"On Easter Monday 1986 a spectacular fire severely damaged the Wren wing of Hampton Court Palace. Within hours of the fire being quenched, experts were sifting through the ruins to salvage the remnants of chandeliers, Grinling Gibbons's carving and other priceless artefacts. This was but the beginning of a £10 million project which was overseen by the architect Michael Fishlock. He has now written a dramatic first-hand account of the fire itself and the whole exciting and challenging restoration scheme, recounting the critical decisions which had to be made about what to conserve, restore or build anew; the wonderful discovery of handprints from the seventeenth century; the graffiti left by Wren's workmen; the seashells found beneath the floors to act as sound insulation. The book is illustrated throughout by striking 'before and after' photographs of the building and of the restoration process together with plans and sketches by the author."--Back cover.