Hmm, I suspect my bedroom ceiling may be planning on falling down soon. Help!

[twinky]

It's been developing ominous looking cracks in the corners of the original cornicing. At some point someone has repaired previous cracks and repapered the ceiling but I can see fresh ones and am worrying about it coming down. When our kitchen ceiling fell in a few years ago the insurance company refused to help, saying it was wear and tear and to be expected in an old house. So if it happens again I'll have to deal with it myself. Does anyone have experience of dealing with a similar situation?

Do not lie in bed waiting for the ceiling to fall down! There is a great weight in the plaster of a traditional ceiling and it could seriously injure you.
Get up a ladder and firmly press various parts of the plaster. you are looking to see if the plaster has "sprung" away from the lath and is being held up by the wallpaper. If this has happened, it will feel bouncy rather than solid. if this has happened, it will ave to come down. Hairline cracked in the cornice are more likely to be caused by slight settlement, the are very common.

We had part of our bedroom ceiling being held up by the wallpaper and then the wallpaper started to split. It's a Victorian house so it was lathe and plaster and quite heavy.

Anyway, we took it down so that it wouldn't fall on our heads. We have since replastered the entire room.

Thankyou both for responding. Had to laugh at the thought of me lying in bed waiting for it to collapse. No fear! When the kitchen ceiling collapsed I was gobsmacked by the amount of rubble that came with it, not to mention the numerous old mouse nests! I will press it as I can see lines under the paper but they might be old repairs. Like you merry it's a Victorian house and I know it's going to be a nightmare to deal with, especially as we will have to do it all ourselves due to being skint.

thanks for your reply, twinky, if only to let us know that you are still with us and not under a heap of rubble.
This happened to us.
We cut out round the cornice with an electric saw and took the whole ceiling down in a controlled manner,removing the lath carefully from the ceiling timbers, leaving the cornice intact.
we then plaster boarded the ceiling and got it professionally plastered.
(part of the ceiling had fallen by itself)

In our old house the plaster was blown, and the builders recommended that the best method was to just overboard the ceiling - take large sheets of plasterboard, and screw to the joists at regular intervals. Much less messy, and pretty straightforward to do

CMOT that is the best method but not if you are trying to preserve the original cornice.