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00:00Hidden behind high walls and hedgerows stand Yorkshire's secret stately homes,
00:06a priceless part of our heritage, and now some are throwing open the doors.
00:11Wow, I like it already.
00:12To auctioneer and country house connoisseur Angus Ashworth.
00:16You walk in here, you cannot not be amazed with it. It's sort of a visual overload.
00:21He's on a mission to help save these historic houses for the nation.
00:25More than 200 have vanished since the war.
00:28They were just bulldozed. People couldn't afford them. They were lost forever.
00:31He'll be hunting through lofts and cellars.
00:34Oh, I've spotted something.
00:36That's, you see, look, yeah, look, armour.
00:37There's the armour.
00:38There's the armour, yeah.
00:40For forgotten treasure.
00:42Look at that.
00:42Look at that, bad boy.
00:43This is like a dream for me.
00:46It's quite a mess for me.
00:47I don't think I can do anything with the toilets.
00:50To raise cash to help fund renovation or repairs.
00:54It's a battle, you know, something goes wrong every day.
00:57Something significant breaks every week and the upkeep's enormous.
01:01He'll be diving into life as a weekend house guest and occasional butler.
01:09All right, cheers.
01:10Arriving in style.
01:12It's beautiful from up here, isn't it?
01:14It gives you a real perspective.
01:16To experience a lost way of life in some of Yorkshire's most stunning stately homes.
01:29Okay, so where are we, James?
01:31So we're down here at Bagby.
01:33Okay, yeah.
01:33Just outside of Thirsk.
01:35So we've got quite a reasonable flight now down to Carlton Towers.
01:39Yeah.
01:40Today, Angus and Pilot James are heading south to Yorkshire's tallest stately home.
01:46Carlton Towers, it's home of Lord Gerald and Lady Emma and it's a phenomenal house.
01:51It's gothic revival at its finest.
02:02For me, as an auctioneer, somebody that's passionate about antiques, about antique architecture,
02:08this is a dream weekend for me.
02:09Wonderful.
02:12Angus is flying over a county littered with stately homes to one of Yorkshire's most majestic.
02:19On the horizon, Carlton Towers with 126 rooms.
02:25From up here, you can really see the scale of these properties, can't you?
02:31He's been invited to see if he can find any items that he can sell at auction that will go towards
02:37an unfinished renovation project.
02:41It's a vast estate. The house is huge.
02:45This stupendous stately home is owned by Lord Gerald and Lady Emma Fitzallan Howard.
02:52So, how are we doing? You need some soda water for that.
02:55They've spent 30 years saving the house from decades of neglect.
02:59We came up here and it was sort of naked light bulbs and rats and threadbare sofas and
03:07it was grim, truly grim.
03:09This giant Victorian gem was built over the remains of older grand houses dating back to
03:15the 13th century. During the war, it became a hospital. Then it fell on hard times.
03:21Gerald and Emma inherited the house from his father and in 1991, they moved out of a modest home
03:27in London to move north with their young family.
03:30OK, two ten of sparkling water.
03:33Just trying to make it sort of as a, make it into a family home.
03:36A kitchen in children's bedrooms was a bit of a challenge.
03:39We had to do an awful lot of work, but it was very, very slowly because there isn't a sort of a
03:46bottomless money pit. So we had to get the heating working properly.
03:50We redid the roof. As regards aesthetics and decorative, that's taken much longer.
03:57Three decades of commitment by Gerald and Emma have returned much of their home to its former glory.
04:04But one part of the house still awaits rescue.
04:07They want to transform the neglected sellers into a visitor venue.
04:11And in return for a weekend's bed and board, Angus has agreed to see if Gerald and Emma have any
04:17hidden treasures that can be sold to lighten the cost of their latest project.
04:21It's circling around there. It looks fairly flat down here.
04:24I hope we'll be able to get in.
04:30It's going to be quite fun. I mean, we do, we do...
04:32We've not met him, but...
04:34We haven't met him, but we do quite people up here quite often to come and stay and we
04:38feed them very well and we feel thrilled he's coming to see us.
04:42I mean, it's incredible, isn't it? I mean, just look at the scale of it and the design.
04:47I mean, it's vast. It's not just a house though, is it? It's towers and turrets and...
04:53I mean, where do we even start on maintenance and upkeep? I don't know, but yeah.
04:58I mean, it's incredible. I'm delighted. It is a pleasure to come to Carl Towers.
05:02Hello, Angus. Welcome.
05:04Very, very good to be you. Welcome.
05:05Oh, Gerald.
05:06Welcome. Oh, Emma.
05:07Please call us, Emma and Gerald.
05:12Carlton Towers was built to impress.
05:16Wow. What an essence.
05:18Come on in.
05:22I mean, incredible. I'm delighted. It is a pleasure to come to Carl Towers.
05:27You cannot not be amazed with it. It is just scrumptious.
05:32Maintaining this house is a full-time job.
05:36When one room is done, another one is needing to be done. There's always a problem.
05:43Given the fact you come from Yorkshire, I hope you like it strong.
05:45I do.
05:46Because we love it strong here.
05:48Wonderful.
05:48It's been in the family sort of 700 years.
05:51Well, we, okay, we married into the family that inherited from Robert the Bruce, one of William
05:57the Conqueror's mates.
05:58Wow.
05:59Yeah, we married into it, into that family in 1301.
06:02Over the next 700 years, much of the estate was sold off, and the house stripped of its art and
06:08antiques. But Gerald and Emma were determined to save their heritage.
