We were asked to work on this piece alongside the national trust conservator and the team at Tyntesfield. As it is a closed collection, we had to work on it in situ to reduce costs.

The curtains come from the oratory and have been hanging for a lengthy period. Though probably not the original, they would have been made by Crace and Sons.

The Crace family had been prominent London interior decorators since Edward Crace (1725–1799), later keeper of the royal pictures to George III, established a business in 17.  o Gregory Crace, Edward Crace's grandson, was the elder of two surviving sons of Frederick Crace (1779–1859), interior decorator to the then Prince Regent and a collector of maps and prin s. Most of the main downstairs rooms were decorated by the Crace family; the originals may have just disintegrated over time or been moved to other rooms; we also found three with ornate embroidery cut from the bottom to shorten the length.

The curtains suffered light damage, water damage, and general wear and tear, mainly due to the stone window surrounding them and a metal radiator beneath them.

The curtains were photographed for the archive before any work was done, and then the stained and damaged lining was removed and binned, as it had no historical value and was beyond repair.

The curtains were vacuumed with a conservation vac to remove generations of dirt, and any areas of mould were removed. He added custom-dye read supporting fabric around where the holes had developed, and weakness was found. e also used damp conditions to reshape edges and the tie-backs, which had become rigid with age and du t. The areas with the most damage were also netted with custom-dyed conservation nets to prevent further damage. His is sewn down using monofilament, so what has been done is not apparent unless clo e. The whole point of conservation is to protect, but it should be removable if needed without causing further damage. After months of work, as working in historic houses is difficult, we had to stop in winter as the building is heated for itself, not for us and sewing when cold is not appealing. Also, light is an issue because we have to protect the rest of the collection. We must use natural daylight lamps for short periods of time.

Finally, we relined the complete set of curtains with a heavy-weight lining fabric. Normally, you leave the lining loose at the bottom, but in historic houses, we seal them to prevent moth infestation and other creatures crawling up inside. 

The curtains were finally rehung by the collections team for the enjoyment of the thousands of visitors who come every year.,