In 1985 all efforts in his field were rewarded when Richard received an MBE from the Queen for his services to the textile industry. It was a busy year when a proposal to build a working museum in Warner’s former Mill was approved and the decision to press on for opening at the turn of the decade. 

This was to coincide with the terrible fire at Hampton Court Palace, which devastated the Kings Apartments. This led to an intense period of research and recreation to reinstate bespoke fabrics for the restoration. 

BBC Sounds; The Reunion (Windsor Castle Fire) 

The decade contained other major restoration programmes for Ham House, the Palace of Westminster Speakers Apartments, Queens House Greenwich and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. With the demand for fabric increasing, more loom building was needed to keep up with deliveries. With the planned increase in museum space the business was well placed for development.