An ambitious restoration of the Painted Hall at London’s Old Royal Naval College (ONRC) gives visitors both a unique opportunity to get within touching distance of its richly decorated ceiling, as well as “unprecedented” access to a major conservation project, says the College’s Conservation Director Will Palin.

Now a public attraction drawing 1.5 million visitors annually, the ONRC’s buildings were commissioned in 1694 as a naval retirement home and designed by Sir Christopher Wren. The hall is the opulent centerpiece of the ensemble and has Europe’s largest painted interior, created by the painter Sir James Thornhill over the course of 19 years.