Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith Season 1 Episode 5 visits Treberfydd House in Wales as preparations begin for the biggest wedding of the year—weather permitting. Meanwhile, in Shropshire, an ancient treehouse and historic lime tree receive much-needed care and attention to preserve their heritage. Discover the charm, challenges, and restoration stories that bring Britain’s historic estates to life in Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith.
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#SavingCountryHousesWithPenelopeKeith #TreberfyddHouse #HistoricHomes #BritishHeritage #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.
01:19We'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?
02:26SILENCE
02:27From house tours and open days to gardens and cafés,
02:30there are many ways in which a country house can earn its keep in the 21st century.
02:35but there's one very regular money spinner that can't be ignored weddings some houses host dozens
02:44each year often squeezing two into a single weekend but at our next house the owners are
02:51taking a much more bespoke and hands-on approach to hosting country house weddings we're returning
02:59to the brecon beacons national park and the victorian splendor of treburfith house
03:07this magnificent gothic revival home has been owned by the same family since it was built in the 1840s
03:17three years ago sally martineau took over running the estate from her parents
03:24should have done this about five hours ago along with her husband hugh it is handy to be hands-on
03:32which hugh uh very luckily is i can be a plumber an electrician farmer and a chef all by nine
03:42o'clock
03:46in the morning tomorrow the family will be hosting their biggest wedding of the year
03:52an event that's set to take over many parts of the estate
03:58it's nice for wedding guests not to be cooped up in one space all day long you've got the house
04:02you've
04:02got the marquee you've got the gardens every now and again you might find some someone asleep in the
04:06hermick that's been known to happen it's it's good fun having everyone here for a wedding it's just
04:14really really lovely to see this is the season plan at the heart of tomorrow's event will be bride
04:22duany and groom gareth surrounded by their many guests yeah too many uh 174 including the two of us
04:32um and then a few for the evening as well so yeah very excited very excited big fat sri lankan
04:38welsh wedding
04:41the event is set to be an international affair with gareth's welsh and duany's sri lankan heritage on
04:48full display we went to university together in birmingham and it's been eight years eight and a half
04:56years and here we are so i took my time yeah yeah it's going to be great they've got um
05:05a sri lankan
05:05ceremony and they're going to build a platform with an arch they've got sri lankan food there's
05:10a sri lankan caterer coming down from manchester so it'll be fun once duany and gareth discovered
05:17the freedom that to burfith offered them they knew they'd found their perfect wedding venue as soon as
05:23we spoke to sally it was like it's your wedding do what you want do whatever you want she said
05:29yeah
05:29she was on canvas absolutely perfect we're feeling so lucky to be getting married here it's it's
05:36incredible for sally and hugh however this wedding is set to push their hosting skills to the next level
05:45we've got 174 guests in total of which 38 are staying on site we've got 10 staying in the house
05:55which we're doing bed and breakfast for and then the rest are in our self-catering places
06:01and with so many guests coming to the wedding sally and hugh have spotted a new income stream
06:07and this summer have introduced a glamping area and a pair of luxury bell tents they're just up for
06:17the weddings and they're for wedding guests to use i mean it's so convenient just to roll out the
06:22marquee and down to your tent at night easier option so it's basic but it's nicer than camping
06:30there's something for everyone i mean not everyone's going to want to stay in a bell tent
06:33for a wedding other people prefer to have a shower and a bath and everything
06:40and speaking of hot water with guests arriving shortly and 24 hours until the wedding itself
06:47it's really not the time for the house's giant boiler to shut down
06:55so this is the weed chip boiler this is what heats the house and two of the self-catering properties
07:01the cell wheels blocked and i need to go and see if i can unblock it this giant contraption runs
07:09on
07:10nothing but wood 40 tons a year to be precise 70 of which is harvested from the estate it is
07:19cheap and
07:20sustainable to run when it works i just need to see if i can get it turning
07:29it's great from a heating perspective but just due to the mechanics of it you still get a few issues
07:37i'm hoping i'll be able to just pluck out whatever has blocked this there we go a gnarly bit of
07:44wood
07:45chip really the chip should be shorter but the chipper just failed to to do that that's the kind of
07:50stuff that will ruin my day that's it back up and running so it was a reasonably easy fix that
07:59one
08:00sometimes it can be a little bit more challenging
