The Great Hall ceiling, one of the most iconic features of the house, is at a critical juncture. The Great Hall, accessible through a set of double doors from the first-floor portico, is ornamented in the Doric order with a decorated frieze featuring lotus and thistle blossoms. The iconic, 12-foot ceiling in this room is decorated with cast plaster elements including stars, vines, leaves, and flowers, a design that likely dates to the 1880s. Physical and archival evidence indicates that the current ceiling is the third to be featured in this space. Although it has endured for generations, persistent structural problems and the degradation of old repairs have threatened the ceiling, and investigations have revealed that a more permanent solution is increasingly urgent. Without intervention, the risk is not only deterioration, but sudden and irreversible loss.
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