- 6 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00The green, rolling landscapes of Great Britain are home to the jewels in the country's rich heritage.
00:14Our country houses.
00:20Celebrated across the world for their design and decoration.
00:24Their crowns and gardens.
00:34And their centuries of history.
00:41There was a time when owning a grand country house meant a great deal.
00:46These estates were the keys to fortune and power.
00:50But today's country house owners live in a very different world.
00:55The sound of petrol!
00:57No, no, no, wrong way!
00:59These houses are still the grandest in the land.
01:02This is Oliver Cromwell's room.
01:04But the challenge of keeping them in one piece has never been greater.
01:08Spiral of decay, I don't like the sound of that.
01:10Ballpark figures, 350,000.
01:12Gulp.
01:14Gotta get these lights fixed.
01:15Today's owners are becoming ever more imaginative.
01:18Bon appetit.
01:20They're finding ways.
01:22I'm literally ankle deep right now.
01:24To keep the money coming in.
01:26These estates aren't designed to make money, they're designed to eat money.
01:29To keep the ceiling from falling down.
01:32And I turn the corner into here.
01:34Oh my goodness.
01:36We are collecting leaks, as you can see.
01:38And stop their fears becoming a reality.
01:41I think of all the ancestors going back 900 years.
01:44If we fail, it's on our watch.
01:47Of course, being to the manor born has always been a privilege.
01:52But today's owners face challenges as never before.
01:56So, they're rolling up their sleeves and putting their heart and soul into brave new ventures.
02:02The question is, how do you save a country house and see it prosper in the modern world?
02:08THE END
02:31Last time, we heard the remarkable story of Rowena Coulthirst and James Nason,
02:36who, after years of hoping, managed to buy back the Tudor manor house
02:41that Rowena's parents had been forced to sell.
02:44But now, these proud owners not only have the mammoth task
02:49of restoring its endless, dilapidated rooms,
02:52but they've discovered that even the ground beneath their feet
02:56is in desperate need of attention.
02:58In the county of Shropshire, five miles south of Shrewsbury,
03:06we're paying another visit to Pitchford Hall and its passionate owners.
03:13Let me turn the lights on.
03:17You'll get a sense.
03:19Yeah, so this is the drawing room.
03:22I've always thought this was one of the most lovely rooms.
03:25Obviously, it's got this incredible bay window,
03:27looking out onto the ancient parkland.
03:31Across five different centuries,
03:34this celebrated half-timbered house was part of Rowena's family history.
03:39But that all changed in 1992,
03:43when Rowena's parents fell into financial difficulties
03:46and were forced to sell the house.
03:49Having successfully bought the family seat once more,
03:53Rowena and James are on a mission
03:54to address 25 years of neglect.
04:00Right now, though,
04:02collapsed ceilings are taking a back seat,
04:05whilst James gets to grips with something even more concerning.
04:10An outbreak of sinkholes.
04:13We've clearly got a problem.
04:14And the issue for us is we do events on the lawn.
04:20We do weddings, we do guided tours.
04:23So when you find you've got two sinkholes in a major part of the grounds,
04:28clearly we've got a pretty big issue.
04:30The cause of the sinkholes clearly lies below ground level,
04:36with one unusual feature likely to be the culprit.
04:39The tunnel is just here.
04:45I think it crosses the stone steps and the tunnel comes here.
04:51I'll stay away from it, obviously.
04:54And the sinkholes are here.
04:56So the bottom of the tunnel is probably about 3 meters, 3.5 meters below,
05:02below where, pretty well where we are now.
05:07There are, in fact, a whole network of tunnels running beneath the grounds of Pitchford Hall.
05:12They connect the old fishing pond on one side of the house with the local brook on the other.
05:31The challenge now is to understand how the tunnels and the sinkholes are related,
05:36and just how serious an issue this really is for Pitchford's owners.
05:42Are the problems just located in this kind of five or six meters,
05:46or have we got problems throughout the whole tunnel system?
05:50So we need to work that out.
05:53On site today is heritage building surveyor Corey Lane,
05:58who knows there's only one way to discover the subterranean secrets.
06:03We're going to make entry shortly into the culvert through the entrance here,
06:07and have a look at what's going on with the defects,
06:11where they're occurring, and then try and map them to what we're seeing above ground afterwards.
06:15This already feels like a task that will have a hefty price tag attached.
06:20I think it's going to be quite expensive.
06:24The tunnel is invisible to almost everyone.
06:29I'd rather focus on the visible, the house, the orange tree,
06:34and the tunnel is something I kind of hoped I didn't have to restore,
06:38but that's clearly not the case.
06:45Okay.
06:48So we're in now, about two meters into the culvert.
