M Womersleys were asked to determine if a painted coat of arms in the principal space of one of the Victorian Town Hall’s in the Heavy Wollen District of West Yorkshire was original. Three samples were taken and including priming layers there are between 9 and 11 layers of paint in each of the thin sections taken from samples cast in resin. The lowest paint layers in all three samples, after the red lead-based primer, are Olive Green and Brown/Red colours, neither of which would feature in the coat of arms. They are however standard wall colours found in buildings of the High Victorian Period, which was rarely dull. There are plenty of examples of rich greens and russet reds used in this period. The colours found in the earlier layers of all three paint samples also strongly feature in colour manuals and wheels of the time. The blue colour, which may date to the 1920’s in the paint samples, appeared later the walls and is perhaps contemporary with that found on the ceiling.