06:14Do you feel a sort of sense of responsibility with that?
06:16Yeah, there's responsibility, but it's for honestly, yeah, it's just to keep it going.
06:21Yeah.
06:22You know, and, you know, years ago, there was farmland and that kept it going.
06:26But now, as you can see, you know, we have to do, we have to run it as a proper business.
06:30Angus is here to sell unwanted items to help fund Gerald and Emma's next business venture,
06:37transforming their cellars into a venue for tasting wine.
06:41Their walled garden has become a flourishing vineyard, where head gardener Martin is busy
06:47producing Yorkshire bubbly.
06:49This side's Chardonnay.
06:51Yeah, yeah.
06:53That side's Pinot Noir, blended to make our sparkling wine.
06:57But now they want to invite the public to taste and buy their vintage by converting their Victorian
07:03cellars into a bar.
07:04So it's productive now, and we're getting the product out of it.
07:09Yes, we are.
07:10We might get you to try some later.
07:12Oh, well.
07:13We can have some of dinner, can't we?
07:14Yeah, lovely.
07:15Have some of the force on that.
07:15I'd look forward to that.
07:16Yeah, no, it's really, it's really, really good.
07:19I mean, it's incredible.
07:20Having, you know, a place like this, it's wonderful.
07:23But it also comes with its challenges and its burdens.
07:25You know, the running costs are phenomenal.
07:28So they've got to be commercial, and you want lots of different revenues.
07:31It's the same as any business.
07:33I think here, at Carlton Towers, they're onto something.
07:36Carlton Towers has a vast labyrinth of underground storerooms,
07:41many unvisited in decades.
07:45Let's go down to the cellar.
07:46OK, wonderful.
07:47Follow me.
07:48Follow us.
07:48Doug, you stay here.
07:49Definitely not coming.
07:50The plan is to turn this cluttered,
07:52dingy dungeon into a place where drinkers can sample and buy their bubbly.
07:58It's £35 a pop in the shops, but here they could charge less,
08:02and make more money.
08:04You want to clear these cellars to use?
08:06Yes.
08:06I'd love to have this as a sort of a, well, as a wine cellar.
08:10It's time for Angus to get started.
08:12Clear this cellar, auction unwanted stuff,
08:15and any funds can go towards Gerald and Emma's latest project.
08:19When you get asked if you want to view the cellars or the attics in a house like this,
08:23you jump at the chance, because as amazing as the state rooms are and the formal rooms,
08:28the items in those rooms will never be for sale.
08:31The gems are often down here.
08:33It's just a lot.
08:35Yeah, look, look.
08:35Armour.
08:36There's the armour.
08:37Here.
08:37There's the armour.
08:38There's the armour, yeah.
08:38There's a bit of further legs.
08:40Right.
08:40Marian helmets, so probably Italian.
08:42Italian?
08:44Yeah.
08:44What are we doing in here?
08:46Suits of armour can be worth more than a million pounds,
08:49and Italian ones with their distinctive curved helmets are the most sought after by collectors.
08:55It's not, I don't think, an original.
08:56It's probably a Victorian version.
08:58Other Victorians were great at doing sort of mock suits of armours and things like that,
09:02but they're in keeping for the house, actually.
09:04So I think it's right, but that needs reassembling, it needs cleaning and setting back up in the armory.
09:09We've got so many of these greats.
09:11Yes, there are, aren't they?
09:12You've got various sort of fenders, fire dogs.
09:14I'm so happy to get rid of them.
09:16Used to sell really well.
09:18Most people have put wood burners in, stripped out fires, put wood burners in,
09:21so you don't need a fender.
09:23A lot of people, if they've got an original fireplace, might not use a fireplace,
09:26but want something just to lift it and make it more elegant,
09:29so they'll put a fender in place.
09:30So there is a market for them, but not what there was 20 years ago.
09:34But, you know, good mixture of items.
09:36A Victorian fender could fetch £300 today.
09:39These we don't need, and they haven't got...
09:41I think there's a top to sell.
09:42Where? Where's the second? Where's the second?
09:44No, Geraldine, that's just pointless.
09:45Hold on. No, calm down, calm down.
09:47It's pointless.
09:48No, you see, there.
09:49See, that's nice.
09:50Yeah, you see, don't need...
09:51No, but these, where have they come from, then?
09:54A little contrast.
09:55Gerald wants to keep everything.
09:57Emma will get rid of everything.
09:59So, I think I'm kind of mediator in the middle.
10:02Something...
10:03I'll keep that because I've...
10:04No, I'm going to get rid of that.
10:05No, no, because I've got two of those elsewhere,
10:08and I want another one.
10:09I've got...
10:10No, no, I want those.
10:12Angus has his work cut out.
10:15Can he persuade Gerald and Emma to part with the relics
10:18he needs to help finance their underground cellar par.
10:32The cost of maintaining historic Carlton Towers in Yorkshire
10:35matches the scale of its Victorian facade.
10:38Auctioneer Angus Ashworth wants to preserve his home county's heritage,
10:43so he's spending the weekend with owners Emma and Gerald
10:46to help clear the cellars and turn them into an upmarket wine bar.
10:52As you would expect, absolute chaos down here.
10:54You know, OK, we don't all have huge cellars,
10:57but we do maybe have a garage or something.
10:59We all stuff stuff in.
11:01The difference is, with most of our houses,
11:02where it might be one or two generations,
11:04this could be 200 years' worth.
