- 7 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:02The green, rolling landscapes of Great Britain are home to the jewels in the country's rich heritage.
00:13Our country houses.
00:19Celebrated across the world for their design and decoration.
00:27Their crowns and gardens.
00:33And their centuries of history.
00:40There was a time when owning a grand country house meant a great deal.
00:45These estates were the keys to fortune and power.
00:50But today's country house owners live in a very different world.
00:54The sound of petrol!
00:56No, no, no, wrong way!
00:58These houses are still the grandest in the land.
01:02This is Oliver Cromwell's room.
01:03But the challenge of keeping them in one piece has never been greater.
01:07Spiral of decay, I don't like the sound of that.
01:10Ballpark figures, 350,000.
01:12Gulp.
01:13Gotta get these lights fixed.
01:14Today's owners are becoming ever more imaginative.
01:18Bon appetit.
01:19We're finding ways...
01:21I'm literally ankle deep right now.
01:23To keep the money coming in.
01:25These estates aren't designed to make money, they're designed to eat money.
01:29To keep the ceiling from falling down.
01:31And I turn the corner into here.
01:34Oh my goodness.
01:35We are collecting leaks, as you can see.
01:37And stop their fears becoming a reality.
01:40I 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.
01:51But today's owners face challenges as never before.
01:55So, they're rolling up their sleeves and putting their heart and soul into brave new ventures.
02:01The question is, how do you save a country house and see it prosper in the modern world?
02:29From manors mentioned in the Doomsday Book to Victorian halls, the country houses we've been following
02:36have a great mix of histories.
02:39But there's only one we visited
02:41that started life as a place of industry.
02:44That industry was Britain's biggest for centuries.
02:48Wool.
02:49The wool may have long gone,
02:51but at our first house today,
02:53the unmistakable buzz of industry is back once more.
02:59We're returning to the picturesque Wiltshire-Somerset border
03:03where we find Eiford Manor.
03:09This idyllic spot on the banks of the River Froome
03:14is the home of William and Marianne Cartwright-Hignett.
03:18Oh, even though we've had such a dry summer,
03:20it still looks really pretty green out there.
03:23It does, and you get the weir.
03:26It's so soothing.
03:30But make no mistake,
03:32running a grand country house and garden
03:34like Eiford, is far from relaxing.
03:39I'm going to check the loos,
03:41because that's part of my daily routine.
03:46Nothing like a clean loo, is there?
03:48Right.
03:49Since 2021, Eiford's new cafe and high-end restaurant
03:54has helped push visitor numbers close to 20,000 a year.
04:00And William works hard to ensure that this new business venture
04:04makes the most of the estate's plentiful natural resources,
04:09much of which is to be found in Eiford's glorious gardens.
04:17On the pastries in the morning,
04:19we try just to use as much
04:20that we can get hold of from our own production.
04:24Nature's bounty, isn't it?
04:25Look at those.
04:26Aren't they fabulous?
04:27I mean, the only thing I bear in mind with Marlboroughs
04:30is if you're wearing a nice, clean shirt,
04:31this is a really high-risk operation.
04:38Wherever possible,
04:39the cafe and restaurant are supplied with homegrown produce.
04:44Gardener Zoe has a crop that's ready to be picked.
04:48What makes a ripe fig?
04:50We're looking for this,
04:52which is a lovely maroon colour.
04:55It's very squishy.
04:56And when you lift it,
04:58it comes away from the branch really easily.
05:01There's one.
05:04In the waldegarden, there's plenty of rhubarb.
05:08Using homegrown produce like this
05:10keeps food quality up
05:12and, significantly, the costs down.
05:15This one's looking pretty good at the moment.
05:17Am I right? You have to snap it out.
05:19Yes.
05:20Grab hold of the stem as low down as you can
05:22and then just give it a pull and a twist.
05:25And it comes away really nicely.
05:28For William,
05:29saving money in the kitchens
05:31frees up funds to maintain
05:33the rest of the 1,000-acre estate.
05:37Such as the ongoing restoration
05:39of Iford's Edwardian greenhouse
05:41by father and son building team
05:43Matt and Will Andrews.
05:46We sort of cleaned off all the screws and nails
05:50that were holding the old greenhouse down
05:52and now we're repairing the stonework.
05:53For instance, this coin stone here is broken
05:57and we're going to repair that
05:59by adding a stainless steel dowel
06:02and some stone glue.
06:05Hopefully that joint will close up as good as that.
06:09The new bespoke greenhouse
06:11will closely match its predecessor,
06:14which was installed by Iford's former owner,
06:17garden designer Harold Pitot.
06:21As many materials as possible are being reused.
06:26These are reclaimed stones from the estate
06:28and we're going to use these to repair the broken ones.
06:31So we've scribed some lines in,
06:33which is our cut lines.
06:34And yeah, we're going to cut those up.
06:36So hopefully when they're done,
06:38they'll slot into the holes and fill it all in.