06:56He won't get me down that tunnel,
06:58so good for Corey that he's happy to do it.
07:01Get in a little bit further.
07:05You feel comfortable.
07:07It's somewhat confined.
07:09A huge admiration, because I'm claustrophobic,
07:13so the thought of being in an enclosed space is not an attractive thought for me.
07:18But one man's phobia is another man's fascination.
07:24It's always interesting when you come into these environments,
07:26because you're seeing something that people just don't get to see.
07:29You're still seeing the craftsmanship and the workmanship of the guys that built it three,
07:33four hundred years ago, so it's lovely to see.
07:37Corey, what do you think about ten, are you ten meters in?
07:42We've got a change in construction.
07:43We've gone from a brick-formed, piped culvert, circular in appearance,
07:51to what we call a boxed arch culvert, which is made using limestone.
08:00This is handmade.
08:01It isn't a concrete pipe that's just craned into position.
08:04For me personally, it's a real privilege to see.
08:07How old do you think each section of the tunnel is?
08:11It is.
08:12I think that this possibly late 1700s.
08:16Yeah.
08:17I believe.
08:19No one is quite sure when or why these tunnels were first built.
08:2417 meters.
08:26You have the large, the obstruction.
08:29They may have helped drain the pond after heavy rainfall.
08:34They may even be the remnants of an old moat that once wrapped around Pitchford Hall.
08:39We're lacking research because the house was shut up for 25 years.
08:44There's been no research, there's been no surveying being done.
08:47So, you know, this is an opportunity for experts like Corey
08:51to really get a sense of the history of the building
08:53and all the structures around the building and how it operated.
08:56No one, you know, obviously knows why we've got this tunnel here.
09:01It's piecing that jigsaw together.
09:06How far are you at the moment?
09:08Um, we're at 24 meters at the moment.
09:1124 meters.
09:12Wow.
09:13We've seen a lot of structural movement within the chamber itself at this point.
09:16We've got on the north wall, we've got a two-meter section
09:20where the stonework is completely missing.
09:22Yeah.
09:23And that is the cause of the sinkhole.
09:26That's enabled the water to then rush in, wash the ground out,
09:30which has caused your original sinkhole.
09:31It's percolating through to the rear of the structure
09:34and it's just, it's a spiral of decay.
09:37Spiral of decay, I don't like the sound of that.
09:40Corrie, it's sounding like quite an expensive job.
09:45I'll be able to discuss that in greater detail
09:48when I'm out of here and more comfortable with a cup of tea.
09:52And you want me sitting down on a sofa, do you?
10:00An hour later, with Corrie out of the tunnel
10:03and a reassuring cuppa to hand,
10:06James braces himself for the verdict.
10:09So there are significant issues here.
10:15We've got localised defects all the way through the culvert.
10:19However, the real problems occur between 19.6 metres to 29 metres.
10:25This section of wall here is completely undercut.
10:30Wow.
10:31Points of reference, I put my arm inside,
10:33you know, 500 millimetres underneath the masonry
10:37and that's how much it's been undercut in the road.
10:39Yeah.
10:40We've got obstructions to the flow of water
10:43and these are in the form of huge pieces of stone
10:48that have been displaced from upstream.
10:50We've got a huge section, a five metre section of wall
10:55and it's literally just dropped.
10:57There's water completely free flowing underneath
11:00and that's what's caused the structural cracking at 16 metres.
11:03The whole of the culvert from 16 metres
11:06is starting to rotate and move downwards.
11:10There's a lot of red.
11:11There's a lot of red on Corrie's diagram.
11:14There's no sugar coating, is there?
11:16I mean, yeah, it sounds pretty bad.
11:19Looking for a silver lining,
11:21but I'm not sure that's coming.
11:25At this stage, does any figure enter your mind?
11:29Well, I would say that the repairs that we're looking at
11:32in the first 30 metres are significant
11:35and obviously huge financial...
11:38Yeah, sure, sure.
11:39It costs us a real...
11:40Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands?
11:42Tens.
11:44OK.
11:45Do you sometimes wish that you had a modern house?
11:48No.
11:49No.
11:50No, not for a second.
11:51I absolutely love this place.
11:52But, you know, it does throw up challenges
11:55and this is just a classic challenge
11:57that, you know, we didn't expect to be dealing with.
12:16In times gone by,
12:18owning a country house and its estate
12:20would often go hand in hand
12:22with an hereditary title.
12:24Dukes and duchesses, barons and baronesses,
12:28the stories of these historic titles
12:31and the characters who have held them
12:33can be just as fascinating as their wonderful homes.
12:37There are still 800 hereditary peers in Britain,
12:41one of whom owns a house
12:43we're visiting for the first time today.
