Widespread confusion seems to have arisen over the wording of the HE report on 15 Small Street. Many people have interpreted it to mean that the ceiling would not have qualified for listing. This is incorrect. We will unfortunately never know for certain if the ceiling would have qualified for listing - although it seems highly likely that it would have done. But the wording of the HE report makes it clear that it was the destruction of the ceiling that removed any possibility of listing. Presumably this was the developer's intention when he destroyed it. This SPAB press release makes the additional point that interim protection would have been of value, even if HE had not gone on to list the building. Below is the text of the HE report: 'The destruction of the beautiful 17th-century ceiling and the fact that the rest of the building had been heavily altered over the years means that it does not meet the high benchmark for listing. Had we been able to continue with our planned inspection of the building, before the ceiling was deliberately removed, we could have had constructive discussions with the owner about managing changes to the building in a way that respected its remaining historic features​.'