Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith Season 1 Episode 3 explores the unexpected challenges of preserving historic estates. At Pitchford Hall, an aging drainage system creates dangerous sinkholes, threatening the restoration project. Meanwhile, Brancepeth Castle welcomes visitors for its exciting annual Dragon Quest event, and in Dorset, an American countess brings international charm to country house life. Discover heritage, history, and restoration stories in Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith.
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#SavingCountryHousesWithPenelopeKeith #PitchfordHall #BrancepethCastle #HistoricHomes #PenelopeKeith
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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.
01:19They'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?
02:08Are you with us?
02:10One, one.
02:11One, two.
02:13One, two.
02:29Here is the only one.
02:30Last time, we heard the remarkable story of Rowena Culthurst 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.
02:43But 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.
03:02In 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,
03:52Rowena and James are on a mission
03:54to address 25 years of neglect.
04:00Right now, though, collapsed ceilings are taking a back seat,
04:05whilst James gets to grips with something even more concerning,
04:10an outbreak of sinkholes.
04:12We've clearly got a problem.
04:15And 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.
04:31The cause of the sinkholes clearly lies below ground level,
04:36with one unusual feature likely to be the culprit.
04:40The 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 where pretty well where we
05:04are now.
05:06There are, in fact, a whole network of tunnels running beneath the grounds of Pitchford Hall.
05:14They connect the old fishing pond on one side of the house
05:24with the local brook on the other.
05:30The 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,
06:12and then try and map them to what we're seeing above ground afterwards.
06:16This already feels like a task that will have a hefty price tag attached.
06:21I think it's going to be quite expensive.
06:25The tunnel is invisible to almost everyone.
06:31I'd rather focus on the visible, the house, the orange tree,
06:35and the tunnel is something I kind of hoped I didn't have to restore,
06:40but that's clearly not the case.
06:46Okay.
06:48So we're in now.
06:49About 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
07:31of the guys that built it three, four hundred years ago.
07:34So it's lovely to see.
07:37Corey, what do you think?
07:38About 10, you're 10 meters in.
07:41We've got a change in construction.
07:44We've gone from a brick-formed piped culvert,
07:50circular in appearance,
07:51to what we call a boxed arch culvert,
07:55which 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.
08:08How old do you think each section of the tunnel is?
08:12I think that this possibly late 1700s, I believe.
08:19No-one is quite sure when or why these tunnels were first built.
08:2417 meters.
08:27Another large restriction.
08:30They may have helped drain the pond after heavy rainfall.
08:34They may even be the remnants of an old moat
08:37that once wrapped around Pitchford Hall.
08:40We're lacking research because the house was shut up for 25 years.
08:44There's been no research.
08:46There's been no surveying being done.
08:48So, you know, this is an opportunity for experts like Corey
08:51to really get a sense of the history of the building
08:54and all the structures around the building and how it operated.
08:57No-one, you know, obviously knows why we've got this tunnel here.
09:02It's piecing that jigsaw together.
09:06How far are you at the moment?
09:09We're at 24 meters at the moment.
09:1224 meters, wow.
09:13We've seen a lot of structural movement
09:15within the chamber itself at this point.
09:17We've got on the north wall,
09:19we've got a two-meter section
09:20where the stonework is completely missing.
09:23And that is the cause of the sinkhole.
09:26That's enabled the water to then rush in,
09:29wash the ground out,
09:30which has caused your original sinkhole.
09:32It'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.
09:42Corey, it's sounding like quite an expensive job.
09:46I'll be able to discuss that in greater detail
09:49when I'm out of here and more comfortable with a cup of tea.
09:53And you want me sitting down on a sofa, do you?
09:56I'm out of here and I'm out of here and I'm out of here and I'm out of here and
09:59I'm out of here.
10:00An hour later, with Corey out of the tunnel
10:03and a reassuring cuppa to hand,
10:07James braces himself for the verdict.
10:10So 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.
10:26This 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.
10:40Yeah.
10:41We'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.
10:51We've got a huge section, a five metre section of wall
10:55and it's literally just dropped.
10:58There's water completely free-flowing underneath
11:00and that's what's caused the structural cracking of 16 metres.
11:03The whole of the culvert from 16 metres is starting to rotate
11:08and move downwards.
11:10There's a lot of red.
11:12There's a lot of red on Corey's diagram.
