Major £1.4m plan to restore Shropshire's Attingham Park
[gallery] A major £1.4 million project to fix a leaking roof at Shropshire's Attingham Park has begun.
The roof of the National Trust-owned Georgian mansion, in Atcham, near Shrewsbury, has been leaking for several years causing damage to the home's historic picture gallery.
The two-year project to repair the grade I-listed building will see a secondary roof above Nash's picture gallery replaced and glass domes above the grand staircase refurbished.
Renovators have begun removing paintings and precious collection items from the picture gallery to make way for scaffolding.
A specialist team from Crown Fine Art has carried out the removal work.
Amy Rowe from the National Trust said: "Within a few days the picture gallery is looking very empty without its paintings.
"It gives us some idea of how the room may have looked after the bankruptcy sale of 1827 in which big spender Thomas 2nd Lord Berwick was forced to sell the art collection for which he had built the Picture Gallery in the first place."
The paintings will be stored in different places during the renovation work, with visitors able to get a close look at them when the house reopens on March 2.
Work has also begun to protect the period features in the room, including the balustrade of the picture gallery's staircase which has been covered with acid-free tissue paper, a layer of foam and a material called Antinox to prevent any damage to it during the work.
The major refurbishment project has been named 'Attingham Re-discovered Goes Through the Roof'.
The National Trust is holding winter tours to show visitors the preparation work taking place in the picture gallery.
They will take place on Fridays, Saturday and Sundays until February 23. Attingham Park was built for the first Lord Berwick between 1782 and 1785 by George Stuart.
The house was partially remodelled between 1805-07 by regency architect John Nash who built the iconic picture gallery and circular grand staircase.
Officials say the existing roof above the gallery has leaked for many years causing damage to the fine marquetry border on the floor.
The refurbishment work will be taking place in the heart of the mansion and has seen the visitor's tearoom relocated.
By Catherine Ferris