12:48We're heading to England's glorious southwest
12:51and the rolling hills of Dorset.
12:54The backdrop to Mapperton House.
13:01Mapperton, once voted Britain's finest manor house,
13:05is the beautiful home of the 12th Earl of Sandwich,
13:09whose title stretches back to 1660.
13:12But amid this timeless snapshot of English heritage
13:19is the less traditional lady of the house.
13:22Okay, so the cat has just come in.
13:24The cat is not allowed in this part of the house
13:27when we're open to the public.
13:29And we're about to start house tours.
13:31So,
13:32I've got to try and find the cat.
13:35Yep, I found the cat.
13:36Okay, so,
13:37I am Julie Montague.
13:40Do you want me to say the rest of it?
13:44Good.
13:47Countess of Sandwich.
13:49Come on.
13:50Come on, Stormy.
13:51Come on.
13:52Okay.
13:52No.
13:53Okay.
13:53That's not going to work.
13:54Okay.
13:55There it goes.
13:56I'm American,
13:57and the US does not recognize titles.
14:00I mean, unless you're like a doctor.
14:02Come on, Stormy.
14:03So, for me having the title Countess of Sandwich,
14:06I mean, it's a real British thing.
14:08Okay, wait.
14:09No one would say to me Lady Sandwich
14:12just because I've asked them all to call me Julie.
14:15I'm American.
14:16That's my name.
14:17Julie.
14:18Okay, I'm just going to put him out the front door.
14:21Julie Montague was born and raised near Chicago,
14:24but was working in London when she met her future husband.
14:28Okay.
14:29I know.
14:30I know.
14:31Don't get mad at me.
14:32We'll see you on the other side of the house.
14:33Come on.
14:34Go out and play.
14:35There you go.
14:36First time I came to Mapperton,
14:38I had been dating my now husband, Luke.
14:41This one's quite smart.
14:42Yes, that is a smarter sword.
14:44Look out.
14:45Ooh.
14:46Okay.
14:47When I first entered into the house,
14:50I was shocked, really,
14:53by the amount of ancestors
14:56that were hanging on the walls.
15:00And so you kind of have to get your head around that,
15:03that every room you go into, they're looking at you.
15:07Oh, my gosh.
15:08Look at how little they were.
15:09Does that even fit me?
15:10Look how big I am.
15:11No, look at...
15:12Does that even fit me?
15:13Yeah, it was for a child.
15:14No, it wasn't for a child.
15:15It was just for a...
15:16Yeah.
15:17A small...
15:18It's got a...
15:19There, it does.
15:20There, there, there.
15:21It fits me perfectly, actually.
15:22Yeah, yeah.
15:23Everyone likes a good rummage, don't they,
15:24in the attic.
15:25This is the equivalent of that.
15:27Luke is part of the Montague family,
15:30descendants of a Norman knight
15:32and a fixture in the English aristocracy
15:34for almost a thousand years.
15:36And his family have lived at Mapperton
15:38for 70 years.
15:40So this is obviously where the cat was.
15:43It's the smartest room in the house.
15:45It's got some of the finer pictures as well,
15:48in particular this Joshua Reynolds
15:50of the fourth Earl of Sandwich
15:52in his peers' gowns,
15:54looking very dashing.
15:57As it happens,
15:59as first Lord of the Admiralty in the 1770s,
16:02the fourth Earl played a role
16:04in the formation of Julie's homeland.
16:07Some people suggest
16:09that it was the fourth Earl
16:10who insisted on our navy
16:13being more located towards Europe
16:16and we didn't have enough ships
16:18to stop those pesky colonies
16:20from declaring independence.
16:23Now that's quite a role in history,
16:26but some would argue
16:27the fourth Earl's real legacy
16:29came closer to home.
16:31The fourth Earl of Sandwich
16:33was a big gambler
16:35and he didn't want to get his cards greasy,
16:37so he asked his butler
16:39to put a piece of meat
16:42in between two slices of bread
16:44and everybody around the card table
16:46started to make a joke,
16:48like, what is that?
16:49Oh, it's a sandwich, right?
16:51That is one version of the story,
16:53but it was not the gambling table,
16:55but of course his commitment
16:57to his political life
17:00and his naval administration
17:02and all of those important letters
17:05and commissions and documents
17:07that he would be working on
17:08late into the night,
17:10which must not get smudged
17:12by picking up a slice of meat
17:14and therefore he needed two slices of bread
17:16to avoid that from happening.
17:19Whichever story you prefer,
17:21the fourth Earl's great gift to the world
17:23is quite the money spinner
17:25in his descendants' cafe.
17:27Can I get a beef sandwich?