06:44In Harold Pitot's day,
06:45he didn't have the luxury of the equipment that we have.
06:48So they would have been cutting all this stone by hand.
06:58Yep, down there.
07:06Okay.
07:08Just to be able to work on this older type of stuff,
07:11yeah, it's really satisfying, you know.
07:14If you wind back,
07:15there's going to be masons, builders
07:16that have worked here over the years
07:17and we're sort of part of the story now.
07:21And today is a milestone moment
07:23for this bespoke build.
07:26Some of the original metal work
07:28from the greenhouse has returned
07:30after being sandblasted and painted.
07:35Marianne and the team can't wait to see the results.
07:39So, it's come back.
07:41They look good, don't they?
07:42Really impressed with this.
07:43Yeah, absolutely.
07:45I think it's just nice to see
07:46all the original detailing in here.
07:48Yeah.
07:48Where you can sort of see, you know,
07:49a manufacturer's really picked out,
07:51isn't it?
07:51Yeah, very much so.
07:53For Iford's head gardener, Steve Lannin,
07:56preserving the estate's rich heritage
07:58has been at the forefront of this project.
08:01I think that Harold Peto would really appreciate
08:03the fact that we are rebuilding
08:05in the same style again.
08:07It's something that's really important to us, actually.
08:10And it seems daft,
08:11because it's just a piece of metal.
08:12But actually, it's keeping, you know,
08:14a little bit of Harold Peto's glass house alive.
08:17And that sort of feels important.
08:20It's very lovely being in here now,
08:22because it was, you know, subsiding down here,
08:25walls falling down, Matt,
08:26and you've done a cracking job.
08:27Don't say cracking.
08:32Back near the main house,
08:34William's Garden Produce
08:36is now going straight to the restaurant.
08:38The garden itself is always going to be
08:41limited in the number of people
08:43that can get here.
08:44Therefore, you need to create
08:45a bit more of a dwell time,
08:47as it's called in the business,
08:48of people being here a bit longer.
08:49The restaurant does exactly that.
08:51It's busy.
08:54I've got you some figs.
08:57Oh, amazing.
08:58Rhubarb.
08:59And some mulberries in there.
09:01So hopefully that'll do for some pastries.
09:05Absolutely, yeah.
09:07William's first venture after leaving university
09:10was running his own tea shop in Cambridge.
09:13So perhaps it's not surprising
09:16that hospitality is now a core part
09:19of Eiford's business planning.
09:21I've totally enjoyed the buzz of this thing.
09:23This is the most fantastic two hours of my day
09:27is running a lunch service.
09:28I enjoy it enormously.
09:30But Eiford's hospitality ambitions
09:32have just expanded
09:34and now reach beyond the 1,000-acre estate.
09:39So we bought a pub.
09:41Yes, the opportunity arose in February
09:44to buy two pubs that are within
09:46a mile and a half of Eiford.
09:48Marianne and I decided it was a...
09:50It was a goer.
09:52And so here we are, newly publicans.
09:57One of those pubs is in need of fresh supplies,
10:00which requires William to pay a quick visit
10:03to yet another of the estate's enterprises.
10:07We are heading up to the Cider Barn,
10:11which is the headquarters of Eiford Cider.
10:15And this is where it all happens.
10:20Cool.
10:22Well, I've come up to the Cider Barn
10:25to pick up a keg for the pub,
10:29who are doing a bit better trade than I had anticipated.
10:34So we'll just, um...
10:36They've left it out for me.
10:39A chance encounter a few years ago
10:42led William to combine forces
10:44with near-neighbour and now business partner Joe Abbott.
10:48Over the past ten years,
10:51the two have built a substantial cider business.
10:55But it started with very humble beginnings.
10:59I needed apples.
11:01So I knocked on Will's door
11:03to see if he had any orchards.
11:05We took a trip around the estate
11:06and then, I mean, picked them that year.
11:10Marianne and I were getting married
11:11and we needed something for our wedding
11:12and you said, well, I'll make you some cider.
11:14And it turned out to be really good.
11:15And then our guests were taking boxes home,
11:18like 20 litres with them.
11:20So we thought, okay, this is quite good.
11:25We had, what, three quarters of an acre of orchard here,
11:28which is nothing.
11:28But the perfect start.
11:30But it was a perfect start.
11:32To keep up with demand,
11:34the business now processes
11:36over 200 tonnes of apples each year,
11:39with much of the fruit being sourced
11:41from farms and orchards
11:42in this cider-making heart of the country.
11:45How many outlets?
11:47We have three, four hundred?
11:48Uh, yeah, four, five hundred pounds.
11:52And William is proud
11:54to have diversified Iford's business model,
11:57in tune with the traditions of a country estate.
12:01I mean, if you look back at the farms in the day
12:04and you've got farms making their own cider in a barn
12:08and selling it to the local community,
12:10I mean, in a way,
12:11this is a scaled operation of that,
12:14taking the opportunities that the land here provides
12:17and enabling a flourishing business.
