Called 'the Sistine Chapel of the UK', the Painted Hall is one of the finest Baroque interiors in Europe. Its centrepiece – the proscenium arch – has endured 50 years of dirt and grime and we need your help to preserve it. With the funds you donate, we’ll be able to do the painstaking conservation work needed to make this unique treasure shine once more.
Sir James Thornhill’s Painted Hall is a 300-year old masterpiece, created as a dining hall within Sir Christopher Wren’s Royal Hospital for Seamen. The proscenium arch serves as the doorway between the upper and lower Painted Hall and perfectly frames the magnificent painting, The Golden Age Returned.
Not only is the arch a focal point of the hall’s scheme but it forms a unique piece of our naval heritage; it was here that in January 1806 thousands of mourners gathered to see the body of Vice-Admiral Nelson lying in state after his death at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Since then the arch’s beautifully carved embellishments – such as intricate zodiac symbols – have lost much of their original lustre. We want to use specialist conservators to clean away decades of accumulated dirt and experts in traditional gilding techniques to repair and re-gild the original decoration.
This project is one part of a wider £7million conservation plan to restore the Painted Hall at Old Royal Naval College. With your support, we can bring this rich heritage back to life, and help reopen the doorway to Britain’s Golden Age.
Please help us make this happen and get some brilliant rewards in return.
Five good reasons to support the proscenium arch
Hidden behind the walls of the Old Royal Naval College is one of the UK’s hidden treasures. Here are five good reasons why you should support it!... Read moreReward highlight: gilding workshops
Instructed by our gilding specialists, donors of £200 can experience gilding first-hand in this unmissable workshop reward!... Read more50% funded – thank you to our funders!
We’re halfway to our goal with 22 days left to go. Thanks so much to the 75 people who have contributed so far!... Read moreThe story of the arch
From its construction by Sir Nicholas Hawksmoor to a cameo in Pirates of the Caribbean, the proscenium arch has witnessed over 300 years of history... Read moreReward highlight: Peter Kent print
Support our crowdfunding campaign and get great rewards. By donating £60 or £100, you can earn a limited-edition print by renowned Greenwich artist, Peter Kent... Read moreSymbols and star signs – the arch deciphered
In this update, we look at the symbolism of the Painted Hall's gilded zodiac figures and reveal what they would have meant to their original viewers... Read moreFinal week!
There’s only a few days left to open the doorway to Britain’s Golden Age. Can you help us reach our target? Here is what we're planning to do with your donations... Read moreArtist profile – Sir James Thornhill
Just a few days left to support our campaign to bring back the shine to the painted arch. The arch's decorative scheme was designed by Sir James Thornhill, who worked on this monument for 19 years. We take a look at this interesting figure in this update... Read moreHelp us go further!
Thank you so much to everyone who donated to our Art Happens project and for helping us reach our target with just over a day to go!... Read moreNew exhibition: A Great and Noble Design
A display at the Stephen Lawrence Gallery explores the life of the Painted Hall's artist Sir James Thornhill... Read moreGilding update
Preliminary work on the Painted Hall’s arch is now underway as preparations for the project begin... Read moreRewards update
We are delighted to let you know that we are working on fulfilling your rewards and that they will be coming soon!... Read moreGilded arch soon to begin conservation
Our conservators are soon to begin working on the proscenium arch in the Painted Hall – which you supported during our crowdfunding project last year. Why not come and see their progress on a Painted Hall Ceiling Tour?... Read moreWith thanks to...
