The repair and conservation of Vita’s Writing Room at Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Kent

In August 2021, a steward heard a crash from the first floor of the Grade I listed tower at Sissinghurst Castle Garden. Upon investigation, they found that part of the ceiling plaster over Vita Sackville West’s writing desk had detached itself from the laths, resulting in a large fragment falling, narrowly missing the desk. The surrounding area was covered in a fine layer of dust. However, no damage was sustained to the collection. This paper uses the Writing Room project as a critical vehicle to explore issues associated with earthen mortar ceilings, and the implications of using inappropriate materials. It analyses the technical and practical challenges faced during the conservation repair of a 16th-century ceiling, the opportunities to discover previous layers of history, and how these can be used to provide a new historic narrative to a significant room. The paper demonstrates the benefits of establishing the evidential value through investigative survey, research and chemical analysis in assisting with determining an approach for the conservation and stabilisation of the fabric. The paper will be of particular interest to anyone working on historic plastered ceilings where there has been a history of inappropriate repairs. It offers technical guidance on the use of modern methods to maximise the preservation and retention of historic fabric while utilising traditional materials and techniques to reinstate a previous decorative scheme and repair a ceiling using earth mortar materials. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.