12:19I think that's what estates should be doing.
12:22We'll take an end.
12:23Surely have it.
12:24Oh, there we go.
12:29Good old 50-litre.
12:34Secure the load, shall we?
12:37All right.
12:37Let's get it down to the pub.
12:40Next stop for the cider keg
12:42is over the hill in the adjacent valley
12:44at William and Marianne's new country pub.
12:59On the sub-asset and Wiltshire border,
13:03William Cartwright Hignett is shipping a keg of cider
13:06from his cider barn to the pub
13:08that he and his wife Marianne have recently acquired.
13:13Oh, that would be the keg and the boot falling over.
13:15So much for strapping that down.
13:18The steep-sided banks of the River Avon
13:21and the tiny village of Avoncliff
13:23is home to the Cross Guns pub.
13:26And so this is the primary access route to Avoncliff,
13:30which is why we rely on people walking, cycling,
13:35paddleboarding, trains.
13:37It is surely the most sustainable transport pub in the country.
13:43I mean, you can't get here otherwise.
13:47All right.
13:48Hello, Ryan.
13:48Right.
13:49How are you doing?
13:49I've got you some cider in the back.
13:51All right.
13:54Here we go.
13:54Here we go.
13:55Right.
13:57And William couldn't be more thrilled to have expanded his business empire
14:02and with it, his potential clientele.
14:06It's such an opportunity.
14:08I love this whole eccentricity of this place.
14:12And then this outside terrace.
14:13It's just such a phenomenal outside space.
14:17I'm absolutely in love with the Cross Guns pub.
14:19Not because of what we're doing today,
14:21but because of what we could be doing
14:23and of the new community that we're now engaging with.
14:26People who visit a canal side, riverside pub,
14:29are in large part very different people
14:31to the ones who come to a reasonably smart cafe
14:35stuck in the middle of nowhere next to a historic house and garden.
14:40With the cider keg safely delivered,
14:43William now has to deal with a stray parasol
14:46that seems to have got rather too close to the river.
14:51In fact, actually in the river.
14:56An errant brolly which has gone for a swim.
15:00Not afraid to get his hands, or indeed his legs, dirty,
15:06William has decided to perform his own rescue mission.
15:09I mean, I don't know about you,
15:11but I feel like maybe commandeering a paddleboard
15:13might be a more effective solution here.
15:16The plan is to don the unnecessarily oversized waders
15:21owned by a person who's 6'2 and has size 12 feet.
15:26Not me.
15:27And, um, go and get this blasted brolly.
15:33Roll the old sleeves up, shall I?
15:42Amazing. Fish everywhere. It's fabulous.
15:45All right, come here, you.
15:52There we are.
15:55Freshly laundered, good as new.
15:57Marvellous.
15:58It seems that saving country houses
16:02sometimes involves saving country pub parasols.
16:06Shall we go and have a pint?
16:09You've earned it.
16:10Yes, sir.
16:12Yes.
16:20Remarkably, William is only the second generation of his family to own Eiford,
16:25and he's already adding more property to the estate.
16:28It's going to be fascinating to see what his and Marianne's boundless energy can achieve
16:34in the years to come.
16:36We're moving to a house now, though, that's been in the hands of one family for over 900 years,
16:42and they have a vast collection of something you tend to find in all country houses,
16:48family portraits.
16:50These portraits, like everything else, need rather a lot of looking after.
16:58At the northern edge of the West Midlands in Staffordshire, we're returning to Whitmore Hall.
17:08This estate, which now stretches to almost 1,500 acres, has been handed down through 34 generations.
17:17It's now the responsibility of Edward Kavanagh Mannering.
17:21Every family member has a portrait going back to about 1600.
17:26And I've had a portrait done of myself, which sounds very grand, but I thought,
17:31if I don't do it now, I'm going to look really old.
17:32And I told that to my wife, still go down.
17:35So we went for it.
17:37Edward and wife Heather are now displayed inside the hall alongside dozens of other mannerings.
17:46And it's these much older paintings that are firmly in the sights of Edward's sister, Fleur.
17:54To us, the paintings are priceless.
17:58You know, they are absolute treasures, and they are the only thing, really,
18:02other than the fabric of the building that we care about,
18:04because they're the only thing that actually links us to our own history.
18:11Whilst Edward looks after the wider estate, Fleur is spending 12 months
18:16giving the family's ancestral home a thorough health check.
18:20From the soundness of the hall's structure,
18:23to the well-being of its treasured contents,
18:26the aim is to ensure the family's legacy continues for years to come.
18:33So I've sort of had various things that I wanted to achieve.
18:37One is the paintings.
18:39So one is looking at the paintings,
18:42making certain that they're not being damaged by heat or anything else,
18:46and one or two we would love to be restored.