17:29Oh, beef sandwich.
17:30Are you aware that the fourth Earl
17:32is actually a creator of the sandwich?
17:33I did not.
17:34That is his original beef sandwich.
17:36Oh, wow.
17:37I did not consume.
17:38Right, okay, cool.
17:39That would be nice.
17:40Yeah, enjoy.
17:41Well, you're eating
17:42a beef sandwich aren't you?
17:43Yeah, hopefully he's not going
17:44to sell by taste for all of you as well.
17:49And it turns out that our favourite lunch
17:51could have had a very different name.
17:54A sandwich wasn't always going to be a sandwich.
17:58It might have been a Portsmouth
18:00and that is because the first Earl of Sandwich
18:03might easily have chosen the title
18:06Earl of Portsmouth instead of Earl of Sandwich.
18:09So, here we go.
18:11And actually, we've gone even further
18:13because not only do we have the beef
18:15and the horseradish,
18:16but we've got some green leaves as well.
18:18Yeah, nice.
18:19But look at that lovely chunk of beef.
18:20I'm going to have a little bite.
18:21Is it lunchtime?
18:22It's getting close, isn't it?
18:23Not really, but sure.
18:25It's lunchtime somewhere.
18:27The Montague family moved to Mapperton in 1955,
18:42controlling an estate that stretches
18:44for almost 2,000 acres,
18:50covering farmland,
18:54woodland,
18:56and a new rewilding project.
19:02But along with the house,
19:04Mapperton's most treasured element is its gardens.
19:08Laid out a century ago,
19:10the gardens were well established
19:12by the time the Montagues moved in
19:14and are now essential to the success of the whole estate.
19:19Mrs. Ethel Labasher bought the house in 1919.
19:24She was a widow.
19:26And immediately after moving in,
19:28she decided to create
19:30these wonderful Italianate formal gardens
19:32that you see here today.
19:34And it's in memory of her husband.
19:37So that's wonderful in the first place
19:39to know that these gardens were created
19:41out of love for somebody.
19:43And that's what's so wonderful about these gardens,
19:45in particular,
19:47is that there's this incredible story
19:49to share alongside what you see here today.
19:55For the past 40 years,
19:57the gardens have been lovingly managed
19:59by Julie's mother-in-law,
20:01Caroline,
20:02the Dowager Countess of Sandwich.
20:06This summer, though,
20:07Julie is set to take charge of the gardens,
20:10a decade after first taking up residence at Mapperton.
20:14Well, Julie, you're going to have a lovely time.
20:18How do you feel about the garden?
20:21Well, I feel I have big shoes to fill.
20:24I have been responsible for it for 40 years.
20:27I know it very well and I'm very fond of it.
20:30Now, if I look in this pergola,
20:33I know virtually every rose here and what it is, you know.
20:36We've replanted a huge amount.
20:39More or less all the shrubs have been replanted.
20:42It's absolutely wonderful and the atmosphere is terrific.
20:45The tranquillity is great.
20:47The peace is such as you don't get in the rest of the world.
20:51It's an absolutely wonderful garden.
20:57Since opening to the public in the 1960s,
21:00these gardens have become a vital source of income,
21:03despite being a long way from any city or motorway,
21:0715,000 paying visitors a year make the journey to see them.
21:11They are an essential part of the estate's income stream.
21:15And now the pressure is on Julie to keep this all going.
21:21Oh, I got to be honest with you.
21:24I don't really have an attachment to this garden yet.
21:30That's the one.
21:34Oh, yeah. There it goes. There it goes.
21:35Oh, it's brown.
21:36Whoops.
21:38It's always brown to begin with.
21:40Okay.
21:42I don't think I've ever seen that on before.
21:44It'll stop being brown quite soon.
21:46Yeah, it's really going brown.
21:49Coming into something like this,
21:52this historic house, these gorgeous gardens, the history.
22:00I've always been a little bit worried about everything that I've done here.
22:04Oh, there. There we go.
22:06Let's get this one.
22:07Okay. Okay. Yeah, let's get them going.
22:09Because I don't have the same knowledge as far as British history goes.
22:15Do you want me to try this one?
22:16Yes, why don't you try one?
22:17Okay. And so you kind of tiptoe and you're a bit nervous and timid to even make a suggestion.
22:26So which tap is it? There's two. Okay, I got it. I got it. I got it.
22:29Well done. We've got it.
22:31Oh, did I get it?
22:32Yep.
22:33Is it brown?
22:34Yes.
22:35I mean, the thing about the garden, Julie, as we all know,
22:37is it's the thing that draws people to Mapperton.
22:39They come here more for the garden, much more than they do for the house.
22:44Absolutely.
