Fitzroy Town Hall Paper Ceiling

The ceiling is decorated with painted and gilded stencil patterns on 58cm x 115cm sheets adhered to a hessian layer and timber battens. Pencil lines are still visible beneath the stencil.

The area below the gutter was heavily damaged with black mould and the hessian was detached from the wooden battens. The hessian material was delicate, with tears and peeling from the wooden surface, causing it to blister. Approximately 50% of the ceiling was completely exposed due to missing hessian and paper, revealing timber battens. White overpaint was present along the perimeter.

Mould Remediation

The worst damaged pieces of the paper ceiling were removed and disposed of, and the retained paper was thoroughly brush-vacuumed.

Paint Analysis

Paint scrapes were undertaken by ICS conservators in different locations and sampled for analysis. Paint matching allowed for historically accurate reproduction.

• Consolidation of detached and torn ceiling paper
• Fills of small and large areas of paper loss
• Surface cleaning of the original ceiling paper
• Removal of overpaint from the perimeter of the paper ceiling
• Masking of tide lines and areas of discolouration
• Final varnish coating applied

Treatment outcomes

Damaged paper ceiling in the Council Chamber, was difficult to treat due to the amount of damage and loss of material. The remaining decoratively painted paper ceiling was conserved using traditional materials and techniques, respecting the original fabric while integrating new fabric.

Award Winning

This project was Winner of the Heritage Conservation at the Victorian Architecture Awards in 2023.  The award was presented to Conservation Studio Architects, with ICS providing conservation services.