18:57Today, Fleur has invited paintings conservator Julia Dalzell
19:02to assess, for restoration,
19:04one of the most cherished of all the family's 54 paintings.
19:10He's called Fat Thomas, and he's not looking well.
19:15I don't actually know who Fat Thomas is,
19:17other than the fact that he's a brother of one of, I think,
19:21one of the Edwards who owned the house.
19:25Um...
19:25I'm basically, I'm worried about him.
19:29Given the number of Edward and Thomas mannerings over the years,
19:33identifying precise family members can be quite a challenge.
19:38But one thing that is certain
19:40is that this painting is more than two centuries old.
19:45I can see the cobwebs.
19:46So not only can you see the cobwebs...
19:48Yeah.
19:49..but you can see a lot of flaking paint up here.
19:54Yeah.
19:54And, in fact, areas of lost paint as well.
19:57What do you think's caused that?
19:59An oil paint layer is like thin porcelain.
20:01It's a hard, rigid surface, but it's lying on a canvas...
20:05That's moving.
20:06..which is moving.
20:07And if you don't keep that canvas tensioned out...
20:12..that canvas shrinks, so where's the paint go?
20:15Oh, it crackles.
20:16..it pops up.
20:17And it tents and flakes like that.
20:20So you can see the canvas.
20:23Do you know what?
20:24I'm absolutely amazed that not all our paintings are like this.
20:28So if we restored Thomas...
20:33..what would you do?
20:34I would remove the varnishes and any old restorations...
20:38Yeah.
20:38..and then I'd probably go...
20:40..and go back and do some more consolidation.
20:43Julia will need time to consider,
20:45but a full restoration job on this one painting
20:48could easily cost many thousands of pounds.
20:53It's one of those jobs that seems a huge financial cost
20:58and time as well,
21:00but actually it will really help protect the collection.
21:03Fat Thomas' story may still be a mystery to Fleur,
21:07but there are some ancestors whose life stories are legendary in the family,
21:12such as Rear Admiral Rowland Mannering,
21:15who Fleur and Edward's mother Christine has known about since she was a child.
21:20Admiral Mannering, we know an awful lot about him because he kept diaries.
21:25We've got all the diaries upstairs which are beautifully written.
21:28He wrote a diary every day, including the day that he died.
21:33So the day that he died, it says, called for a doctor.
21:38And that was it.
21:40He was in the Battle of the Nile, which is that picture there.
21:44As I mentioned, at age 14, that was quite something.
21:49It's been a very good picture, actually.
21:53The scene's describing fighting the French hand-to-hand combat.
21:57This is the real deal.
22:00But then he came home and then he had to learn how to look after this house
22:06without the modern kit that we've got.
22:09And I'd just love to be able to go back and see how he did it.
22:13How did you get on?
22:15Yeah.
22:16You know, the fear, I think, for a family is the fact that
22:20everyone else has managed to sort it out over 34 generations.
22:24It's on your watch now.
22:26Yeah.
22:27Right, Julia, let's go and have a look.
22:29But Whitmore's portrait history goes back even further
22:33than Admiral Mannering.
22:35Two centuries earlier, portraits were already being painted
22:39for family members.
22:41So, these, in a way, are the most interesting paintings to us
22:45because they're the oldest.
22:48And from what I understand, they are painted on timber.
22:54Displayed together are Mayor of Newcastle, Edward,
22:57and his wife, Sarah,
23:00who lived through the age of Shakespeare
23:02and the English Civil War.
23:05There are things happening up in the top corners
23:08and on the edges.
23:10Losses of paint happening here
23:12or retouchings happening here.
23:14You can see the white bits.
23:16And that will be filler showing through
23:19because the overpaint is dropping off.
23:21So, that's an indication that it might be moving.
23:26These optivisors here magnify everything,
23:29brings everything closer by 15, 20 magnification.
23:34So, it's super.
23:34You can see all sorts on them.
23:37I think what you're looking at is some paint loss
23:40and you can see the wooden panel behind it.
23:44It just generates some damage.
23:46And then the yellow bits,
23:48yellow, orangey, browny bits, will be old varnish.
23:51Yes, minute loss is a paint.
23:54And, ooh, look, we've got some fly dirt just here.
23:57Yeah.
23:58That's on the painting.
24:04Having carried out a thorough assessment
24:06of these oldest of Whitmore portraits,
24:09Julia's ready to give her verdict.
24:12My initial reaction is that they don't need to be done now,
24:16whereas that other portrait that we were looking at
24:18with flaking paint is more of a priority.
24:21So, look to doing something with that one, stabilising that.
24:27So, whilst there is work to be done,
24:29it's undoubtedly good news that some of Whitmore's
24:32most prized portraits are standing up well
24:35to the centuries of hanging in the hall.
24:39To me, it's just so exciting.
24:41I love paintings.
24:42And also, it's the fact that you're handing it on
24:45to the next generation of people.
