One of the most common myths surrounding heritage buildings and monuments was that they were always meant to be in the state that they were found in.
Probably the most insidious example of this is with Ancient Roman statues; the white marble columns and designs are part of our modern idea of classical antiquity, but in reality, the statues were painted in bright colours with overwhelming evidence that many famous carvings were not meant to be simply the colour of the material.
The same goes for many historic stone floors prior to restoration; whilst many stone floors in heritage buildings such as churches have somewhat dull floors due to the ravages of age and constant use, it is not necessarily the case that they were always intended to look that way.
This provides restorers with something of a quandary; since the polishing of a stone floor to look like new is a delicate process which inherently requires grinding and buffing the floor, should a historic floor be polished or preserved as it currently is?
There is no universal answer for every building, as different design styles throughout history prioritised polished or untreated stone floors to capture a particular type of ambience.
Whilst classical antiquity opted for stone polishing for the same reasons that now blank statues were previously brightly painted, some medieval castles, churches and monasteries opted for a more subdued look for practical reasons.
Part of the reason why so many older buildings have unpolished stone floors is due to rather more Victorian-era sensibilities; the Arts and Crafts movement believed in preserving the beauty of natural, raw materials.
Generally, it is best to do your research and consult restoration experts before polishing a stone floor to make sure that this was how it was intended to look, as well as how it looks relative to the rest of a restoration.