11:15There's no sugar coating, is there?
11:17I mean, yeah, it sounds pretty bad.
11:20Looking for a silver lining,
11:22but I'm not sure that's coming.
11:25At this stage, does any figure enter your mind?
11:30I would say that the repairs that we're looking at
11:32and the first 30 metres are significant
11:35and obviously huge financial...
11:38Yeah, sure, sure.
11:39It costs us a real...
11:41Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands.
11:43Tens.
11:44OK.
11:46Do you sometimes wish that you had a modern house?
11:48No.
11:49No.
11:50No, not for a second.
11:52I absolutely love this place.
11:53But, you know, it does throw up challenges
11:55and this is just a classic challenge
11:59that, you know, we didn't expect to be dealing with.
12:17In times gone by,
12:19owning a country house and its estate
12:21would often go hand-in-hand with an hereditary title.
12:25Dukes and duchesses,
12:27barons 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.
12:55The backdrop to Mapperton House.
13:02Mapperton, once voted Britain's finest manor house,
13:06is the beautiful home of the 12th Earl of Sandwich,
13:09whose title stretches back to 1660.
13:15But, amid this timeless snapshot of English heritage,
13:19is the less traditional lady of the house.
13:23OK, so the cat has just come in.
13:25The cat is not allowed in this part of the house
13:28when we're open to the public.
13:29And we're about to start house tours.
13:33So, I've got to try and find the cat.
13:35Yep, I found the cat.
13:36OK, so, I am Julie Montague.
13:42Do you want me to say the rest of it?
13:48Uh, Countess of Sandwich.
13:50Come on, come on, Stormy, come on.
13:52OK, no, OK, that's not going to work.
13:55OK, there it goes.
13:56I'm American, and the U.S. does not recognize titles.
14:00I mean, unless you're, like, a doctor.
14:03Come on, Stormy.
14:04So, for me, having the title Countess of Sandwich,
14:07I mean, it's a real British thing.
14:08OK, wait.
14:09No one would say to me, Lady Sandwich,
14:12just because I've asked them all to call me Julie.
14:16I'm American.
14:17That's my name, Julie.
14:18OK, I'm just going to put him out the front door.
14:22Julie Montague was born and raised near Chicago,
14:25but was working in London when she met her future husband.
14:28OK.
14:29I know, I know.
14:30Don't get mad at me.
14:31We'll see you on the other side of the house.
14:33Come on, go out and play.
14:35There you go.
14:35First time I came to Matbertin, I had been dating my now husband, Luke.
14:41This one's quite smart.
14:43Yes, that is a smarter sword.
14:44Look out.
14:45Ooh, ah.
14:45OK.
14:47When I first entered into the house, I was shocked, really,
14:53by the amount of ancestors that 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, look at how little they were.
15:09Does that even fit me?
15:10Look how big I am.
15:11No, look at, does 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 small.
15:18It's got a...
15:18There, it does.
15:19There, there, there.
15:19It fits me perfectly, actually.
15:21Yeah.
15:22Everyone likes a good rummage, don't they, in the attic?
15:24This is the equivalent of that.
15:27Luke is part of the Montague family,
15:30descendants of a Norman knight
15:31and a fixture in the English aristocracy
15:34for almost 1,000 years.
15:36And his family have lived at Mapperton for 70 years.
15:41So this is obviously where the cat was.
15:43It's the smartest room in the house.
15:46It's got some of the finer pictures as well,
15:49in particular this Joshua Reynolds
15:50of the fourth Earl of Sandwich in his peers' gown.
15:55Looking very dashing.
15:58As it happens, as first Lord of the Admiralty in the 1770s,
16:03the fourth Earl played a role
16:05in the formation of Julie's homeland.
16:07Some people suggest that it was the fourth Earl
16:11who insisted on our navy being more located towards Europe
16:16and we didn't have enough ships
16:18to stop those pesky colonies from declaring independence.
16:24Now that's quite a role in history.
16:26But some would argue the fourth Earl's real legacy
16:29came closer to home.
16:31The fourth Earl of Sandwich was a big gambler
16:35and he didn't want to get his cards greasy
16:38so he asked his butler to 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 like,
16:49what 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 late 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
17:17to avoid that from happening.
