Recently carried out research for a listed building in Chester. It was one of those rare lucky strikes where there was a huge amount of material scattered all over the country, in London, Bolton, Swindon and Chester. Visited Bolton Archives where there were over 50 drawings - a gold mine, with survey drawings of the building from the 1920s, proving that it was hugely altered at that time.
This demonstrates the value of thorough informed research and the usefulness of the National Archives database, which provided information about this source.
This now throws a questionmark over the authenticity of the Georgian interiors. Architectural paint analysis may be the only answer.
The Pevsner volume on Cheshire also incorrectly attributes the work carried out in the 1920s as by Sir Charles Reilly but although he may have influenced the arcaded hallway and the plasterwork in the Dining Room, most of the alterations were by a little known provincial architect from Bolton called, Richard Hermon Crook.