11:06There literally could be anything in here.
11:08You've just got to get in there and rummage.
11:11Angus has the pick of several lifetimes of junk,
11:14but some are worth more than cold cash.
11:18Yeah, look at that proper old British Rail Buffet car.
11:20Wait.
11:22And these were wrapped up in...
11:25It's how long they've been wrapped up.
11:2777.
11:29And there are more model locos.
11:31Together, they could fetch more than £100.
11:34But for Gerald, this still has sentimental value.
11:37I remember my father coming back from when he worked
11:42in the city in London.
11:43Yeah.
11:44He came back and he bought me a present on the way back home.
11:46Oh.
11:47And it was that.
11:47Fantastic.
11:49I don't know why he said he bought it for me, but he just did.
11:52Oh.
11:53And it's Caledonian.
11:55Yeah.
11:55God, I remember that so well.
11:57Seems real sad to get rid of it, Em.
11:59Well, I mean...
12:00No, no, no, no, OK.
12:01No, seriously.
12:03I've never, you know, Arthur didn't.
12:05My son didn't really.
12:06Well, you've got a grandson now.
12:07Let's...
12:08Will you take all this away and see what it's worth?
12:11Yeah, yeah, no, certainly.
12:12See, the train market's really good.
12:13Um, you know, we do a lot of railway sales
12:16and there's still a strong market.
12:18There's lots of people that are massively into it.
12:21The value is in the engines.
12:23There seems to be a lot of rolling stock carriages.
12:26So I don't think it's going to be huge amounts of value,
12:28but it's surplus to requirement.
12:30It's lovely, but you can't keep everything.
12:32You know, what purpose is it going to serve?
12:34So I think the trains will be rolling onto a new home.
12:39You've got a lovely, slightly damaged sort of tailor's dummy there.
12:42So that as a dress piece in a window.
12:44Exactly.
12:45People really like that.
12:46So that's actually quite commercial.
12:48Good, OK.
12:49Especially Gammage ones, they're like the top name.
12:52Interesting.
12:52Gammages was one of London's most exclusive fashion retailers.
12:56They should get at least £100 to £200 for one of these.
13:00We've got a naval hat in there.
13:02Put that on.
13:03Jo's got a tiny head.
13:04Any person who could wear it?
13:06Well, me and I think it's called Nelson.
13:11Yeah, you see.
13:12God, it's even too small for me.
13:14Suits you, though.
13:15It really suits you.
13:16With a proud military history,
13:18the officer's hat must be a relic of one of Gerald's ancestors.
13:22Em?
13:23Yes.
13:25Not sure about this headwear, though.
13:27Is this the dress for dinner, is it?
13:28That's what you've got to wear.
13:30I'm happy to get rid of this.
13:32Honestly, Gerald, we've got so many of these.
13:33Please, can we get rid of this?
13:34OK, my...
13:35It hasn't got a top to it.
13:36No.
13:36I mean, washstands.
13:37Yes.
13:38It would have had a marble top in it.
13:39They would have gone on the side.
13:40Yeah.
13:40Probably sometimes you would have had one across the back.
13:42Probably William IV with the tapering fluted legs.
13:47So, quite nice.
13:48Not, you know, necessary...
13:49So, how much would that be, would you think?
13:52Well, whether the top's there or not makes a big difference.
13:54And it's not.
13:55And it's not.
13:56Um, so, you know, current market without a top, just the base, you know, we're in the low hundreds.
14:02Royalty may have freshened up at this washstand, and there's another.
14:06Angus, what about the idea of this one?
14:07Oh, look, look, look.
14:08So, that's similar.
14:09That's with a solid top on it rather than marble.
14:12It's got a top anyway, exactly.
14:13And the marble ones are slightly more desirable, but that's absolutely fine.
14:17Yeah.
14:17But it is complete, though, isn't it?
14:18It is complete, yes.
14:19That is complete.
14:20You know, washstands are basically where you'd get washed out.
14:23You know, you wouldn't have plumbing, you would have had a jug and bowl.
14:25And marble top ones have come back in fashion. The darker furniture, not so hot. You know,
14:32that's a harder sell. But even with missing tops, they will sell because the fact that they've come
14:37out of the cellars of Carlton Towers creates a market in its own right. People want a bit of that history.
14:44It's all going very well, but Angus needs to find a big ticket item.
14:49Oh, you know what these are from? This is the, you know, the central room in the big, in the big,
14:54reception of the card room. Yes.
14:56These are the original curtains that were rotting.
14:58This is the original curtains.
15:00This is the original curtains.
15:01Again, were made for Watson, made by Watson Westminster.
15:05I mean, I would be delighted to take this. I mean, I think this is...
15:09I would be having that because I think it's just wasting away here.
15:11These curtains were part of the original soft furnishings of the house.
15:15With a pedigree like that, they could fetch big money.
15:18I think that's, that's wonderful.
15:19The only thing I'm thinking about this, Gerald, it could cover some of the chairs.
15:23Or, I could make a rather fetching jacket out of it.
15:26Or a suit.
15:27Or a suit.
15:29I mean, I think, you might be surprised how well that does.
15:35Hard to put a price on them.
15:37Where do you go get another set of original 1871 curtains from arguably the most substantial
15:45Victorian Gothic revival properties in the country?
15:48Excited about those.
15:49What about the shield?
15:51Er, no, because it's got a Stapleton lion on it.
15:54So that is family.