24:47It's like it's, you know, it's the ultimate gift,
24:50gift in a way, is to give something beautiful
24:52onto the next 100 years of enjoyment for people.
25:13From plumbing to portraits,
25:15all the country houses we've been visiting
25:18need a good deal of love and attention.
25:20But what happens when that care simply hasn't been given?
25:26We're visiting a new home now,
25:29which less than half a century ago
25:31was completely uninhabitable.
25:33Since then, though, it has benefited from the dedicated
25:37and somewhat eccentric ownership
25:39of one extraordinary man.
25:43We're travelling north of Newcastle to Northumberland,
25:47where less than 11 miles from Scotland
25:50we find Chillingham Castle.
25:54For 800 years, Chillingham has kept watch
25:57over this border region.
25:59Originally the site of a monastery,
26:02the building was fortified to defend England from the Scots
26:05and once played host to Edward I
26:08on his way to confront Braveheart himself, William Wallace.
26:15But its more recent history is no less intriguing.
26:20He's marvellous.
26:21OK, he's very shattered,
26:23but he still has itself shaped and poised.
26:25He's still a proud animal.
26:27And I love him, really.
26:30Now, in his 90th year,
26:32Sir Humphrey Wakefield has called Chillingham home since 1982.
26:36And even now,
26:38he is still fascinated by the castle's many mysteries.
26:41I find to pull these stones out of the ground,
26:44stones like this,
26:45lovingly carved.
26:47And there's another one, look at that.
26:49What's its history?
26:51What the hell was it for?
26:53Sir Humphrey's latest passion
26:55is repairing Chillingham's vast stretch of stone ramparts.
27:01A week ago,
27:02the ground looked like that,
27:04just like a bundle of stones.
27:06There, all the way down the edge.
27:08And then suddenly it transforms into that.
27:13You get things absolutely precise every time.
27:17With the help of a top team of expert craftsmen and women,
27:21Chillingham today is a Northumberland success story,
27:24an intriguing mix of private home
27:27and bustling visitor attraction.
27:29Have you been around the castle?
27:31Yes, we've been.
27:32Have you been around the lake?
27:33The lake?
27:34Yes.
27:34Why not?
27:35We're thinking to pop up as a year of cattle.
27:37But with voices like yours,
27:38we don't welcome you here.
27:40I suspected that.
27:43But back in 1932,
27:45Chillingham's future was far less certain
27:47and certainly not open to visitors.
27:50The family who'd been here for centuries
27:53could no longer afford its upkeep.
27:56They auctioned off Chillingham's contents
27:58and left the castle deserted.
28:03Fifty years later,
28:04they were delighted, therefore,
28:06when a former army officer,
28:08antiques expert and lifelong adventurer,
28:11offered to take it off their hands.
28:14Because I got this place where it was ruined.
28:17I fell in love with it.
28:18I fell in love with every ruin I would come across the course,
28:21but I fell in love with this.
28:23When Sir Humphrey arrived in the early 80s,
28:27Chillingham was in a sorry state.
28:30Outside, nature was taking over.
28:34The windows were largely broken.
28:39Whilst inside,
28:43ceilings were caving in
28:45as decades of leaks took their toll.
28:51More than 20 years before Sir Humphrey arrived,
28:54Chillingham had already been effectively written off.
28:59This place had been written off by the government in 1960.
29:03In 1960, they said it would have to be gutted
29:05and the stone had rotted it
29:07and therefore pretty well had to be pulled down.
29:11Luckily, I hadn't read that report.
29:13Instead, Sir Humphrey saw an opportunity to save the castle
29:17and reveal its medieval qualities
29:20for the first time in centuries.
29:24This room was covered with Victorian plasterwork
29:28and I took it all off.
29:31That great fireplace at the end,
29:33which is the heart and the soul of this room,
29:36that was stoned in
29:38and now has come back to be the heart and soul.
29:42Throughout the rest of the 1980s,
29:45Chillingham remained a building site
29:46as room by room,
29:49ceiling by ceiling,
29:51a country house and its fortress origins
29:54were reborn.
29:58Here is the dungeon.
30:03A very proper dungeon
30:04for keeping, putting prisoners in.
30:07Come through and have a look.
30:10In here,
30:12you see two-inch-long grooves in the wall.
30:16You see several of them.
30:18People have scored the wall
30:21with the days, I suppose,
30:22the days they're staying here
30:23and after about 40 days,
30:26they get paler and paler and paler.
30:28Here is a latrine drop.
30:31There's a perfect good stone channel down there
30:35and I opened up the stone channel
30:37but I find bones there
30:38and so I didn't dig any more.
30:41There are so many things from here
30:43that I've still got to discover.
30:46But now I'm pushing 90,
30:47I'd rather, I better do it.
30:49PDQ.
30:51Sir Humphrey's 43-year project
30:54may be ongoing
30:56but Chillingham has completed a journey
30:58from condemned building
30:59to tourist hotspot.