08:06back at the house the bride's friends and family are busy preparing blissfully unaware of the trouble
08:13that's been averted but host sally has just spotted oh yeah it's a cake another problem in the offing
08:26i suppose keeping it dog proof yeah yeah sorry let's get the dogs out and the door shut
08:32evie good girl are these evie evie evie and maizey yeah both friendly but she's the one with the
08:38appetite so she will yeah she'll go for the cake that would be a nightmare if the dog got the
08:44cake so
08:45let's not let that happen thank you maizey ruined a christmas dinner once by eating a lot of ham and
08:53turkey out of the larder so there's precedence um there we go for now at least maizey will have to
09:05make do with a shoe and a lot of attention
09:14there may be a wedding tomorrow but that doesn't mean that normal work around the estate can stop
09:22which includes hugh and the children tending to the livestock uh we're off to move the sheep
09:30the sheep have been in a field when did we move them over molly was sunday was it
09:36and we need to get them out of there because they're running out of grass
09:41moving sheep along a road is one job right
09:47we're having four children definitely helps molly you go up and open the gate
09:53where am i going you're going to be down there ahead of the sheep
09:56yep with molly okay and with no sheep dog to hand
10:03hugh will take all the help he can get
10:06come on a dog would be more effective and with preparations for treburfiv's biggest ever wedding
10:14in full flow time is of the essence
10:19come on girls
10:22so hugh decides to become his very own motorized sheep dog
10:28i love sheep but they never quite do what they're supposed to do
10:55it's good to see the next generation of the family working hard to do their bit
11:02there's a car okay just let the sheep run past it to help out on the estate
11:11they're pretty lucky to do this sort of stuff i think i'm not sure they realize that yet but they
11:15will
11:21do you want to check and see if there's any stragglers around the back
11:25yeah go for a run run dunk oh there's one okay all clear
11:35that's a relatively successful move yeah
11:41back at the house more and more people have arrived for the wedding
11:46but things are falling a bit behind schedule
11:51oh hello i'm sorry the rehearsal's been pushed back oh don't worry don't worry too much to do before
11:56too much to do yeah everyone didn't arrive till just now have they so um yeah push it back
12:01so should we meet up there at half four at half four for rehearsal yeah and there's one other factor
12:07that's on everyone's minds the threat of rain tomorrow morning we've been checking the weather
12:15apps every few hours and it's been changing every few hours literally um it's an outdoor ceremony
12:22for tomorrow the warriors having obviously 175 guests sitting on the lawn and then the heavens open
12:40oh how we british love to discuss the weather we laugh that it's our national obsession but if
12:48you're planning an outdoor wedding as they are at treburfydd house then i think a degree of obsession is quite
12:54justified
12:56at another of our houses weather is also a concern not because of any one event but for the long
13:03-term
13:03preservation of a most unusual piece of national heritage we're returning to shropshire and to
13:10rowena coldhurst and james nason owners of pitchford hall this stunning elizabethan manor house has been
13:21part of rowena's family history since it was built i feel proud and happy but equally i do feel a
13:30great
13:31sense of responsibility inside it comes complete with a host of tudor treasures
13:40from secret doorways
13:46to the odd trap door
13:54it's fun on the tours because um sometimes i do it in the street or hiding behind the other side
13:59of
13:59the door we hope you've enjoyed your tour of pitchford hall
14:08but when it comes to entertaining children one historic feature of pitchford was custom designed
14:14for the purpose
14:17we are off to the picture treehouse it's meant to be the oldest treehouse in the world
14:24james and his eldest daughter georgiana are walking in the footsteps of all young visitors to pitchford
14:31the treehouse was built in the 1670s one of these visitors was a princess by the name of victoria
14:41who played here as a 13 year old a few years before becoming queen
14:48we think in in the 1600s there was a fashion you know for treehouses or follies
14:55there were three treehouses in shropshire within about you know 20 miles 30 miles and that those
15:02two have now been been lost so we're the kind of only remaining treehouse
15:08i think someone did ask you once did your father knock it up uh for you and construct it and
15:14she had
15:15to you know gently tell them that actually it's from around about 1670
15:21make sure i got the key uh here we go
15:27the inside is something quite unexpected too
15:31as the treehouse boasts an ornate 18th century interior
15:38what i think it's just magical when you come inside and see all the 1760s plasterwork
15:45apollo the girl of the sun and then a lot of the designs that tie in with designs on the
15:50house
15:51and these same features were once gazed upon by a young princess
15:58you know we know that queen victoria visited this treehouse because she writes about it in her