15:55But I don't quite know where we put it, though.
15:56The lion is the crest of the Stapleton family.
15:59A branch of the Fitz-Allen Howard dynasty.
16:02Why not make that the centrepiece of the wine cellar?
16:04I mean, that would look fantastic.
16:05That would look amazing.
16:07Amazing.
16:08Yes, absolutely.
16:09It's lit nicely.
16:10Yeah, yeah.
16:10That would look fantastic.
16:11That's a nice idea.
16:12That would be really, really, very, very, very smart.
16:16Well, we've just had a good rummage through the cellars.
16:18And, yeah, OK, there's various bits that can be sold.
16:21You know, and let's be realistic, it's not going to make tens and tens of thousands.
16:25But what it does, it starts to clear those cellars, and I think gives a glimmer of what they could be.
16:32But Angus still has the rest of this huge house to explore.
16:35Carlton Towers is 150 years old, and he's about to enjoy a privileged grand tour, starting in the Grand Hall,
16:44which was designed by the family firm behind one of London's most iconic buildings.
16:49The original architect was a guy called Edward Welby Pugin, whose father had done the Houses of Parliament.
16:55Pugin had far bigger ideas for Carlton Towers.
16:58In fact, in the 1890s, his plans nearly bankrupted the family, bringing building to a halt forever.
17:06Pugin's idea was going to be double the size.
17:09Oh, my gosh, yes, you can...
17:11We ran out of money here.
17:12But stopping a build midway had its consequences, including a few rather odd features,
17:18like this door that goes, well, nowhere.
17:22The plans are just on hold at the moment.
17:24The plans are on hold.
17:26But Gerald's Victorian ancestors did manage to complete the central tower, all 120 feet of it.
17:33This is the end of the start.
17:35Right.
17:39We're now the final push.
17:42Right, and here we are.
17:42Oh, my word, we're out the top.
17:44Yeah, finally.
17:45Oh, my word.
17:46You can see the whole of Yorkshire.
17:54So that was the half-past chime.
17:56Wow, and look at the weathering on those hammerheads, incredible, isn't it?
18:00So, during the war, it was an auxiliary hospital, and all the sort of...
18:05I guess as they got better, they used to come up here and sign their names.
18:08So, like, yeah, so 1940, C.R. Knowles.
18:13And then the name we have got here, which is quite interesting, which you can just see,
18:18is if you look there, okay, D. Spencer.
18:24Diana Spencer, yeah, Diana, yeah.
18:27She was a friend of my brother's and came up here.
18:29So, I was going to say, what was she doing up here?
18:32I know.
18:33Well...
18:33So, that's pretty... pretty cool.
18:35It is.
18:36That must be one of the earliest Diana signatures there is.
18:39Probably is.
18:40That'd be worth a fortune, wouldn't it?
18:41Actually, yes!
18:43Forget all the stuff in the cellar.
18:44Yeah, yeah.
18:45It's up here, we should be.
18:46Fall on hard times.
18:46It's up here, yeah.
18:49Gerald's right.
18:50Diana's signature can sell for more than £4,000 today, but not when it's carved on a half-ton slab of stone.
18:58Tomorrow, Angus has more treasure hunting to do, but tonight, he's going to sleep in one of
19:03Carlton Tower's grandest bedrooms.
19:06Oh, that's the finest room.
19:07Well, I won't tell my wife that.
19:10Of course, the coronation chairs.
19:11Yeah, I know, aren't they wonderful?
19:13Wow.
19:13Fewer than 5,000 of these velvet chairs were made for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth
19:18in Westminster Abbey in 1953.
19:22And today, they can fetch more than £1,000 at auction, but they're not for sale.
19:27Really, really wonderful.
19:28I don't know if people nowadays take chairs away from the coronation.
19:31Well, I mean, that's...
19:31I doubt they do.
19:32That was always the protocol that, you know, if you went to the coronation, you took your chair home.
19:36To help with the upkeep of the house, they also hold weddings here,
19:40and Angus is staying in the bridal suite.
19:42Your boudoir.
19:45Wow.
19:45And you've got, you know, you've got a view over there, to the parkland, you've got ours,
19:50you've got the vineyard.
19:52And when guests have had enough of the views, Emma has installed a state-of-the-art blind system.
19:58So, actually, you need to know this, because you're going to be here.
20:00So cool.
20:08I love this.
20:09Oh, for Christ's sake.
20:11I don't know how to do this.
20:12Well, we'll literally leave that down, or do you want that up?
20:18All right, you've actually got some instructions here.
20:21Well, you're going to need them.
20:22How to operate the blinds.
20:23Oh, we've stopped.
20:25No, don't.
20:26Just put the remote down.
20:27Literally go put it down.
20:29For Angus, the joy of a house like this is the antique furniture
20:33that families have collected over the centuries.
20:36Isn't that lovely, that chair?
20:38Yeah, it's nice.
20:38That's really early, is that?
20:40So, what would that be?
20:41That would be early 1700s.
20:43I've got about three or four of those, and I've used them as dressing tables.
20:47I think it's wonderful that you're using the furniture, because it should be used.
20:51It should be used.
20:52Yeah.
20:54Just unbelievable.
20:55I mean, this is like a dream come true for me.
20:58I could just spend the day up here just looking out across the whole of Yorkshire from my tower.
21:07Downstairs, it's time for dinner.
21:10Oh, there we go.
21:11Good pop.
21:12Be honest.