Kathleen Homfray
Lalita Carlton-Jones
Janice Staines
Daniel Williams
Christine Page
Michael Jennings
Michael Williams
Christopher Lloyd
K Ward
Laraine Dear
J Mountain
Charles Marsden-Smedley
Phyllis Duignan
Christine Webster
Malcolm Reeve
Ruth Thomas
Rosita Whittall
Nicolas Bevan
Sioban Clark
M Taylor
Gabriella Porte
Emmanuel Schizas
Mi Park
Diana Briscoe
Duncan Wilkinson
Susan Whiddington
William Stanley
Susan Wilkinson
Loreta Baltrusaityte
Mark Barton
Abi Stacey
Caroline Butler
Hugh Wilson
Fran Offord
Pia Rainey
Deborah Durkin
Sue Hillman
Gary Cooper
Helen Brown
Penny Baylis
Arjen Te Nijenhuis
Anna Emmett
Margot Ravon
Lynn Kelterborn
Matteo Solda
Janet Currie
J Robinson
Carol Roper
Caroline Ramsey
Barry Austin
S Blackall
A Mckenzie
Mika Nash
Julia Simpson
Asia Gibbs
Robin East
David Stockford
Rosemary Macvie
Ian Milner
Brian Perowne
David Newsome
David Williams
Jackie Southern
J Beaton
Mary Rutherford
Carolyn Young
M. Di Cavalcanti Junqueira
Margaret Robbins
Hugh Player
Michael Graham-Smith
David Wilson
Chris Ware
Louise Dolan
Simon Osborne
Brendan Bullen
John Barnes
Anthony Watt
Elizabeth Courtenay-Stamp
Sarah Duthie
Martin Giles
Alison Homewood
Helen Solley
Patricia Trembath
Joan Marsh
Kate Hart
Maurice Parry-Wingfield
Brenda Hibbs
Nicola Glover
Adrian Attwood
Charles Pollock
Naomi Beer
Isla Matthews
Pauline Heerema
Lee McGill
John Furlonger
Melinda Haunton
Mary Cetra
Christian Haw
Jon Clark
Alexander Milne
Kathleen Herron
Catriona Macrae
Ann Watson
Eden Guin
Jane Brehony
Silvia Crompton
Elizabeth Holt
Harold Walker
Chloe Payne
Ijeoma Echianu
Clare Southworth
Emma Capello
Claude Devarenne
Lesley Payne
James Roundell
Christine Skinner
Fraser Govan
Rebecca Fletcher
Angus Stirling
Andrew Thompson
Chris Springett
Helen Taylor
Mark Jenkinson
Prue Keely Davies
E Harris
Emanuella Watson-Gandy
Alison Fricker
Helen Auty
Catherine Townsend
Conrad Fry
Peter Stone
Cecile Gillard
Paul Kershaw
Sarah Woods
John Dismore
Lynne Hurst
Elmar Schiener
Anonymous
Anonymous
Diane Skinner
David Bullock
John Houghton
Natalia Hartmann
Helen Booth
Annette Badland
James Mewis
Eva Woloshyn
Sheila Mcnicholas
Paivi Tenhunen
Frank Krikhaar
Robert Douglas
Peter Halliday
Michael O'Callaghan
Mark Garrood
Suzanne Fisher
Louise Hardiman
Xabier Echevarria
Georgina Ralston
Holly Creed
Anne Baglin
G Dawson
Brian Mace
Barbara Halsall
Michael Spitzer
Frederick Lock
Karen Jones
Wendy Stradling
Chris Wilkins
Emilie Taride
Nicola Oliver
John Edwards
Ian Walton-George
Emma Clifford
Stephen Carleysmith
Marion Murray
William Pummell
Anthony Dyer
Lucy Crowhurst
Marion Long
Susan Tinson
Michael Ryley
Eric Shawyer
Ewan O'Sullivan
Patricia White
Raymond Prior
Linda Singer
Andrew Baldock
Rebecca Lilley
Robert Walters
Craig Biffen
Anna Mason
Vivien Lloyd
Valerie Salmond
Lucinda Cochrane
Angie Birkett
Jo Whiterod
Alan Gatter
Tom Ryley
Matt Nixson
Arnold Lord
Hilary Morgan
Farah Asemi
Fred Weil
Wendy Woolf
John Evans
Galina Wells
Virginia Campus
Leilia Mckee
Anonymous
Stephen Jones
Steven Gray
Rosemary Raza
Gillian Roche
Chris Perkins
Jessica Bishop
Fiona De Salle
Sue Miller
Hazel Trapnell
Karen Nimmo-Scott
Linda Croke
Robert Wingfield
Marjorie Ouvry
Andrew Brown
Melanie Bagg
Ralph Allwood
Clive Miller
Jenny White
Elizabeth Trzebinska
Gail Sharp
Judith Hodgson
Dominic Bouloux
Rupert Evenett
Dorcas Slaney
Keith Bell
Fiona Murray
Ann Parker
A Halsall
Patricia Mann
Shirley Appleton
Emma Whitaker
Iain Mcgillivray
Gilbert O'Brien
Rachael Humphries
Caroline Barnett
Geoffrey Scott
Edward Dyball
Michele Stapleton
Deette Howard
Faith Wigzell
Anonymous
Keith Wood
Beatrice Oliver
Sam Hawksford White
Susan Grant
Valerie Johnson
Richard Jones
Michael Dryland
Lesley Hodsdon
Georgina Perceval-Maxwell
Janine Catalano
Jennifer Steel
Mary-Louise Wedderburn
Neil Riddington
Robert Crawford
Glyn Hughes
John Guzzardi
John Samuel
Cheryl Garnsey
Pamela Newberry
John Bowis
Emma Grant
Iain Boyd
Janet Mackenzie
Sarah Cook
Sarah Ellis
Yinqiu Tang
Brendan Mccarthy
James Emmett
Amy Foulds
Stuart Perry
David Lawson
James Thornton
Tim Cox
Barbara Dziekonska
Anonymous