# / . 4 % 8 4 - ! 9 COMPRISED PIECES FROM SEVERAL TYPES OF PRINTED WALLPAPERS 4HERE WERE AT LEAST A DOZEN DIFFERENT TYPES IN VARYING AMOUNTS 4HE SHEETS APPEARED TO HAVE BEEN STUCK ON TOP OF EACH OTHER SIMPLY TO COVER THE VACANT SPACE RATHER THAN IN SUCCESSIVE COMPLETE LAYERS 4HE RESULT WAS A PATCHWORK OF WALLPAPER FRAGMENTS SANDWICHED TOGETHER TO FORM A COMPLETE COVERING LAYER )T DID NOT APPEAR THAT THE ROOM HAD BEEN DECORATED WITH A SUCCESSION OF WALLPAPERS BUT THAT THE WALLPAPER FRAGMENTS HAD INTENTIONALLY BEEN ARRANGED IN THIS WAY 3OME SMALL CHUNKS OF THE WALLPAPER SANDWICH WERE SEPARATED INTO THEIR INDIVIDUAL PATTERNS 3EVERAL DUTY STAMPS WERE FOUND ON THE BACK )N A TAX OF D PER SQUARE YARD WAS IMPOSED ON ALL PAPER TO BE PAINTED PRINTED OR STAINED FOR WALL HANGINGS 'EORGE ) ORDERED THAT EACH SHEET BE MARKED BY EXCISE OFFICERS 3TAMPS WERE CHANGED PERIODICALLY IN ORDER TO PREVENT COUNTERFEITING 3OME OF THE FRAGMENTS HAD A FRAME MARK STAMPED ON THE BACK WHICH CAN BE USED TO DATE THE SAMPLES TWO FRAME MARKS FOR EXAMPLE SHOWED THE PAPERS TO HAVE ORIGINATED FROM BETWEEN AND )T WAS COMMON PRACTICE IN THE EARLY TH CENTURY TO AVOID PAPER TAX BY HANGING PLAIN PAPER AND ADDING STENCILLED DECORATION IN SITU )T IS REASONABLE TO SUGGEST THAT THE ATTIC ROOM IN !LDERMAN &ENWICK S (OUSE WAS DECORATED IN JUST SUCH A FASHION USING OLD REMNANTS OF WALLPAPER RATHER THAN PLAIN SHEETS 4HE EARLY TH CENTURY SAW THE BUILDING AS THE 1UEEN S (EAD A PARTICULARLY FASHIONABLE INN AND IT IS LIKELY THE ATTIC ROOMS WERE USED FOR SERVING STAFF OR POORER CLIENTS 4HE WALLPAPER HAD BECOME VERY ACIDIC DUE TO THE MIGRATION OF AIRBORNE POLLUTANTS THROUGH THE PLANK WALL 4HIS COMBINED WITH THE LENGTHY EXPOSURE TO DAMP CONDITIONS HAD RESULTED IN A SEVERE BREAKDOWN OF THE BINDING MEDIUM USED TO APPLY THE WHITE GROUND LAYER OF PAINT TO THE WALLPAPER PIECES #ONSEQUENTLY THE ENTIRE SURFACE OF STENCIL WAS FLAKING BADLY #ONSOLIDATION OF THE WALLPAPER WAS ACHIEVED BY BRUSHING A TWO PER CENT GELATIN SOLUTION OVER THE SURFACE 4HIS IMPARTED CONSIDERABLE STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY TO THE SURFACE PAINT LAYER ) WAS AWARE THAT CONSOLIDATION WOULD ACT ONLY AS A SHORT TERM MEASURE UNLESS THE ACIDITY AND ABSORBED POLLUTION COULD BE REMOVED 4HE SHEER NUMBER OF LAYERS OF PAPER POSED SERIOUS PROBLEMS TO THE EFFECTIVE REMOVAL OF ACIDITY SO THE BACKING PAPERS WERE REMOVED AQUEOUSLY ONE BY ONE 'ENERALLY IN SITUATIONS LIKE THIS ) WOULD PREFER TO RETAIN ALL COMPONENTS OF AN ARTEFACT INTACT TO MAINTAIN THE INTEGRITY OF THE OBJECT (OWEVER ) FELT IT WAS NECESSARY IN THIS INSTANCE TO REMOVE ALL MATERIAL NOT CONSIDERED PART OF THE STENCIL DESIGN TO ALLOW EFFECTIVE TREATMENT TO TAKE PLACE 4HE SHEETS OF WALLPAPER WERE PLACED ON DAMP CAPILLARY MATTING AND SPRAYED REPEATEDLY WITH A VERY DILUTE #-# SODIUM CARBOXYMETHYL CELLULOSE SOLUTION 4HIS NOT ONLY FURTHER CONSOLIDATED THE PAINT LAYER BUT DREW