17:20Whichever story you prefer,
17:22the fourth Earl's great gift to the world
17:24is quite the money spinner in his descendants' cafe.
17:27Can I get a beef sandwich?
17:30Are you aware that the fourth Earl
17:32is actually a creator of the sandwich?
17:34I did not.
17:34That is his original beef sandwich
17:36that you're about to consume.
17:38Right, okay, cool.
17:40That'd be nice.
17:40Yeah, enjoy.
17:41Well, you're eating a beef sandwich, aren't you?
17:43Yeah, hopefully he's not going to sell by taste
17:45for all soon as well.
17:49And it turns out that our favourite lunch
17:51could have had a very different name.
17:55A 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 and 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?
18:22Not really, but sure.
18:25It's lunchtime somewhere.
18:36The Montague family moved to Mappetton in 1955,
18:42controlling an estate that stretches for almost 2,000 acres,
18:49covering farmland,
18:54woodland,
18:55and a new rewilding project.
19:01But along with the house,
19:04Mappetton'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.
19:25And immediately after moving in,
19:28she decided to create these wonderful Italianate formal gardens
19:33that you see here today.
19:34And it's in memory of her husband.
19:37So that's wonderful in the first place,
19:40to know that these gardens were created out of love for somebody.
19:43And that's what's so wonderful about these gardens in particular,
19:47is that there's this incredible story to share alongside what you see here today.
19:56For the past 40 years,
19:58the gardens have been lovingly managed by Julie's mother-in-law,
20:02Caroline, the Dowager Countess of Sandwich.
20:06This summer, though, Julie is set to take charge of the gardens,
20:10a decade after first taking up residence at Mappetton.
20:15Well, Julie, you're going to have a lovely time.
20:19How do you feel about the garden?
20:22Well, I feel I have big shoes to fill.
20:25I have been responsible for it for 40 years.
20:28I know it very well, and I'm very fond of it.
20:31Now, if I look in this pergola,
20:34I know virtually every rose here and what it is, you know.
20:37We've replanted a huge amount.
20:40More or less all the shrubs have been replanted.
20:43It's absolutely wonderful, and the atmosphere is terrific.
20:46The tranquillity is great.
20:48The pieces such as you don't get in the rest of the world,
20:52It's an absolutely wonderful garden.
20:57Since opening to the public in the 1960s,
21:00these gardens have become a vital source of income.
21:04Despite 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've got to be honest with you.
21:24I don't really have an attachment to this garden yet.
21:33Oh, yeah, there it goes, there it goes.
21:36Oh, it's brown.
21:39It's always brown to begin with.
21:41Okay.
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, this historic house,
21:54these gorgeous gardens, the history.
22:01I've always been a little bit worried about everything that I've done here.
22:04Oh, there.
22:05There we go.
22:07Let'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.
22:16Do you want me to try this one?
22:16Yes, why don't you try it?
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?
22:27Okay, I got it, I got it, I got it.
22:30Well done, we've got it.
22:31Oh, did I get it?
22:32Yep.
22:32Is it brown?
22:33Yes.
22:34I 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.
22:44And we have to keep the standards up, because if we don't, we'll lose the visitors.
23:01As the collapsing tunnel at Pitchford Hall demonstrates,
23:05one 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.
23:29Or indeed, their roofs.
23:35We're returning to County Durham, where a small Norman fortress has grown and grown into the most imposing of all
23:42our houses.
23:45And as Bradspeth Castle has expanded, so too has its now enormous roof.
23:55Right, I've come out onto the old medieval roof here.
23:59The 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 Branspeth was given to one of William's barons at the time of the Norman invasion in
24:161066.
24:18Now I'll just do a little bit more inspection.
24:21Richard 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 the, what would have been the three medieval towers of the castle,
24:37with the Bulma tower over there to my right,
24:40the 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,
24:47that was added in 1390, when these three towers were built.
24:53To the north and east, however, the majority of Branspeth was built as recently as just 200 years ago.
25:01After the medieval period, the castle went through a series of mixed owners,
25:07and eventually it got sold to a banker, who was a coal baron, William Russell,
25:13and 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,
25:24he built his stately home.
25:27So this stonework here is 1820 stonework,
25:32as opposed to the stonework we see behind us, which is the 1390 stonework.
25:39The 1820 stonework, to reinforce the stonework,
25:43they 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,
26:11Branspeth 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.
