A routine repair job has uncovered the 'discovery of a lifetime', revealing wall-to-wall Tudor paintings inspired by Nero's Golden Villa.
Calverley Old Hall, in North Yorkshire, is undergoing a major renovation programme funded by The Landmark Trust, which has owned the building and runs part of it as a holiday let since 1981.
The find was made in the bedroom of the 'unremarkable' parlour block, where the walls had been painted peach in the 1970s.
Behind the 19th-century plaster, a complete scheme of mid-16th century paintings was discovered, across three walls of the original chamber.
The Landmark Trust Director Anna Keay said: 'There, on all three walls before me, was a revelation.
'Floor to ceiling, wall to wall, a complete, highly decorated Tudor chamber, stripped with black and red and white and ochre. Mythical creatures and twining vines, classical columns and roaring griffins.'
A specialist from Lincoln Conservation opens up a section of wall after a routine repair job uncovered the 'discovery of a lifetime'
The discovery was was made in the bedroom of the 'unremarkable' parlour block after its walls had been painted peach in the 1970s
A complete scheme of mid-16th century paintings were discovered across three walls of the original chamber
The Landmark Trust Director Anna Keay described the find of the mid-16th century paintings as a 'revelation'
A close-up of the 'floor to ceiling, wall to wall' paintings that have been discovered in the old house
Landmark Historian Caroline Stanford described the discovery as 'a time machine to the age of the Reformation and the Virgin Queen'
The Tudor paintings are 'very carefully planned' and are in a vertical design that uses the timber studwork as a framework
The wall-to-wall, ceiling-high Tudor paintings are said to have been inspired by Nero's Golden Villa
To add to the excitement, the Calverley scheme is so-called Grotesque work, making it a great deal more sophisticated than almost any other surviving domestic wall paintings in the country.
Landmark Historian Caroline Stanford described the discovery as 'a time machine to the age of the Reformation and the Virgin Queen'.
She said: 'Suddenly, we are