31:01Despite its remote location,
31:04it welcomes 25,000 visitors each year.
31:09As soon as I walk through the courtyard,
31:12wow, straight away,
31:14absolutely brilliant.
31:15It's the fact that you're wondering
31:18where someone has wandered centuries before,
31:21living their lives.
31:22I like history.
31:24Once inside,
31:26visitors are in the hands of Richard Craig,
31:29Chillingham's front of house steward
31:31who never tires of delighting people
31:33with the castle's finer details.
31:36The ceiling in here is absolutely magnificent.
31:40It's a wonderful, restored, Jacobean ceiling.
31:43It was in a pretty poor state
31:46and sadly, we've lost one of the finials
31:49which is down here
31:52but doubtless that will be repaired in time.
31:56First time I saw this place
31:58was maybe 2001.
32:00Pulled up in the car.
32:04What a spectacle.
32:06You know, sunset looked absolutely magnificent.
32:09So that's my introduction to the castle.
32:13Richard is Chillingham's storyteller-in-chief.
32:18But as the sun goes down,
32:21he's often preparing for his second,
32:23very different role at the castle.
32:26I'm getting ready for a ghost hunt tonight,
32:30which begins at 10 o'clock
32:32and goes through to 2 o'clock in the morning.
32:34It's a role that's become more and more important
32:36to Sir Humphrey's approach to the castle's finances
32:39as Chillingham is now known
32:41as Britain's most haunted country house.
32:44Ghosts feature very highly here in Chillingham.
32:47And it's a serious, serious business.
32:51It's really part of the beating heart of this place.
32:54We do ghost tours,
32:56do the occasional ghost workshop,
32:57but the ghost hunt,
32:59this is no-holds-barred paranormal investigation.
33:09Country houses are full of connections to the past.
33:12Over time, though,
33:14those connections can easily be interrupted.
33:17A change of owner, perhaps,
33:19or, as we've seen at Chillingham Castle,
33:21the abandonment of the building for half a century.
33:25We are going from ghosts to greenhouses,
33:28and it's back to Eiford Manor,
33:30where an immense effort is being made
33:32to preserve the connection
33:33to a very fine Edwardian greenhouse.
33:36Its new replacement is almost complete.
33:41On the banks of the River Froome,
33:44the long summer drought is finally breaking.
33:50It's rained for the first time in ages,
33:53which is fantastic.
33:55But the return of a familiar,
33:57damp English summer has arrived,
34:01just as William leads a tour
34:03of Eiford's very Mediterranean garden.
34:07This is this idea
34:09of the tumble-down terraced hillside of Tuscany.
34:12The corsican pine,
34:13you've got the juniper,
34:14you've got, you know, cypresses.
34:16This would have been
34:17an amazing Italianate-style terrace
34:20with a view, right?
34:21But Peto wasn't into big views.
34:24So he plants all of this up to close it down.
34:29And over on the far side of the gardens,
34:32one of the greenhouses installed
34:33by Eiford's earlier illustrious owner,
34:36Harold Peto,
34:37is getting a facelift
34:38from specialist joiners Craig Hodgkinson
34:42and Joe Shenton,
34:43who are reconstructing it
34:45to Peto's exacting dimensions.
34:48The challenge is to keep trying,
34:50keep it looking as it was, really.
34:52Using the old metal work
34:54means we have to tweak our designs a little bit.
34:57Head gardener Steve is not going to miss the moment
35:00and is on hand to see much of the original
35:02tuckers of Tottenham metal work
35:04take its place once more.
35:07We're sort of making a hybrid system
35:09between Harold Peto's original
35:12and sort of a more modern one
35:14which will give us more adjustment.
35:18Nice to think that you're putting something
35:19at the back that's been there
35:20for however many years,
35:22if you see what I mean,
35:22or as close to as you can.
35:31One nice new hole in there for you.
35:36So we're incorporating
35:38some of a more modern design
35:40that we use
35:41to make everything work
35:42with the old metal work.
35:44Because it's got to be structurally sound as well,
35:46you see,
35:46it's not just a case of it looking pretty.
35:49So it incorporates
35:50this tie bar
35:51and it stops the building sagging
35:54and stops the sides spragging out.
36:04This place is absolutely stunning, isn't it?
36:06It's absolutely beautiful.
36:07Beautiful place.
36:09We haven't had a chance
36:10to have a walk around the gardens yet,
36:13but we've been told it's a must,
36:15so might nip round there later.
36:17And back in those public parts of the garden,
36:20you sense that William is revelling
36:22in his role as host to a visiting party.
36:26This was originally paved.
36:28If anyone wants to pay for it to be repaved,
36:30I'd be grateful,
36:31but the last quote was sort of 150 grand,
36:33so that's not happening for a while.
36:35I love taking tours around.
36:37It's an opportunity to have a time in the garden
36:40without being interrupted, I suppose.
