House of Lords: Royal Gallery Frescos

Lord Kinnock Excerpts

Thursday 13th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[The Chairman of Committees]

That is a very fair point. It would be lovely if we could make progress in time for the bicentenary of Waterloo. It depends on the detail we are given once the research is completed and then how quickly we can move to do the restoration—and, I am afraid, on where the money comes from.

[Lord Kinnock]

My Lords, can the Chairman of Committees possibly ensure that in any careful restoration of these brilliant pieces of work, somehow a little blood is added to the representations of Trafalgar and Waterloo, since the impression given to succeeding generations is of a rather sanitised version of warfare?

[The Chairman of Committees]

I think there might be some difficulty in that one. If I can be a little bit serious and give a bit more information to the House, the murals, almost from the start, have lost a deal of colour. They became murky and coloured down, mainly, I think, because of the dirt and coal dust that were in the atmosphere at that time in the mid-Victorian age. It is hoped that by proper cleaning we can get the colours back. I do not think that necessarily means a sanitised view of warfare.