience was also crucial.

Back to the original design

Once these works were complete, WMF Britain strove to reinstate the original furnishings and detailing of Bartoli’s meticulous design. Inappropriate modern lighting methods in the saloon were replaced by suspended lanterns, and suitable ironmongery was reintroduced to the doors. Loose slabs of the marble floor were re-bedded.

Next, optimum heating was introduced to ensure an appropriate environment to protect the repairs. Faced with a labour that would have taxed Hercules, the Stowe House Preservation Trust is now nearing its goal of a total restoration of the house, with the Marble Saloon at its centre.

The Marble Saloon restored to its former glory

Technical Case Study

The restoration of this magnificent Marble Saloon presented some major challenges to the conservators involved.

Ceiling cleaning

This was undertaken in two phases. First, each of the 160 coffers was individually cleaned using a vacuum and soft brushes, in order to remove surface dirt and the thick dust deposits. The second more thorough cleaning was steam cleaning using de-ionised water. This was applied as a fine jet of steam from a Derotor steam tool, and then dabbed dry with cotton wool. After cleaning, a thin layer of distemper was applied which further acts to consolidate the plaster surface, and provides better definition of the modelled details of the coffers and frieze. Wherever possible, exposed ferrous armature was removed and replaced with the equivalent in stainless steel.

Ceiling coffer with the accumulation of two hundred years of dirt and coffer after cleaning

Missing limbs

The top of the frieze was suffering from what appeared to be impact damage. This was resolved with the application of two coats of lime plaster render, and finished with a casting plaster skim. Years of mischievous school boys had taken their toll, and the lower parts of the frieze had suffered physical damage. Graffiti was evident, some figures were missing limbs and balls, keys, and eggs were found lodged in the frieze, while other areas of the frieze were missing. As there is no repeat pattern, a photographic record taken in 1870 by J Mudd & Co had to be used as a guide for the reattachment of loose sections, and also consulted for the recreation of missing elements. The detached sections were salvaged, consolidated and then re-fixed using 5mm stainless steel bars set in polyester resin. When recreating missing sections rubber moulds were used and casting replacements were made in fine casting plaster. Elements that could not be cast directly from existing areas required hand modelling.

Areas recreated either through casting or hand-modelling based on Mudd photographs (circa 1870) pre-dating any damage.

Denotes areas damaged and or detached from frieze. These sections were salvaged, consolidated and re-pinned with stainless steel armatures into original position and made good.