16:03in her journals and i bet she looked out of that window you know towards the realm that at some
16:11point she was going to roll over evocative though this ancient treehouse may be it's not without
16:20its headaches for its owners the gothic window frames have entirely rotted away in places
16:30and on the outside restoration work carried out in the 1980s is now a cause for concern
16:39the use is hard to sand cement and you see it's almost kind of the panels shut out and eventually
16:47they will just chip chip and we'll just lose these chunks um so it's it's really important for us to
16:54to replace these these panels but it is not just the exterior of the treehouse that is in need of
17:02expensive help the tree itself often requires urgent attention the tree is a broadleaf lime and it's meant
17:12to be the oldest in the british isles records suggest this lime was planted in 1550 it was already
17:20well over a century old when the treehouse was added the center of the tree is almost totally hollow you
17:30know two or three people could probably hide in that hollow several decades ago the tree needed some extra
17:38help in its battle against mother nature there was a big storm so at that point they put some kind
17:46of
17:47steel supports on the tree house but you do worry it's got leaves it looks it looks okay but i
17:56know it
17:56must be reaching the end of its life with that in mind eight years ago james and the family put
18:04a tree
18:05succession plan in place we know we'll lose the lime at some point we've got to have plan b and
18:13plan b is
18:13is is is this little this little lime tree one of the first things we did when we when we
18:21came back
18:21to pitchford was get this cutting from the lime there's six of them and they're all planted at
18:27pitchford but this is the one we hope will at some point uh we'll be able to move the treehouse
18:34to this
18:35line so i guess you're talking about 100 years from now so i don't know how many generations forward that
18:43yeah we're 20 21 25 yeah but whilst that feels like a project that will be for the future generations
18:52james has plans this summer to give the ancient lime a bit of a makeover
19:05i always find the history of ancient trees so extraordinary the pitchford lime played host to
19:13queen victoria and yet it was already a sapling before elizabeth i came to the throne remarkable but
19:21now we're traveling to the southwest where the owners have a habit of preserving the past by
19:27embracing the very modern six miles from dorset's famous jurassic coast we're paying another visit
19:36to mappetum house this is the hall this has all the portraits really of luke's ancestors
19:50mappetum is the home of luke montague 12th earl of sandwich and his american wife julie
19:58yes um and there are some pictures that we prefer more than others i think it's fair to say
20:05that is the great art yeah of samuel pepys
20:09um not a very attractive portrait um we're constantly bickering as to whether she should
20:16be turned around the other way
20:20one other portrait however proves that julie is not the first woman to cross the atlantic to join the
20:27montague family i'm not alone there was an american who came before me the ninth countess of sandwich from
20:35chicago and we have so many similarities it's a bit it's a bit bonkers luke's great grandmother alberta
20:44was once in the same position as julie a century later alberta has become the subject of a ground
20:51breaking exhibit at mappetum that the couple hope will bring in more visitors and more income
20:59we've got these wonderful diaries of hers and correspondence which we've been able
21:03to put into and transcribe into an ai system which having learned all about alberta's life is now
21:12ready to hold a conversation let's see how she's doing today hello alberta it's luke your great
21:20grandson and my wife julie we are in the library at mappetum luke dearest how wonderful to hear your
21:29voice and julie's too how perfectly delightful to be in conversation with you today indeed your
21:35presence quite lifts the spirit oh it's quite moving every time isn't it it's not obviously her
21:45voice but it sounds as though she might have spoken in that way definitely feels a little bit like my
21:51great-grandmother yeah hi alberta it's julie and from one american to another i was just wondering if
21:58you could just give me some advice on how you coped with the move over here to england and also
22:03marrying into the montague family julie my dear from one american countess to another i send you all the
22:10warmth and strength such a role requires when i left america i carried with me not merely my trunks
22:16but my upbringing and the spirit of independence so deeply ingrained in us
22:23so my advice to you dear julie is this never shrink england will try to shape you but you too
22:29can shape england oh my gosh i got tears in my eyes with that one i mean that was
22:37it's astonishing it's really astonishing there you go that's why i speak to her often
22:43she's a therapist she is with ai alberta up and running and all set to bring in more visitors
22:55julie can concentrate on her new challenge for the summer the mapperton gardens