OUT MUCH OF THE ACIDIC POLLUTION 4HE WALLPAPER WAS LINED WITH A MEDIUM WEIGHT ORIENTAL TISSUE USING A WHEAT STARCH PASTE 4EAR REPAIRS AND PATCHES WERE INCORPORATED DURING THIS PROCESS !LKALISATION WAS CARRIED OUT DURING LINING USING CALCIUM HYDROXIDE SOLUTION 4HE ORIGINAL PLAN HAD BEEN TO REINSTALL THE CONSERVED WALLPAPER IN !LDERMAN &ENWICK S (OUSE AND REPRODUCE THE STENCIL IN THE MISSING AREAS TO COMPLETE THE ROOM (OWEVER THOUGH CONSERVATION HAD BEEN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL IN HALTING THE RAPID DETERIORATION OF THE STENCILLED PAPER LITTLE COULD BE DONE ABOUT THE POOR APPEARANCE OF CERTAIN REGIONS OF THE PAPER )N SOME PARTS OF THE ROOM SO MUCH OF THE WHITE DISTEMPER GROUND CARRYING THE STENCIL HAD FLAKED OFF THAT ONLY THE ORIGINAL PATTERN UNDERNEATH WAS VISIBLE )T WAS ESTIMATED THAT APPROXIMATELY TWO THIRDS OF THE CONSERVED WALLPAPER WAS IN A CONDITION WORTHY OF REINSTALLATION ) CALCULATED THAT THERE WAS ENOUGH GOOD QUALITY MATERIAL TO REPAPER ONE WALL USING ORIGINAL PAPER ) DECIDED TO REPRODUCE THE STENCIL PATTERN TO COVER THE REMAINING TWO WALLS 3TICKING THE PAPER BACK ON TO THE PLANK WALLS EVEN WITH CANVAS AND PAPER LININGS WOULD HAVE INVOLVED TOO GREAT A LEVEL OF STRESS 4HE WALLS SHOOK VISIBLY WHENEVER DOORS CLOSED OR THERE WERE PEOPLE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY 4O AVOID THE PROBLEM THE WALLPAPER WAS RELINED ON STRETCHERS 4HESE WERE SPECIALLY MADE TO FIT THE SPACES BETWEEN THE PARTITION POSTS 4HE STRETCHERS WERE LINED WITH CANVAS AND CARTRIDGE PAPER BEFORE REHANGING THE STENCIL PAPER 4HE PANELS WERE RETOUCHED IN DISTEMPER WHERE THERE WERE SERIOUS LOSSES OF PATTERN TO GIVE THE PAPER A DEGREE OF COHESION BUT RETOUCHING WAS MINIMAL 4HE STENCIL DESIGN WAS TRACED AND THE PATTERN CUT OUT FROM SOME STENCIL PAPER (AND MADE SHEETS OF RAG PAPER WERE JOINED TO FORM DROPS THE HEIGHT OF THE ROOM 4HESE WERE COVERED ROUGHLY IN A THICK COAT OF DISTEMPER AND THE VERTICAL STENCIL DESIGN APPLIED 0HOTOGRAPHS OF THE ORIGINAL STENCIL LAYOUT WERE USED TO DETERMINE THE POSITIONING OF THE SHEETS OF REPRODUCED STENCIL PAPER 7HEN THE WALLS AND WOODEN POSTS HAD BEEN COVERED WITH THE REPRODUCTION STENCIL THE HORIZONTAL BORDER STENCILS WERE APPLIED AND THE BLACK PAINTED SKIRTING RECREATED #ONSOLIDATED AND REPAIRED WALLPAPER WAS REINSTALLED ON THE WALL ON THE RIGHT ON EITHER SIDE OF THE DOOR AND ABOVE IT .EW WALLPAPER STENCILLED TO MATCH THE ORIGINAL CAN BE SEEN ON THE END WALL 2EFERENCES (ESLOP $ ( AND -C#OMBIE ' @!LDERMAN &ENWICK S (OUSE A LATE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY HOUSE IN 0ILGRIM 3TREET .EWCASTLE !RCHAEOLOGIA !ELIANA 3OCIETY OF !NTIQUARIES OF .EWCASTLE UPON 4YNE P *AMES #AVERHILL IS A CONSULTANT RESTORER OF WORKS OF ART ON PAPER !T THE TIME OF THE !LDERMAN &ENWICK S (OUSE PROJECT HE WAS WORKING WITH !LLYSON -C$ERMOTT 2ESTORATION
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