26:36So, clear this stuff out.
26:42Let's do a quick check.
26:46And over it goes.
26:48Really shouldn't do that.
26:52Back down at ground level, however,
26:54the family are preparing for their most unusual annual event.
27:00This weekend, the castle will be thrown open to the public
27:04and come alive with myths and legends.
27:08Johnny, do you want to take the corner and keep walking?
27:10Do you want someone to talk in the middle?
27:11The next few days is Dragon Quest.
27:14We've only done this event a couple of times before and so we're very much figuring out
27:20how to do it.
27:21It'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.
27:34Coordinating the event is Richard's daughter, Claire, who 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.
27:47Rather handily, Bransmith has a ready supply of dragons, thanks to the University of Durham.
27:55The English department put together an exhibition here at the castle based on the legends of dragons in the North
28:01East.
28:02We wanted to create an event that was good for families and the dragon seemed an excellent opportunity for that.
28:09Those are the swords if we wanted to do that.
28:11That's not coming up.
28:12They're a really important aspect of the money coming in for the castle.
28:16We are organising it and all the profit is profit.
28:27Good to take the front.
28:29I can take the tail.
28:31Off we go.
28:35It's good family fun to come and meet the dragons, learn 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.
28:54OK.
28:55Right, so let's take bits of Lampton out.
28:59And it comes in three sections and requires some careful handling.
29:05Do you want to go your way or you go...
29:08I think he's light enough that I can take that bit.
29:09Can you take that little rope?
29:11OK.
29:11Just while I turn.
29:12Am I safe turning?
29:13Yeah, yeah.
29:13I can't really see very much.
29:15The local legend is that of the Lampton worm, a worm that grows into a dragon-like creature that terrorises
29:23the area until it is slain by a knight returning from the crusades.
29:28I can't see where I'm going.
29:30Don't crash into the angles.
29:31We'll get them all up, then we'll tie them all together and remember how he works.
29:34Ooh, he's a bit like a sail in the wind, though.
29:40Tasked with turning violent legend into family entertainment is a long-term castle resident and drama teacher, Martin Peacock.
29:48It's called the Lampton worm, and it requires three people to manipulate it, one holding the head with a pole,
29:56the other in the middle with claws kind of sat on their shoulders, and someone holding the tail.
30:02Could you give a hand with Katie with lifting at her point?
30:04But being rather short on puppeteering practice, Claire, Martin, and their helpers now have just a few hours to get
30:12their dragon under control in time for a group of paying guests.
30:16Well, I'm not in control of that.
30:19It's the head and the tail that control that.
30:20The moment he gets any torn.
30:25Don't go too tight around the corner, please.
30:28Don't go too tight around the corner.
30:31That looks a lot better already, actually, because you've got a bit more of a...
30:36What? Does that work?
30:38Yeah.
30:38Or is that not stable?
30:40Wielding a dragon in perfect unison is as hard as it sounds, and with just hours to go until the
30:46public arrives, let'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.
31:00Now, I've been involved in a great many rehearsals, but I have to say the preparations for Dragon Quest are
31:06something entirely new to me.
31:09Back down in Shropshire, work going on at Pitchford Hall is rather less fun and likely to prove somewhat expensive.
31:16But assessing a collapsing tunnel is also revealing aspects of the building that are not only hidden from sight, but
31:26also full of mystery.
31:30The tunnel in question connects the local brook with a pond on the far side of Pitchford's stable yard.
31:37Houseowner James Nason and building surveyor Corey Lane have discovered more than they imagined.
31:44We're actually following the line of the tunnel.
31:47What we've done recently is scrape back with a JCB's sum of the earth.
31:51So you see this stone arch, and what we've done is just taken out a few bricks.
31:56And I think about 100 years ago, it had been bricked up.
32:00It's going to go in and explore it.
32:04Hidden underground for generations, the new opening has revealed a chamber.
32:09If I go in first, if I can ask you to drop down the floor, and then as I step
32:16over, just hold on to that for me.
32:17Yep.
32:18There's a little bit of water trickling through.
32:21With water from the tunnel to fill it, James now believes that this chamber was once a very private bathing
32:27pool.
32:28I could almost imagine a Georgian gentleman sitting on here and having his, you know, going into his plunge pool.
32:37And the plunge pool would be here.