22:45And we have to keep the standards up because if we don't, we'll lose the visitors.
22:48As the collapsing tunnel at Pitchford Hall demonstrates, one of the challenges of country house ownership is to identify what the problems actually are.
23:11The improvements and additions made by many generations of family owners can easily obscure what's going on.
23:18But there is one thing in plain sight that all country house owners are understandably obsessed with.
23:27Their roof. Or indeed, their roofs.
23:30We're returning to County Durham, where a small Norman fortress has grown and grown into the most imposing of all our houses.
23:43And as Bradspeth Castle has expanded, so too has its now enormous roof.
23:51Come out onto the old medieval roof here.
23:58The origins of the castle date back to about 1138, when it was owned by the de Bulma family.
24:05So, there must have been something here before the stone castle was built,
24:09because the honour of Bradspeth was given to one of William's barons at the time of the Norman invasion in 1066.
24:18I'll just do a little bit more inspection.
24:20Richard is part of the extended Dobson family.
24:24Owners of a castle that has witnessed almost a thousand years of development by multiple occupants.
24:31Out here we're standing on top of what would have been the three medieval towers of the castle,
24:37with the Bulma tower over there to my right, the Neville tower over there to my left,
24:43and the one we're standing on here is the link tower that joins the two together that was added in 1390 when these three towers were built.
24:53To the north and east, however, the majority of Bradspeth was built as recently as just 200 years ago.
25:02Across the medieval period, the castle went through a series of mixed owners and eventually it got sold to a banker,
25:09who was a coal baron, William Russell, and his son, Matthew Russell, developed the castle as a regency stately home.
25:18And so in the old corner of the medieval castle that runs along here and up here, he built his stately home.
25:27So this stonework here is 1820 stonework, as opposed to the stonework we see behind us, which is the 1390 stonework.
25:39The 1820 stonework, to reinforce the stonework, they put in iron cramps to hold the stones together.
25:47And what happens, of course, is moisture gets into the stonework and causes the iron to rust.
25:54And you can see here there's an iron fitting that was put in and it's expanded.
25:59Essentially it's cracking the stonework.
26:01We don't have that problem in the medieval stonework.
26:03No, that's all not a problem.
26:06From medieval fortress to rich man's fantasy home, Branspeth has been on quite a journey.
26:15So one of the key things of maintaining a castle is making sure the gutters are clear,
26:21so the water that runs off the roof goes outside of the castle and doesn't go into the castle.
26:28And you can see here there's quite a lot of build-up of stuff down here.
26:35So, clear this stuff out.
26:41Do a quick check.
26:46And over it goes.
26:48Really shouldn't do that.
26:49Back down at ground level, however, the family are preparing for their most unusual annual event.
27:00This weekend, the castle will be thrown open to the public and come alive with myths and legends.
27:08Johnny, do you want to take the corner and keep walking with it?
27:10Someone tall in the middle.
27:11The next few days is Dragon Quest.
27:14We've only done this event a couple of times before,
27:17and so we're very much figuring out how to do it.
27:20And it's the first time we've done it in summer.
27:24It's like two, three pounds a head and then there's some more things to do.
27:28Not at this point.
27:29I don't know if it will become a big cash income.
27:32Coordinating the event is Richard's daughter, Claire,
27:35who will be pulling in help from everyone and anyone.
27:40Shall I take him up, Dad?
27:41Yeah, yeah.
27:42Including her father.
27:43This is where our main dragon storage is.
27:46Rather handily, Branspeth has a ready supply of dragons,
27:50thanks to the University of Durham.
27:55The English department put together an exhibition here at the castle
27:58based on the legends of dragons in the North East.
28:01We wanted to create an event that was good for families
28:05and the dragon seemed an excellent opportunity for that.
28:08If those are the swords, if we wanted to do that,
28:10that's not coming up.
28:11They're a really important aspect of the money coming in for the castle.
28:15We are organising it and all the profit is profit.
28:26Good to take the front, thank you.
28:28I can take the tail.
28:30Off we go.
28:35It's good family fun to come and meet the dragons,
28:38learn about the stories, the folklore of the North East
28:42and how dragons have played their part in our history.
28:46But not all dragons are created equally.
28:50The star of the show is the Lampton dragon.
28:53OK.
28:54Right, so let's take bits of Lampton out.
28:58Take bits of Lampton out.
28:59And it comes in three sections
29:02and requires some careful handling.
29:05Do you want to go your way or you go...?
29:07I think he's light enough that I can take that bit.
29:09Can you take that little rope? OK.
29:10Just while I turn.
29:11Am I safe turning?
29:12Yeah, yeah.
29:13I can't really see very much.