36:42With the tour over, though,
36:44it's the moment of truth
36:45for William and his wife, Marianne,
36:48who've been planning
36:48this important greenhouse project
36:50for many months.
36:52I'm seriously excited to see this.
36:55Good heavens!
36:56There it is.
36:59You can move in immediately.
37:01That's huge!
37:03I think what's amazing is you can already feel
37:05the warmth in here.
37:06You really can.
37:08So you're pleased that you kept the original breakfast, though?
37:11So am I.
37:12I hope that tuckers of Tottenham
37:14would be proud.
37:15Absolutely.
37:17With restored metalwork
37:18and resilient cedarwood,
37:20the greenhouse should serve Eifert
37:22for decades to come.
37:24You can imagine it
37:25with all the plants in there
37:26and everybody doing amazing things
37:28and Alison propagating
37:29and Steve getting overexcited
37:31about there being too many plants.
37:32It's just, it's fantastic.
37:46I should perhaps warn you,
37:48we're ending today
37:50with another trip north
37:51to Chillingham Castle
37:52and a taste of something
37:55you may find unsettling.
37:57In 1925,
37:59Lady Leonora Gray
38:00wrote a short book
38:02about her experiences
38:04at her Northumbrian home.
38:06It was simply called
38:08The Ghosts of Chillingham.
38:11Little could she have known
38:12what she was setting in motion
38:14because almost a hundred years later,
38:16Chillingham takes its ghosts
38:18very seriously.
38:21By day,
38:22this border's castle
38:23can feel as pleasant
38:25and welcoming
38:25as any country house.
38:29Sir Humphrey Wakefield
38:31has spent half his life
38:32ensuring that it does.
38:35I love looking across
38:36at the castle.
38:38But he's also been
38:40canny enough
38:40to embrace
38:41Chillingham's fearsome history.
38:44There are many ghosts here.
38:46I mean,
38:46after our eight executions
38:47and so forth,
38:48there are bound to be
38:49lots around here
38:50and lots of very colorful ones.
38:52And I used to be frightened
38:53of them, as it were.
38:55But also,
38:56when I first came here,
38:57the priest said,
38:58I can't exorcise ghosts,
39:00get rid of them.
39:01Do you want me to?
39:02And I said,
39:03yes, I do.
39:05Next morning,
39:05he said,
39:06I'm afraid there are too many,
39:07I can't.
39:07But also,
39:08he said,
39:09they're all rooting for you.
39:10You're a lucky guy.
39:13Whether the ghosts
39:14are friendly or not,
39:15their presence
39:16at Chillingham
39:17seems to have acted
39:18as a magnet
39:19for paying visitors.
39:21People want to come
39:22to see Britain's
39:23most haunted country house
39:25for themselves.
39:26It also means
39:27steward Richard Craig
39:29can step into a role
39:30he was clearly made for.
39:33Ghosts have been my thing
39:34ever since I was a child.
39:37And this, to me,
39:38this is just the Holy Grail,
39:40really.
39:41It's a wonderful place
39:42to go ghost hunting.
39:45Tonight,
39:46four game souls
39:47are set to join Richard
39:49on one of Chillingham's
39:50celebrated ghost hunts.
39:52So, my name's Tommy Scott.
39:54I'm here to visit
39:55the castle today.
39:57It's actually
39:57my partner's birthday.
40:01Joining Tommy
40:03are friends
40:03Emily and Kieran,
40:05plus his fiancée,
40:07Max.
40:08All are hoping
40:09to cross paths
40:11with the supernatural
40:12this evening.
40:14What would be
40:15a better way
40:15to celebrate my birthday
40:16than doing a midnight ghost hunt?
40:19I am a little bit nervous,
40:21but I think
40:21I'm covering that
40:22with the excitement a bit.
40:24The castle's beautiful.
40:26It's been really nice
40:26to look around,
40:27but as it's getting dark,
40:28it seems to be
40:29getting a little bit creepier.
40:31Starting to hear
40:31little noises.
40:38Good evening,
40:39ghost hunters.
40:40Good evening.
40:41Welcome to Chillingham.
40:43First rule of ghost hunting,
40:44your mind is very much
40:46like a parachute.
40:48It is no good
40:49to you closed.
40:51So,
40:52if you're ready,
40:54please follow me.
41:02Easing his guests
41:04in gently,
41:05Richard starts the hunt
41:06in the well-lit confines
41:08of the castle cafe.
41:10Make yourselves
41:11comfortable wherever.
41:13But he knows
41:14how to build anticipation.
41:16On a tour last night,
41:18there were 15 spirits,
41:20so we were outnumbered.
41:23This is also
41:24where he can introduce
41:25his ghost hunting equipment.
41:29Spirit boxes.
41:30Spirit boxes
41:31are effectively,
41:33for want of a better expression,
41:35a broken radio.
41:36Game changer
41:37in ghost hunting.
41:38You listen through
41:39the white noise,
41:41and we'll see
41:41what we get.
