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Thanks for all the suggested paths. At the end, 13ac has a second change, which leads to an expression in Wikipedia. The object required is a modern example, and there’s a huge hint to the object in the fourth sentence of the preamble. In a way, the whole endgame exemplifies the theme.

Now I have this sequence:

13a, 2d, 22a, 11d. 8a, 21d, 19a, 5d, 17a, 18d, 25a, 23d, 12a, 6d, 4a, 20d, 7a, 15d, 9a, 10d, 24a, 14d, 16a, 3d, 1a

and now a little problem with 13d. It is not a word, but can be made into one by altering the last letter. But this gives three corrections in 12a. Maybe there is a way out of this; I will investigate.

D'oh!!!!! Now I see 13a!

Now to retrospectively work out all the changes from the thematic object. Talk about kick yourself.

A paradox, indeed.

Thanks for the corrections, Foinaven.

Stick with it Foinaven - 6dn does resolve itself in the endgame, it is not orphaned as I earlier (incorrectly) assumed, but I won't say more.

I think, as Smithsax pointed out, that expecting to follow a sequence all the way through can be misleading.

Foinaven, I don't think 12A intersection with 6D is a change. 13D might have one of its changes in an unchecked cell ?

Disregard my last comment re 13D. I think the changes there are in 5th and 7th.

I don’t like puzzles where the endgame takes twice as long as solving the clues. This puzzle was nicely constructed, but the endgame would have been rather tedious without spotting the object quickly and then working back. Also, the final answer at 10dn turned out to be one of the words accidentally left out of the 2014 edition of TCD - good job I kept an older edition so I could track it down. So this won’t be on my list of favourites for 2018.

Finally limped over the finish line, a thank you to those who have given nudges here. I too found the endgame a bit of a slog after filling the grid in record time.