29:15The local legend is that of the Lampton worm,
29:18a worm that grows into a dragon-like creature
29:21that terrorises the area
29:23until it is slain by a knight returning from the Crusades.
29:28I can't see where I'm going.
29:29Don't crash into those angels.
29:31We'll get them all up, then we'll tie them all together
29:33and remember how he works.
29:34Ooh!
29:35He's a bit like a sail in the wind, though.
29:38Tasked with turning violent legend into family entertainment
29:43is a long-term castle resident and drama teacher, Martin Peacock.
29:48It's called the Lampton worm
29:50and it requires three people to manipulate it,
29:52one holding the head with a pole,
29:55the other in the middle with claws kind of sat on their shoulders
29:59and someone holding the tail.
30:01Could you give a hand with Katie with lifting at her point?
30:04But being rather short on puppeteering practice,
30:08Claire, Martin and their helpers
30:10now have just a few hours to get their dragon under control
30:13in time for a group of paying guests.
30:16I'm not in control of that.
30:18It's the head and the tail that control that.
30:25Don't go too tight around the corner, please.
30:28Don't go too tight around the corner.
30:31OK.
30:32That looks a lot better already, actually,
30:34because you've got a bit more of a...
30:36What? Does that work?
30:37Snape-like.
30:38Yeah.
30:39Or is that not stable?
30:40Wielding a dragon in perfect unison is as hard as it sounds
30:44and with just hours to go until the public arrives,
30:47let's hope the team get a firmer grip on their puppet.
30:51We will make it work.
30:53I still haven't quite worked out my piece.
30:55As long as nobody falls over.
30:57Now, I've been involved in a great many rehearsals,
31:02but I have to say the preparations for Dragon Quest
31:06are something entirely new to me.
31:08Back down in Shropshire, work going on at Pitchford Hall
31:12is rather less fun and likely to prove somewhat expensive.
31:16But assessing a collapsing tunnel is also revealing aspects
31:21of the building that are not only hidden from sight,
31:25but also full of mystery.
31:30The tunnel in question connects the local brook
31:33with a pond on the far side of Pitchford's stable yard.
31:36House owner James Nason and building surveyor Corey Lane
31:40have discovered more than they imagined.
31:43We're actually following the line of the tunnel.
31:46What we've done recently is scrape back
31:48with a JCB's Sum of the Earth.
31:50So you see this stone arch
31:53and what we've done is just taken out a few bricks
31:55and I think about 100 years ago it had been bricked up.
31:59It's going to go in and explore it.
32:01Hidden underground for generations,
32:05the new opening has revealed a chamber.
32:09If I go in first and I can ask you to drop down the floor
32:14and then as I step over, just hold on to that for me.
32:17There's a little bit of water trickling through.
32:20With water from the tunnel to fill it,
32:23James now believes that this chamber
32:25was once a very private bathing pool.
32:28I could almost imagine a Georgian gentleman
32:32sitting on here and having his, you know,
32:35going into his plunge pool.
32:37And the plunge pool would be here.
32:41Private pools became a feature of large houses
32:44in the 18th century as fashionable Georgians
32:47embraced the health benefits of cold water bathing.
32:51I've just noticed down here,
32:53a small piece of embedded iron work.
32:57Yeah.
32:58Which looks like it was a fixing for something.
32:59So whether this was part of the regulating water levels
33:03for the sluice.
33:04Yeah.
33:05I think there's no denying it's, you know,
33:07it's a plunge of some description that was decorated
33:11to enhance the experience of taking in the waters here.
33:15What I love about it,
33:17we've got this big conch shell.
33:20And, Corrie, it looks like we've got...
33:23Quartz.
33:24Almost quartz, isn't it?
33:25It is, it is.
33:26Someone has decided, you know,
33:29to decorate certainly this wall.
33:32And then obviously we've got, you know,
33:34the tunnel coming under the stable yard here.
33:38And then going out this way.
33:41There's a structure, it's just fantastic.
33:46And the fact that there's so much evidence of surface finish on here,
33:51as we can see here, you know, it's been line washed over.
33:56So imagine this being stark white with the shells.
33:59It would have been a really, really bright and light, airy environment
34:03for you to come and sit and take in the waters.
34:07That's what really intrigues me,
34:09the thought of a Georgian family who lived in Pitchford,
34:13you know, coming into this underground plunge.
34:16It's obviously a fashion for cold water swimming at the moment.
34:19You know, 200 years ago, guess what?
34:22They were cold water swimming.
34:25But I would love to actually restore this
34:27to what it was originally in the 1820s or 1830s.
34:32Because when people come on guided tours to Pitchford,
34:34I'd actually like to show them, you know,
34:37what it was originally used for.