41:45Spirits of the Minstrel's Hall.
41:48Who would be with us
41:50at the moment, please?
41:54Oh.
41:56How many of you
41:57are in the room
41:58with us right now, please?
42:00Used across
42:01the ghost hunting community,
42:03these devices
42:04are set to scan rapidly
42:05across radio frequencies
42:07to try and catch
42:08communications
42:09from the spirit world.
42:14Yeah.
42:15Do you remember
42:17anybody's name
42:18in this room
42:19if you've been listening?
42:24I can hear Max.
42:26I can hear your name.
42:27See you there, Max.
42:28I think that was, yeah.
42:32A less high-tech tool
42:34is a simple pair
42:35of dowsing rods.
42:37They glow in the dark.
42:38They need no batteries.
42:40We are going to use these
42:43for interrogation purposes.
42:45Say,
42:46spirit closest to me,
42:47what are you, please?
42:49Spirit closest to me,
42:50what are you, please?
42:54A female
42:54has gone to your left.
43:01Is there anybody here with me?
43:07Yes.
43:09I didn't move them rods.
43:10Them rods just moved.
43:14Also on the move
43:16are Richard's four ghost hunters
43:18who are heading
43:18to Chillingham's
43:19most terrifying attraction.
43:22Torture chamber.
43:23Playground of John Sage.
43:26A legendary character.
43:29The castle torturer.
43:32It's said that
43:34his common-law wife
43:36died at his hand,
43:38which led to his own demise.
43:41Now,
43:42we've had various encounters
43:43with this spirit.
43:45He has been known
43:46to move people
43:46by the shoulders.
43:48He has been known
43:49to push people over,
43:50by self-inclusive.
43:51included.
43:53OK.
43:55Right.
43:55I've only put the lights
43:56out there.
44:00I'm calling to the chamber,
44:03John Sage.
44:06When he comes in,
44:07the temperature of this place
44:08can drop like a stone.
44:11This is your playground,
44:12this is your playground, Sage.
44:13There's something behind me.
44:14It's like someone's
44:15punching me in his stomach.
44:16Really?
44:16Yeah.
44:17OK.
44:18Oh.
44:20My whole body's like tensed up.
44:22Is it?
44:22Oh.
44:24Yeah.
44:25I feel like I'm like
44:26stone my body.
44:27I can't move my body.
44:28If we are in the presence
44:29of Sage,
44:30if you are doing this
44:31to this gentleman,
44:31then move one single rod
44:33to the centre of his chest.
44:34If it is another spirit,
44:36open up his rods.
44:39Look at the rods opening up.
44:41Yeah, they are.
44:42Oh.
44:43Whatever it is,
44:44it's right here.
44:45My right-hand side.
44:47I feel like I can see
44:48a big figure behind you.
44:49Yeah, I can't.
44:50OK.
44:51I think we might know
44:53who this is.
44:54If we are in the presence
44:55of the one known as
44:56William Rain,
44:59please give us
45:01some major sign
45:02that you are with us.
45:05Oh, rods.
45:06The rods are rocking and rolling.
45:09William Rain.
45:10Don't know much
45:11about William Rain.
45:13Very strong spirit.
45:15Could have been a boy
45:16for the reaver type.
45:17Came in after
45:19a bell, boot, and candle
45:21session one time.
45:23And he's stayed ever since.
45:25We see him in form,
45:28in shadow,
45:28his dark form.
45:30Never shy to put in
45:32an appearance,
45:34Chillingham's ghosts
45:35have given the customers
45:36their money's worth
45:37this evening.
45:38And Sir Humphrey
45:39couldn't be happier
45:40with his booming,
45:41ghoulish business.
45:43I really think
45:44the ghosts helped me.
45:45The ghosts have always
45:47been incredibly kind
45:47to me.
45:48And now we've got
45:50the tours around
45:50and we have overnight
45:52stays and seances
45:54and I think we're booked
45:55up until October
45:56or something like that.
45:57So, thank you.
45:59Thank you, the ghosts.
46:03Next time on Saving Country Houses,
46:07we're at Mapperton House
46:08in search of a 17th century tapestry.
46:12What I want to get out
46:13is of course
46:13the one that's really difficult.
46:16So just,
46:17it's the gift everybody
46:18that keeps on giving.
46:20Big change is on the horizon
46:22at Ashby Manor.
46:28It's like an army tanker,
46:30isn't it?
46:31It looks like it's
46:32for another time.
46:33I could do with that vehicle
46:35here all the time.
46:37And we join the unending task
46:40of cleaning the unique displays
46:42at Chillingham Castle.
46:43This was my first project.
46:45I had to clean all this,
46:47I had to brasso these bits
46:48because they were very,
46:49very rusty.
46:50My old friend.
46:52My old friend.
46:56This is my first project
46:57My old friend.
46:57My old friend.
47:07My old friend.
47:15Hi!
47:23Transcription by CastingWords
Comments