21:14Gerald and Emma hope Bobbley will be a major new income stream to pay for the upkeep of the house.
21:19This is when I tell you I'm a qualified sommelier.
21:22Yes, and then we know you're lying.
21:23Yes.
21:24Well, cheers.
21:26Well, cheers to you.
21:29Right.
21:29Good to see you.
21:30Okay.
21:30Right.
21:31Give us your...
21:32That's incredibly drinkable.
21:34You know, it's fresh.
21:35It's fruity.
21:36It's not sweet, it's just fruity.
21:38Carlton Towers once boasted a banqueting hall, but Angus's hosts prefer to eat in the kitchen.
21:45And I'm afraid these are bought chips as well.
21:47Oh, don't worry.
21:48Well, the key with bought chips is you cook them very, very slowly in a lower heat and put lots more olive oil on them.
21:57Looks amazing, Gerald.
21:59I feel incredibly spoiled, so thank you so much.
22:02No.
22:02Well, you deserve it.
22:03You do.
22:05It's been a long day.
22:07Tomorrow, Angus will be back at work in another junk room, looking for more items worthy of a place in his auction catalogue.
22:14So, you know, get to bed now.
22:16I'm sure Gerald's going to have me up sprite in the morning.
22:21I think he was joking.
22:22I think he hadn't won too many red wines, but he said we're going tree-hugging tomorrow.
22:27Don't quite.
22:29I think it was the red wine, to be honest.
22:30But remarkable night.
22:32Time to get some sleep.
22:44In Carlton Towers, Angus is enjoying a lion as a weekend guest of Lord and Lady Gerald Fitz-Allen Howard.
22:59We've got a very special job, Ron.
23:00And their dogs.
23:02We've got to go and wake up Angus.
23:03Up you go.
23:05Oh, morning, Ronnie.
23:07What a wake-up call.
23:09A hundred years ago, a butler and a dozen servants would have served breakfast.
23:15Not anymore.
23:16Morning.
23:17Morning, Angus.
23:18How are you?
23:18All right.
23:19You sleep well?
23:20Very well, thank you.
23:20Good, good.
23:21There we are.
23:22Wonderful.
23:22Thank you so much.
23:23OK, let's get up that, Dan, and then we've got things to do.
23:27Yeah, OK.
23:30Oh, this takes me back.
23:34So, let's hope he starts.
23:36It's a bit of an old London again.
23:37Oh, they're brilliant.
23:39You can't beat them.
23:40You can't beat them.
23:43Gerald wants to show off his latest project to make sure every square foot of his 250 acres of parkland
23:50pays its way by going back to nature.
23:54I'm loving the Longhorns.
23:56They're our cows.
23:57Yeah.
23:57Our Longhorn cows.
23:59Wonderful.
24:01The English Longhorn cattle would have been a familiar sight when the first Carlton Towers was built.
24:08They were even used to pull ploughs.
24:11He's drunk the wine, tried the bridal suite, seen the livestock, and now Gerald wants to show Angus
24:18another of his latest innovations.
24:21This is it.
24:22All right.
24:23This is where we're going to go bathing.
24:24All the bluebells.
24:25So, here we are.
24:27Right.
24:27Let's see how it goes.
24:28Right.
24:29I don't know what to expect.
24:31Open minds.
24:32Open mind.
24:33Oh, hiya.
24:38Mariska Gunter is leading Gerald's latest project.
24:41Welcome.
24:42Creating a wellness retreat for stress professionals.
24:46Angus has experience diversifying his own business.
24:49Now, he's the first guest to enjoy forest bathing, or Shinrin-yoku.
24:55We've got such busy lives at the moment, and this is the place to just give back,
25:02is to connect, reconnect with yourself.
25:05It's about being here, being present, and just ignite your senses.
25:11It's claimed that being at one with the woods can boost your immune system, lower blood pressure,
25:17and help with depression.
25:19But Angus is about to leave his comfort zone.
25:22So, let's go hug a tree.
25:24Okay.
25:24All right.
25:25Okay.
25:25Okay.
25:27Oh, there's lots of spiky things here.
25:31There's nothing here that's going to harm you.
25:33I'm going to get in here, look.
25:36Yeah, just lean into it like you're leaning it for support.
25:42I'm going to go too far.
25:43I might hug Angus by mistake.
25:45Okay.
25:48So, breathe in, gentle deep breaths, all the way down to the belly.
25:53But Gerald thinks the boom in ecotourism could bring more people and their wallets to the towers.
26:01Similar retreats can cost up to £3,000 per person.
26:05There's not many places that offer this, is it?
26:07I think, I just believe in the park, I believe the house is like a sort of,
26:10the sort of mothership, and this beautiful parkland.
26:13And yeah, I just do think that it is something we can do really well here.
26:16Thank you, Mariscal.
26:17Well, thank you.
26:17I feel relaxed for the day ahead now.
26:19Oh, brilliant.
26:21The sun's coming out again.
26:22I don't think it's a bad thing, actually.
26:24So, maybe there's something in it.
26:27You know, before I get up on my rostrums and my day job, maybe I should go hug a tree.
26:33Angus grew up on a farm, and his next job feels a little more familiar.
26:38Gerald's woodland pigs need their breakfast.
26:43They're free to roam the woods, just as they would in medieval times.
26:47Gerald reckons it makes their bacon taste better.
26:54Well, they like that, don't they?
26:55They do like that.
26:57And what's the long-term plan then?
26:59So, you've got cattle on the estate, you've got the pigs.