34:38Wouldn't it be wonderful for people to see, you know,
34:41how the Georgians, you know, relaxed and enjoyed themselves
34:45all those years ago?
34:48It's just a wonderful building.
34:50I think it needs restoring.
35:04Just outside Durham at Bransmouth Castle...
35:07Have an official-looking T-shirt.
35:09Oh, lovely.
35:10Claire and her family are putting the finishing touches
35:13to a unique annual event.
35:15Are we ready?
35:16Yeah.
35:17Show us on road.
35:19Right.
35:20Today, the castle will be back at the heart of the community,
35:24as it has been for the best part of 1,000 years.
35:29What's more, the theme couldn't be more local.
35:33Good morning.
35:34Welcome to our castle.
35:36Here is your dragon quest form.
35:38You look ready to become a dragon master.
35:42Bransmouth is the perfect medieval backdrop for Dragon Quest,
35:46which celebrates local legends of heroic knights who slayed dragons.
35:52That's the 14th century Great Helm, early 14th century.
35:55And inside it's showtime.
36:00And warming up the crowd for the lantern dragon are Claire's mum, Alison,
36:05who has lived at Bransmouth since her family bought it in the late 1970s,
36:09and resident drama teacher, Martin.
36:12It's a great story.
36:14It's a great story.
36:15We've got this wonderfully huge dragon that is just visually impactful.
36:20So even if I'm rubbish, they'll go away remembering this great dragon.
36:26Backstage, though, one can't escape the feeling that Alison has drawn the short straw.
36:31I think I've got more brain when the blood goes down to my head, you know?
36:35I didn't know I was a puppeteer, but it seems like as long as no one can see me,
36:39I quite enjoy theatre.
36:40Our story is set a thousand years ago.
36:46It is part of Northeastern folklore.
36:49In the original story, there's a strange woman who actually is the witch of Bransmouth Castle.
36:58A role played today, quite terrifyingly, by Claire's husband, Mark.
37:03Ah ha ha ha ha!
37:06It sounds good. It sounds good.
37:09John Lambton, you will pay.
37:13Martin's telling of the Lambton story is keeping this dragon and Alison patiently waiting.
37:19Yeah, Martin tells her own story.
37:22He wanted to make amends for all the terrible...
37:24But eventually, the dragon's moment arrives.
37:27Come and fight me!
37:29And there she was!
37:32He protected himself from the firing dragon's grave!
37:37And he retreated!
37:40He fought again!
37:42There was a fight between John Lambton and the dragon,
37:45and he lures it into the River Weir,
37:47and he threw himself in!
37:50Come along, Wormy!
37:52Come in here and call her!
37:54The dragon left him!
37:56And the dragon circles him in the River Weir,
37:59tries to crush him to death, and John kills it.
38:01The dragon was washed away to meet its watery grave!
38:08With the dragon slain and the crowd cheering, it's a job well done for the Bransmith team.
38:14After the show, there's a chance for the audience to meet the stars, and Claire's happy with the day's work.
38:23I think we've proved that this event is successful, it is sustainable.
38:32Our numbers were quite good, although we probably could have had more people in.
38:38Have you completed the quest? You're now dragon master!
38:41Sure!
38:42All of this is just to keep the castle standing, keep it working, make sure there's a roof so that it doesn't leak.
38:48The money will very, very quickly be used for something.
38:52How wonderful to see local history and culture celebrated in such a way.
39:03And it shows that owning a country house isn't always about repairs and renovations.
39:08It's about keeping a great building relevant and useful in the modern world.
39:13We're returning now to Mapperton House in Dorset, where a familiar problem has reared its head for Julie Montague.
39:21But it's also a chance for her to embrace technology, and in a manner no previous generation would have dared imagine.
39:39The focal point of Mapperton's stunning valley garden is its ornamental pools.
39:46The 18th century pool has amazing history. It was built for the purposes of feeding those who were living in the house.
39:53It was a fishery, it had lots of fish, and those fish would then feed those in the house and the wider community.
40:01Over time, the pool has served for swimming and as a formal garden feature, but has not been without its headaches.
40:08This summer in particular, there's been a noticeable lack of water in the sky and the pool.
40:15The water level is decreasing, even though we're filling up the pool, so we know that there's a huge problem.
40:22You know, when we first repaired it a couple of years ago, that was a huge cost.
40:27And you're thinking, right, I've repaired it. Fingers crossed it's going to last for at least another 100 years.
40:33We're like year two into it, and we've got a problem.
40:36Is there a solution? I hope so, because it's a well-known pool. People know about this pool, and they come and see it.
40:45And so it's sort of bumped up the list of, you know, high priority. But there is a cost that's attached to it, and it's a big cost.
