We have a cunning plan...

After a site visit by the project managers, the structural engineer and one of the builders, a plan has been formulated to sort out the wall debacle that you'll all know about if you've been paying attention.
Briefly, the bedrooms are supported on two colossal wooden beams which rest on the brick wall dividing the function room from the old dining room. The wall itself rests on the wooden floor of the function room. Bad design guys! Anyway, having looked at the site today, the consensus is that the best approach is to remove the brick wall totally (having propped up the beams above first of course) and then install steelwork to take its place. The previous plan involves trying to insert steel beams under the wall. We didn't like that plan and neither did the builders.
Work's due to start in January on that, the refurb of the upstairs kitchen, the lounge bar and the creation of three new bedrooms on the main stair from the front hall. The fact that we have had to turn away 5 guests on a cold Tuesday in December tells us that there's demand there for more bedrooms. Work will also start on services (electricity, plumbing, drainage: boring but necessary) which will be upgraded as the work continues.

More investigations

The builders were back to find out where exactly the beams supporting the bedrooms are, so that the structural steelwork can be positioned accurately. A strip was removed from the dining room ceiling and the beams exposed. The whole top floor is supported by two big beams... both of which are supported by THAT wall.