27:01Is this all growing your own food?
27:03I do, just growing our own food.
27:05And, you know, for, obviously not just for us, there's a limit to how many pigs I can eat.
27:10Yeah.
27:10But, you know, a local farm shop, local restaurants.
27:15These come from here, let's try and sell them locally.
27:17Yeah.
27:18Isn't that a, there's a great noise.
27:20That's a happy noise, isn't it?
27:21That's a happy noise.
27:22But it's time to return to the big house, for the highlight of Angus's treasure hunt.
27:32He's clearing out a huge walk-in cupboard, packed with artwork and clothes worn by three
27:38generations of the family.
27:39Isn't that amazing?
27:41It's beautifully preserved.
27:43So, this would have been your grandmother's, grandfather's?
27:45This is probably my grandmother's.
27:46This is your grandmother's?
27:47Yes.
27:47These are my grandmother's, yeah.
27:49The Fitzallan Howards sat in the House of Lords for centuries.
27:52These robes have seen history being made.
27:57But they would have had this for the opening of parliament or any, any state occasion.
28:00Any state occasion, yes.
28:01Yes.
28:02I mean, this, this is a magnificent archive.
28:04Isn't it?
28:04I think these are incredible.
28:07Ah.
28:07And then we've got some military jackets.
28:10So, this will be, must be your dad's, because this is a guard's tunic.
28:14Will be my dad.
28:15Yeah, he was in the Grenadier Guards.
28:16Well, they're made.
28:17And actually, this was early.
28:18This would have been when he first commissioned, because we've got one pit there.
28:21So, that's when he would have been commissioned as a second lieutenant.
28:25Gerald's dad, Miles Fitzallan Howard, was a war hero.
28:29He was awarded the Military Cross in 1943 for risking his life defusing German mines
28:36during the liberation of Europe.
28:38This jacket is probably worth a few hundred pounds at auction.
28:42But associated with a famous soldier, the sky's the limit.
28:47The question is, do they want to get rid of them?
28:49I'll do some research in terms of price, but there'll be lots of people interested.
28:53It's... I don't want to sell it, but it'd be nice to just say.
28:55Yeah.
28:56Yeah.
28:56So, they're not for sale.
28:58But for military history notes like Angus, they could attract visitors to the new wine cellars.
29:04Maybe utilise their potential somehow in terms of your wanting to get them out and displayed or
29:10something.
29:10But they're fantastic, aren't they?
29:11And they are totally wasted sitting in these.
29:14A rather nice mirror there.
29:17Yes, I know.
29:18You keep working our way down here.
29:20You just spot more things just piled up.
29:22A lovely gilt mirror.
29:24I'm going to have to dig it out, but that looks...
29:26That looks like it's got some good age to it.
29:28The mirror is 19th century, possibly French.
29:32It's a pine frame with gesso and gilt to give the illusion of being gold.
29:37It's highly regarded by dealers and collectors.
29:40And now, it's up for sale.
29:43I've got to ask, what's this huge picture?
29:45I can't remember, Angus.
29:47I have absolutely no idea.
29:49You need to get to it.
29:51I cannot see what it is.
29:53It's a portrait, I think.
29:54It's a portrait.
29:55Yes, it is a portrait.
29:56It's on its side.
29:57Ah!
29:57It's sideways on.
29:59So, it's up that way.
30:00Yes.
30:01Bloody enormous, but it that way.
30:03Yes, it's a giant portrait.
30:04I think it's very dark of a lady.
30:08Almost looks like a nun.
30:10A nun?
30:10Oh, I think I remember which one.
30:12Yes, it's...
30:12Yeah.
30:13Portraits do sell, though.
30:14Yes, they do.
30:15Yes.
30:15Amazing.
30:16Even of nuns?
30:18Yeah.
30:18Yeah.
30:18I'll have another one.
30:20OK, be honest here.
30:20When was the last time you sold a portrait of a nun?
30:23They're quite rare.
30:24When did you last sell one?
30:26They're quite rare.
30:27You never have, have you?
30:29Not of a nun, no.
30:30You've never thought of a portrait of a nun.
30:31But I like a challenge.
30:32OK, OK.
30:33The Fitz-alan Howards are probably the UK's most important Catholic family.
30:40This portrait could fetch £2,000.
30:44What's that?
30:45Look at this little waistcoat.
30:46What do you reckon that is?
30:48Well, that's got some age for that.
30:50Or maybe do you think that's...
30:51Ah, so this is private livery.
30:54So that's quite nice.
30:54That would have been...
30:55Is that in Fortman?
30:56Quite possibly, yeah.
30:57That's in Fortman.
30:59God, how smart.
31:01Late Victorian period, time the house was sort of built,
31:04and all your house staff would have been in full matching livery,
31:09like a uniform, basically, a private uniform for your staff.
31:13I mean, this is very, you know, days gone by.
31:15And, of course, once we got into the 20th century,
31:17we start to see that upstairs, downstairs, if you like,
31:21and associated with these houses, start to disappear and diminish.
31:24Footman's jacket from a great house like this,
31:27I think there'll be lots of interest in it.
31:28Really?
31:29Especially of all its original buttons,
31:30cos you get people who collect just buttons.
31:33Just buttons?
31:34Yeah, buttons.
31:34Then they wouldn't want to take that away from that, would they?
31:36No, they wouldn't take them off.
31:37No, but if one...
31:38Yeah.
31:39Another unique lot for Angus's country house auction.
