A forensic approach to the restoration of a fire-damaged room.

As a consequence of the devastating fire on 31 March 2010, in which the Grill Room (part of the Grade II listed Cafe Royal) was considered to have been largely destroyed, we commenced a two-year project to re-instate the interior, which also provided an opportunity for a re-evaluation of the historic fabric of this significant room. The Grill Room is synonymous with the artists and writers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who frequented it and who made it famous. This paper is a case study of the project. The paper discusses the forensic approach to the methodology for the restoration and explains the justification for the re-construction of the room including alterations to suit twenty-first-century use. The re-construction was based on evidence taken from the fire-damaged room and from desktop and archival research. The room has recently re-opened to the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]