I know more about Geoffrey Butler's than most and was talking to an old timer friend the other day about this bicycle, the shop you bought it from (in Dorset) bought it on ebay for a low price from the original owner, the shop originally had it for sale at a much higher price.
It is unusual, not a conventional ladies frame, neither a dropped top tube nor a mixte: the twin tubes are much higher than they would be on a mixte.
I certainly wouldn't repaint it, a competent painter would be able to match the colour so repaint the top tubes and patiently touch the chips in with a brush - building the paint up over time.
If you didn't want the drop bars you could fit a North Road style, that would be period.
Ladies bicycles are rarely seen here, so it is a refreshing change - I have a rare 1950s ladies Hobbs of Barbican, which is also unusual.
Rk.