32:41Private pools became a feature of large houses in the 18th century, as fashionable Georgians embraced the health benefits of
32:49cold water bathing.
32:51I've just noticed down here, a small piece of embedded ironwork, which looks like it was a fixing for something.
32:59So whether this was part of the regulating water levels, the sluice, I think there's no denying it's, you know,
33:08it's a plunge of some description that was decorated to enhance the experience of taking in the waters here.
33:15What I love about it, we've got this big conch shell, and Corrie, it looks like we've got almost quartz,
33:25isn't it?
33:25It is, it is.
33:27Someone has decided, you know, to decorate certainly this wall, and then obviously we've got, you know, the tunnel coming
33:36under the stable yard here, and then going out this way.
33:45There's a structure, it's just fantastic, and the fact that there's so much evidence of surface finish on here, as
33:52we can see here, you know, it's been lime washed over.
33:56So imagine this being stark white with the shells.
34:00It would have been a really, really bright and light, airy environment for you to come and sit and take
34:06in the waters.
34:07That's what really intrigues me, the thought of a Georgian family who lived in Pitchford, you know, coming into this
34:15underground plunge.
34:16It's obviously a fashion for cold water swimming at the moment.
34:20You know, 200 years ago, guess what?
34:22They were cold water swimming.
34:25But I would love to actually restore this to what it was originally in the 1820s or 1830s.
34:33Because when people come on guided tours to Pitchford, I'd actually like to show them, you know, what it was
34:38originally used for.
34:39Wouldn't it be wonderful for people to see, you know, how the Georgians, you know, relaxed and enjoyed themselves all
34:46those years ago?
34:48It's just a wonderful building.
34:51I think it needs restoring.
35:04Just outside Durham at Bransmouth Castle.
35:07Have an official looking t-shirt.
35:09Oh, look, lovely.
35:10Claire and her family are putting the finishing touches to a unique annual event.
35:15Are we ready?
35:17Yeah.
35:17Show us on road.
35:20Today, the castle will be back at the heart of the community.
35:24As it has been for the best part of a thousand years.
35:30What's more, the theme couldn't be more local.
35:33Good morning.
35:35Welcome to our castle.
35:37Here is your Dragon Quest form.
35:39You look ready to become a Dragon Master.
35:42Bransmouth is the perfect medieval backdrop for Dragon Quest, which celebrates local legends of heroic knights who slayed dragons.
35:52That's the 14th century Great Helm, early 14th century.
35:57And inside it's showtime.
36:00And warming up the crowd for the lantern dragon are Claire's mum, Alison, who has lived at Bransmouth since her
36:07family bought it in the late 1970s, and resident drama teacher Martin.
36:13It's a great story.
36:15It'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, I
36:39quite enjoy theatre.
36:41Our story is set a thousand years ago.
36:46It is part of Northeastern folklore.
36:50In 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.
37:04Ha, ha, ha, ha!
37:07I sound scared. I sound scared.
37:09John Lambton, you will pay.
37:14Martin's telling of the Lambton story is keeping this dragon and Alison patiently waiting.
37:20Yeah, Martin tells her own story.
37:22He wants you to make amends for all the terrible...
37:24But eventually, the dragon's moment arrives.
37:28Come and fight me!
37:31And there she was!
37:34He protected himself from the firing dragon's grave!
37:38And he retreated!
37:40He fought again!
37:43There was a fight between John Lambton and the dragon, and 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 leapt in!
37:57And the dragon circles him in the River Weir, tries to crush him to death, and John kills it.
38:02The dragon was washed away to meet its watery grave!
38:09With the dragon slain and the crowd cheering, it's a job well done for the Bransmith team.
38:17After the show, there's a chance for the audience to meet the stars, and Claire's happy with the day's work.
38:25I 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!
38:42All of this is just to keep the castle standing, keep it working, make sure there's a roof so that
38:47it doesn't leak.
38:47The money will very, very quickly be used for something.
38:57How 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.
39:14We're returning now to Mappetan 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
39:29imagine.
39:39The focal point of Mappetan's stunning valley garden is its ornamental pools.
39:47The 18th century pool has amazing history.
39:50It 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
39:59the wider community.
40:01Over time, the pool has served for swimming, and as a formal garden feature, but has not been without its
40:08headaches.
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.
40:23You know, when we first repaired it a couple of years ago, that was a huge cost.
