The Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College

Reviving the Painted Hall’s 300-year legacy

The Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich is one of Britain’s most celebrated historic interiors. Designed by Sir James Thornhill between 1707 and 1726, the Painted Hall features more than 3,700 square metres of Baroque walls and ceilings.

Coniston was appointed as principal contractor to deliver specialist works as part of the major conservation programme that restored the Grade I listed hall while upgrading visitor access and infrastructure. The project required exceptional precision, working directly above a 300-year-old painted ceiling widely regarded as the “Sistine Chapel of the UK”.

Construction access around irreplaceable heritage

Coniston was asked to deliver major structural and access upgrades in close proximity to the 300‑year‑old painted ceiling, in a building that had to remain open as a world‑class visitor attraction.

New lifts, environmental systems and visitor facilities had to be threaded through a complex Grade I listed fabric without disturbing the paintings or Wren and Hawksmoor’s architecture.

At the same time, the client wanted the construction phase itself to be part of the offer; thousands of visitors touring live scaffolding, close to both the paintings and the construction works. There was no scope for unplanned movement or anything less than precision.

Conservation as a live public experience

Coniston coordinated a tightly phased programme that combined heavy structural work, delicate access engineering and specialist conservation within a live heritage environment.

Working with Millcroft, they oversaw a free‑standing scaffold system in the Vestibule and Lower Hall, incorporating protection decks, two public stair towers and a disabled lift so visitors could reach an observation deck just below the ceiling, while conservators worked. As main contractor, Coniston managed logistics around a busy schedule of services, events and film shoots, maintaining strict noise and vibration controls around the priceless paintings

Below the hall, Coniston delivered significant structural and architectural interventions: forming new lift access, strengthening local structure (including column support) and re‑servicing the building while restoring the vaulted King William Undercroft as a café, shop and interpretation gallery. Environmental upgrades, including discreet new LED lighting and climate‑stabilisation technology, were integrated to protect the paintings for the long term.

A landmark project in public engagement

The conservation cleaned and stabilised more than 4,200 square metres of paintings, revealing the original colour, clarity and detail of Thornhill’s scheme and securing it for future generations. The observation deck proved a landmark in public engagement: 81,000 visitors were recorded on the working platform during the second phase alone, experiencing conservation in action at close quarters. Since reopening in 2019, the Painted Hall and undercroft have welcomed over 815,000 visitors, supported by new lifts, upgraded circulation, safe step-free access and enhanced facilities.

The project has reestablished the Painted Hall as a fully accessible, internationally recognised cultural destination.