31:43And more cash to pay for the house's new wine cellar.
31:46Wonderful. Right, I think I know the task.
31:49We're going to have a sort out,
31:50and I'll get you some more information on some of the bits.
31:52Come back to you with that and see what we can do.
31:58It's a shame to be going home.
32:00I've had a fantastic time with Gerald and Emma, you know.
32:04It's incredible to see how these estates run,
32:07and they've got to be commercial.
32:08They've got to be successful, otherwise they'll disappear.
32:11You know, they can't upkeep them.
32:13So, the challenges with that,
32:16seeing their vision going forward
32:17and their future plans commercially,
32:19it's exciting times.
32:24Well, it's been an absolutely fabulous weekend.
32:28It's been a real pleasure.
32:29It's been lovely.
32:30Oh, thank you. It's really amazing.
32:31It's really you came to say.
32:32So, so, so lovely to meet you.
32:34It's wonderful.
32:35Well, I'll get the lads across from a van,
32:36we'll get those bits gathered up,
32:37then you're happy to go,
32:38and we'll do the best we can at auction for you.
32:40OK, and we'll see you.
32:41Wonderful. Thank you.
32:42Brilliant. Thank you.
32:43Bye-bye. Take care. Bye-bye.
32:47He definitely helped us sieve the cellar.
32:52I'm not saying we've completely emptied it,
32:55but what he's taken away,
32:57I think they're worthy items to be put in an auction,
33:00because, quite frankly, we don't need them.
33:03When Angus lands in his auction house,
33:05the real work begins,
33:07cataloguing and listing his finds.
33:10Every pound raised will go towards the revamped cellars.
33:26Down in the cellars of Carlton Towers,
33:29Lord Gerald and Lady Emma are making progress.
33:32It's just four weeks since Angus's visit.
33:36I'm going to skip this, yeah?
33:37Yeah.
33:37Right, off I go.
33:38Off you go.
33:39OK.
33:39Yeah, fine.
33:41Is that all you can manage?
33:42Yes.
33:43Can I make a pile here?
33:44If they can clear these cellars,
33:46they plan to have a space for wine tasting
33:48in the basement of this grand stately home.
33:50This was the foundations of the medieval house,
33:53so it was the old kitchens,
33:55so it should be lovely to get it back, you know,
33:58into some sort of use again.
33:59Angus has already had a good rummage
34:01and taken what he thinks might sell at auction
34:04to add to the renovation fund.
34:06Here, do you want to take that?
34:07Oh, goodness.
34:08It's cravier than you think.
34:09Exactly.
34:10It's over-exciting and, I think, important.
34:15What's this?
34:17What the hell's this?
34:19It's a sail.
34:20But they...
34:21It's a sail.
34:22But where's the boat?
34:24Yes.
34:27OK.
34:28Just because it's old doesn't mean it's important.
34:32I think Emma says that to me sometimes.
34:33Or have I got that wrong?
34:34Yeah, something like that.
34:36Yeah, it's never any, isn't it?
34:38But having said that,
34:39it's way better than it was a month ago.
34:42I think we've made some real progress.
34:44Which is good news,
34:45because it's sale day at the auction house.
34:48All done, all finished, then, at 440.
34:51Once every few months,
34:53Angus holds a special country house sale,
34:56attracting customers from all over the world.
34:58The atmosphere's great.
34:59I mean, the room is packed.
35:00It's one of the busiest I've ever seen it.
35:02And that's because everybody wants to come and see
35:04what's out of the country houses.
35:05At £300, I bid for it.
35:07Thank you at £300, £320, £340...
35:09A couple of bits, I think, might be a bit of a struggle,
35:11but there's a few nice bits.
35:12I like the livery uniforms.
35:14That gilt mirror's quite nice.
35:15Gesso's all there, more or less.
35:17I know there's a bit of work to do,
35:18but original plate.
35:20And, you know, we've even got Lord Gerald's train set.
35:23So we want to get a good price for that.
35:25But first up are the curtains, made in 1871.
35:29There we are, the original curtains from the stateroom, 1871.
35:33It's the sort of thing that could fly or do nothing.
35:35Start this lot at £620.
35:38At £620.
35:40Luckily, it's the four-man.
35:40At £620 now.
35:41Yes.
35:41At £620 for them.
35:43And we're in the market.
35:44It's the first and only bid, then at £620 for them,
35:46but we can sell.
35:47Are you all sure?
35:47No, I'm glad about that.
35:48If you don't mistake it, then, we're selling, then, at £620.
35:52£620.
35:52That's good.
35:52That's a lot of cash for some long-forgotten items from the cellar.
35:57I love this.
35:58The footman's delivery.
36:00We can start the lot at £300.
36:02At £320, thank you.
36:03Just in time.
36:04£320, thank you.
36:04£400.
36:05At £400.
36:06And there's some bed and breakfast around here,
36:08which you could do with a butler.
36:09Don't mistake it, then, at £400.
36:11At £400.
36:12Pounds.
36:13Two lots in,
36:14and Carlton Towers has already cleared £1,000.
36:17But will the mysterious nun break its money-making habit?
36:21A fine portrait of the Benedictine nun.
36:23Who wants a nun?
36:25And we can start it at £700.
36:28At £700, thank you, at £700.
36:30Think of what you save on wallpaper.
36:32Sadly, the nun failed to reach its reserve,
36:35and Angus has a confession.
36:37We always mean that it's going to be a struggle.