40:28And you're thinking, right, I've repaired it.
40:30Fingers 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.
40:37Is there a solution?
40:39I hope so, because it's a well-known pool.
40:42People 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.
40:51But there is a cost that's attached to it, and it's a big cost.
40:55Hi, everybody.
40:57But Julie has found a way of turning every Mappetan problem into an opportunity.
41:03When you go to the gardens, we're going to be down there filming at the pool, and I will be
41:07in my funny cap and a bathing suit.
41:10The leaking pool is about to become the star of Mappetan's latest social media post.
41:15See you down at the pool.
41:17Thanks, everybody.
41:19Okay, 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
41:31this estate.
41:32Follow me on your YouTube channel.
41:34Oh, are you?
41:35Yes.
41:35Oh, my gosh.
41:37I'm addicted to it.
41:38It's my weekly dose.
41:39I get it from all of them.
41:41Okay, well, that's brilliant.
41:43What started as an experiment during the COVID pandemic has become a significant source of income for the estate.
41:51Okay, so I'll change in there, and then I'll just, like, walk and talk.
41:54That's cool.
41:54Yeah, 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
42:03is necessary to keep the viewers engaged.
42:06In case one drops into the water and gets green slimy.
42:10Today will be interesting because there's a lot of green gunk.
42:17It's blanket weed.
42:18There's algae.
42:19There's little, you know, bugs everywhere.
42:23So 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.
42:32But 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 Maperton and people would want
42:43photographs with me to have conversations just to shake my hand because they've seen me on social media.
42:50I'm going to head in.
42:52And, by the way, it is still cold.
42:55So if you think that the British summer weather has warmed up this pool, you are incorrect.
43:00It is...
43:01I've got to breathe through it.
43:03Woo!
43:05Most of our audience, can you believe it, is American.
43:08I'm talking 70 to 80 percent.
43:11They love it.
43:11Here is this American girl who's come into this odd world, you know, taking over the running of, you know,
43:19a 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
43:36of England's heritage.
43:37And that's so important.
43:38And this is what I'm walking on.
43:40Do you see that?
43:42Can you see?
43:43Through advertising, subscriptions, and donations, Julie's followers are now funding work at Maperton from thousands of miles away.
43:52I'm literally ankle deep right now.
43:54Ankle deep.
43:55Let's just look at this.
43:58Because we're so far, Maperton is so far from any major city, it's hard to get physical visitors here.
44:05I 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.
44:12Possibly right there.
44:13Possibly.
44:14Possibly.
44:15Possibly.
44:16I have definitely found a crack here.
44:21Hello.
44:22It was so fun.
44:23It looks freezing.
44:25Good, good, good.
44:26So, um, this will be...
44:27I've come down all the way from the north of Scotland.
44:28Did you?
44:29Yeah.
44:29I've been watching you on YouTube for a long time.
44:31Oh, thank you so much.
44:33And I'm so glad you got to see this, especially because you watch the channel.
44:36So, you know the drama of this pool.
44:38Yeah.
44:39So, watch out for the video.
44:40Good, good.
44:40Oh, thank you.
44:41And thank you so much for coming.
44:42And do you have some really good cakes in the cafe?
44:45Lunch already.
44:46Good.
44:47Good.
44:50In a nutshell, what we do online puts income back into the estate.
44:57It's as simple as that.
44:58I need to immediately, immediately go and shower.
45:03I would guess that Julie is the first Countess of Sandwich to make a splash in the world of
45:09social media.
45:18Next time on Saving Country Houses...
45:21Oh, golly.
45:24We're back at Ashby Manor as restoration costs are going up.
45:28What started out as sort of a day or two is turning into a two-week thing.
45:32I think we place it.
45:35Every day is money.
45:37We meet the family that's lived in the Brecon Beacons for 175 years.
45:42We have to work to ourselves for a big chunk of the year and then we hand it over to
45:47other
45:47people.
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.
45:53Should we meet up there at half four?
45:56At half four for a rehearsal.
45:57Yeah.
45:58And there's progress with Chavanish's big sauna idea.
46:02Dad, look at it.
46:03Oh my God.
46:05So cool.
46:06That is the sexiest sauna I've ever seen in my life.
46:08Oh my God.
46:10Oh my God.
46:37Transcription by CastingWords
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