Helen Hughes – Historic Interiors Research & Conservation (HIRC)

First establish what you want to learn about your building when preparing your research brief. When approaching a company first ask for the name of the person who will be conducting the research. To ensure their full proficiency in APR request a copy of a report they have already completed. Read the report. It should be logical, readable and useful. Best practice for APR and report format is outlined in BS EN 17259

Avoid firms which sub-contract or simply take samples and send them to chemical laboratories.

It should be possible for your conservator to give a costed method statement for the proposed research based on the photographs, documentation you send them, and preliminary discussion about research aims of the project. In other cases a preliminary site visit may be required.

You can assist the research process (and reduce costs) by supplying your APR practitioner with any archival information such as historic plans, paintings, photographs, or accounts  and bills, which relate to your building.

If a historic survey, heritage statement, or a Conservation Management Plan has been produced, please send copies to your APR practitioner.

The researcher will conduct a desk-top survey collating the existing research into a useful chart before embarking on a detailed site investigation. It may be that the documentary evidence holds a vital clue.

The APR practitioner will then conduct an on-site investigation which usually reveals a great deal about the history of the an interior or an architectural element. It may be possible to identify common historic changes such as the blocking of windows, replacement of fireplaced and changes of fittings. Sometimes the remains of historic decorative finishes may be found hidden behind later additions.

Decorative finishes are commonly stripped of as part of routine renovations. An experienced researcher will be able to identify elements which retain substantial traces of historic finishes. Probing cuts or exposures will be made and recorded. The location of any removed paint samples will be recorded.  

An experienced architectural paint researcher will undertake all aspects of the research process in-house (desk-top archival research, the onsite investigation, cross-section analysis, and preparation of fully illustrated narrative report). They will possess microscopes with x50 – x500 magnification fitted with ultraviolet illumination.

They will possess an in-depth knowledge of housepainters materials and techniques, and how they fade and discolour, and awareness of the history of interior decorations. They are able to visually identify distinctive marker pigments and media which assist in the dating of decorative phases, and are able to establish pre and post-World War II schemes using ultraviolet illumination. An experienced practitioner is able ‘to read the paint stratigraphy’.

The researcher will be able to collate all the findings from the archival information, on-site investigation and paint sample analysis, to produce a narrative account of the decorative history in a fully illustrated report.

An executive summary will provide a summary of the findings.

All of the findings are collated on an A4 Room Chart which offers an at a glance overview of the decorative history of the room or element under investigation.

The body of the report will provide a narrative account of the investigation.

Any additional advanced material analysis will be included in appendices.

The report will also offer conservation options for the future management of the area as stipulated in the Research Brief.#