40:55Hi, everybody.
40:57Julie has found a way of turning every Mappetum problem into an opportunity.
41:02When you go to the gardens, we're going to be down there filming at the pool, and I will be in my funny cap and a bathing suit.
41:09The leaking pool is about to become the star of Mappetum's latest social media post.
41:15See you down at the pool. Thanks, everybody.
41:18Okay, that was so fun.
41:20We had no idea the profound effect, financially and, of course, with visitor numbers, that social media would have on this estate.
41:32You can follow me on your YouTube channel.
41:34Oh, are you? Yes.
41:35Oh, my gosh. Thank you.
41:36I'm addicted to it. It's my weekly dose. I get it from all of them.
41:40Okay, well, that's brilliant.
41:42What started as an experiment during the COVID pandemic has become a significant source of income for the estate.
41:50Okay, so I'll change in there, and then I'll just, like, walk and talk.
41:53That's cool. Yeah, get changed, and then I'll put a microphone on you.
41:56Julie now works with Chris Atkins to keep her followers up to date, and she is willing to do whatever is necessary to keep the viewers engaged.
42:05In case one drops into the water and gets green slimy.
42:09Today will be interesting because there's a lot of green gunk. It's blanket weed. There's algae. There's little, you know, bugs everywhere.
42:22So Luke has sort of floated the idea of possibly...
42:25It's clear Julie is now a professional in front of the camera and knows how to keep her audience engaged.
42:31But we have a lot of thinking to do, so if you guys have some comments down below.
42:36Never in my wildest dreams would I ever imagined that I'd be walking out of Mapburton and people would want photographs with me to have conversations just to shake my hand because they've seen me on social media.
42:49I'm gonna head in. And by the way, it is still cold. So if you think that the British summer weather has warmed up this pool, you are incorrect. It is. I gotta breathe through it.
43:03Ooh. Most of our audience, can you believe it, is American. I'm talking 70 to 80%. They love it.
43:11Here is this American girl who's come into this odd world, you know, taking over the running of, you know, a 500-year-old house.
43:21And just to see if I can find any cracks.
43:26But also wanting to create a community that feels that they are a part of helping to preserve this part of England's heritage. And that's so important.
43:38This is what I'm walking on. Do you see that? Can you see?
43:43Through advertising, subscriptions and donations, Julie's followers are now funding work at Mapburton from thousands of miles away.
43:52I'm literally ankle deep right now. Ankle deep. Let's just look at this.
43:58Because we're so far, Mapburton is so far from any major city, it's hard to get physical visitors here. I mean, that is one of the reasons that we decided to, you know, go down this social media route.
44:11I'm feeling with my feet. Possibly right there. Possibly. Possibly. Possibly. I have definitely found a crack here.
44:21Hello. Thank you. It was so fun.
44:23It looks freezing.
44:24Good, good, good. So this will be...
44:26I've come down all the way from the north of Scotland.
44:28Did you?
44:29Yeah.
44:30I've been watching you on YouTube for a long time.
44:31Oh, thank you so much. And I'm so glad you got to see this, especially because you watch the channel.
44:35So you know the drama of this pool.
44:37Indeed.
44:38So watch out for the video.
44:39Good, good. Oh, thank you. And thank you so much for coming. And do you have some really good cakes in the cafe?
44:45Lunch already.
44:46Good.
44:50In a nutshell, what we do online puts income back into the estate. It's as simple as that.
44:58I need to immediately, immediately go and shower.
45:04I would guess that Julie is the first Countess of Sandwich to make a splash in the world of social media.
45:10Next time on Saving Country Houses.
45:21Oh, golly.
45:22We're back at Ashby Manor as restoration costs are going up.
45:27What started out as sort of a day or two is turning into a two-week thing.
45:32I think we place it.
45:34Every day is money.
45:36We meet the family that's lived in the Brecon Beacons for 175 years.
45:42We have to work it to ourselves for a big chunk of the year and then we hand it over to other people.
45:48Hello.
45:49Sorry, the rehearsal's been pushed back.
45:50I've just got to watch.
45:51Don't worry.
45:52Too much to do before that.
45:53Too much to do, yeah.
45:54Should we meet up there at half four?
45:56At half four for rehearsal.
45:57Yeah.
45:58And there's progress with Chavanish's big sauna idea.
46:02Dad, look at it.
46:03Oh, my God.
46:04So cool.
46:05That is the sexiest sauna I've ever seen in my life.
46:28!
46:31That's crazy.
46:33What the hell?
46:36Let's take him to come.
46:37temphones.
46:38And that's too much to do.
46:41We have to wait.
46:42No right?
46:47See tem
Comments