36:39Nunes aren't the best subject, to be fair.
36:41Great thing, but you never know.
36:43Get an after-sale, maybe.
36:46The Gesso Mirror is next.
36:49It's a good thing, the mirror.
36:50£1,000, thank you.
36:51£1,000, £1,000, £1,000, £1,000, £1,000.
36:53Again, in the long gallery, just under a pile of stuff.
36:56I'm surprised it's still intact, actually.
36:58At £160, now.
36:59At £160, £1,000, £1,000.
37:01At £1,000, £1,000, £1,000, £1,000.
37:02New bidder.
37:02£1,000, £1,000, £1,000, £1,000.
37:04Now, at £200, at £2,000.
37:06At £2,000, it is.
37:07At £2,000 in the room.
37:08Against you online.
37:09At £210, £2,000, £2,000, £2,000, £2,000, £2,000.
37:11240 250 good to 60 to 70 no at 260 pounds now at 260 pounds
37:19160 pounds thank you to that price good the cash is rolling in Lord Gerald's toys are up for sale
37:27next there we are the fantastic collection here of trains oh these are his trains yeah and we can
37:36start the lot at 110 pounds this is his childhood huge collection at 110 now 120. all right we do
37:43really well with model railway model market toy market's really strong we're way over top
37:48finish then at 130 the gavel rising then at 130 130 pounds thank you and finally the tailor's
37:56dummy fetches a respectable 70 pounds all but one item from Carlton Towers has sold the junk from
38:03the sellers will soon be helping to finance a new era under the floorboards I think overall
38:09it's been okay but most importantly it's cleared that space out the seller so they can utilize that
38:14into something that's going to help generate money to preserve the house it's midsummer at the towers
38:20and the grapes are ripening in the vineyard have you have you fed the dogs Emma Gerald and their
38:28Labradors Ronnie and Fonz are expecting a visitor Angus is on his way to reveal the results of the
38:34auction I'm dying to hear what what they sold what they sold and what we've sold more to the point and
38:40so we've managed to clear the seller dig the big big nun cell I don't know we'll find out
38:47it is a stunning house I mean it's just that tower it's huge isn't it anyway we're not here to look
38:55at the grunge of the house we're looking here to look at the cellars and see how they're progressing
38:59with their wine tasting rooms yeah interesting to see what they've got done we've got some some
39:07proceeds from the sale that's gonna help I mean it looks like a vineyard it just looked like a
39:29little twiggy place before didn't it obviously we've had the auction so yeah so you so we don't
39:36really know the results do you know yeah I've I wanted you to okay tell us we nearly had a full
39:43sellout there's a few bits didn't get away a couple of bad heads yeah yeah the nun I mean the nuns are
39:50quite niche the nuns are niche yeah so we still got them yeah I've still got the nun oh I'm back
39:55no no no no we don't want the nun back I nearly did find a buyer the other day put the nun in the
40:01cellar I'm not having the nun in the cellar yeah I think she's meant to be in the cellar well I mean
40:06the good news is you know we're just short of 3,000 to go towards the project that's fantastic yeah
40:112,950 pounds to be precise all going to the transformation of the wine cellar probably the big
40:19ticket item was that was the curtains yeah interesting yes they go for 620 that's not
40:25bad considering they had a lot of holes in them yeah they were sitting rotting in the cellar that
40:29is a really happy story actually see where we should have kept those it's clear Gerald is a hoarder at
40:39heart the tailors dummy them at the mannequin that went so you don't care about that so we can sell
40:48your own better head down to the cellars before this turns into a domestic okay so and this was
40:59very excited in fact Gerald and Emma have already spent the money good thing the cellar looks great
41:06I love it it is fantastic if you think of the junk if you think what it was that was here and that
41:12you have brilliantly helped us get the shield yes we should actually I put a nail up so we could try
41:17and we cleaned it out well Kevin cleaned it up he's done a good job of it we've had that tucked away
41:23exactly I actually love the fact that you've got sort of part brick part plaster the floor the break
41:30the flagstones it just adds to the character and that's absolutely you know you pay a lot of money
41:35to do of a studio like this and it's actually here well and during the clearance of the cellar there's
41:41been an amazing discovery we found a secret tunnel no yeah and love a secret tunnel we win this really
41:50is a proper tunnel tunnel oh this is I mean that's a proper bricked arch chamber isn't it it's quite
41:59freaky it may have been used as an escape route for persecuted Catholic priests fleeing the house
42:05during the reign of Henry VIII there was always this rumor there was a there was a tunnel a secret
42:10tunnel all the way to Selby or something from here to Selby yes and my father said no my father
42:15that's complete baloney it's all they mean is there was a secret way you could get to the Abbey at Selby
42:19I get around down that hedgerow not that one because a farmer that farmer's friendly that
42:25farmers not but not a time to say but actually there is a tunnel Angus's visit coincided with
42:32the discovery of a forgotten chapter in the house's dramatic history each generation in you know states
42:38and houses like this adds their mark so to speak do you think you're going to be known for the wine I
42:44mean it's I think definitely and I ain't ever my father would be absolutely amazed that we've got a
42:51vineyard in the wall garden here but come down here in the winter and and just snuggle down
42:57or cold winters evening there probably is a fireplace somewhere yeah well we took a chimney bit well
43:06here's here's to the future of Carlton Towers cheers Angus's mission is complete his quest to
43:16help save Yorkshire's country houses continues
43:46you
43:48you
43:49you
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