23:02she is taking over from luke's mother who has managed the estate's biggest draw for 40 years
23:08but julie is a self-confessed novice gardener
23:16firstly there is a hydrangea that's threatening to take over so as a visitor there is no way you
23:24would know that there is a statue behind this hydrangea i'm going to step up here this statue's
23:31lovely it's sort of got a huge beak there look at these lovely wings and now that i've seen this
23:37griffin i want it to be seen by the public let's cut so dressed very boldly for the occasion
23:46okay julie is heading for her first morning with mapperton's garden team well the only thing i'll say
23:53is i'm a bit nervous i hope i'm not making a mistake but julie is not on her own as
24:00mapperton's
24:01professional gardeners susie knight and lander king are on hand to stop anyone getting too reckless
24:08with their shears i'm really looking forward to it julie's just got boundless energies which i think
24:15is going to help me um when i'm feeling tired she just like lifts you up and she's fun
24:22the biggest challenge for me personally that i think taking on a garden like this is actually learning
24:28the latin hydrangea aspera hydrangea aspera vellosa vello vellosa with a v yeah i mean if you are a
24:35proper gardener you know your latin okay hydrangea aspera vellosa you have to say it three times
24:42hydrangea aspera vellosa hydrangea aspera vellosa ask me at the end
24:51now the name of these i couldn't remember loppers loppers okay brilliant and you just go like that
24:57right yeah okay where where should i do it this is the big moment where i'm actually going to start
25:03to
25:17chop
25:18it's the height of summer in dorset
25:25the gardens at napperton house are in full bloom
25:29and being tended to by their novice gardener julie montague
25:35okay so i'm going to cut here i'm going to do the first cut everybody oh gosh
25:41yay here we go i'm actually chopping all of it's going lander yeah yep yep
25:52all right well done that's dead although not everything is as easy as the pruning
26:01dear julie it's those latin names that are the tough part hydrangea oh hydrangea alpis
26:09veloce was that it hydrangea aspera vellosa hydrangea acer veloce
26:18hydrangea agris veloce
26:26tending to formal gardens is just one time-consuming part of saving a country house
26:34mapperton's wider estate stretches to almost 2 000 acres of farm and woodland so to manage costs and
26:42move with the times the montague family have had to think cleverly about how to steward the land
26:49and today luke and son william are on a mission to herd some cattle as part of a rewilding initiative
26:59i've not done a herding of the cows yet so i think mum wouldn't do this yeah she doesn't like
27:06getting
27:06close to cattle no she doesn't no no but you've got a stick here yes i don't know how this
27:11would
27:12fare against the charging bull and these are not any old cows either but a herd of rare white park
27:23cattle these are large animals they've got big long horns you don't want to get on the wrong side of
27:29them i'm going to try some stick waving waving yeah well maybe yeah something like that i think you
27:37know yeah we'll give it a go anyway since 2022 the montagues have been championing the rewilding approach
27:47which will see the return of more scrub and woodland to the estate government policy since
27:54the second world war led to a lot of very intensive farming because the need was to get inexpensive
28:00food on the table and really we need to be getting a balance between food production and nature recovery
28:08but despite the name rewilding requires some careful management
28:14that's why the cattle are moving home we don't want to overgraze and we don't want to undergraze
28:22and so from time to time we need to play the cowboy and move them around luke and william are
28:30meeting
28:30estate manager claire kingston to formulate a plan
28:37hi claire hi claire what what what treats have you got for the cattle to encourage them
28:43well it's actually sheep food sheep food
28:49so it's that noise is it that's going to bring them on they've heard it already they know they know
28:54we're here moving cows from one field to another sounds simple enough but white park are not your typical herd
29:05they're an ancient english breed they are not like domestic cattle who are very accustomed to people
29:12and very accustomed to being fed by people and so temperamentally they're in charge
29:20if they don't want to move they're not going to move claire will you start rattling at some appropriate
29:27moment our job is to go and get behind them
29:37come on cow come on wrong way no no no wrong way up this way come on then
29:47i'm going to go down the bottom here william and find them off the other way
29:51they clearly don't want to be moved so look they're already off but luke's not doing a very
29:56good job at um at rounding them up wrong way come on stop for a moment like will's first proper
30:09encounter with the white park and they've gone totally in the wrong direction
30:15they've gone to the complete wrong gate let's go back and regroup
30:22that was what his generation would call a fail
30:25that was a total fail yeah they just clearly like it in here too much they figured our plan
30:33and they've gone in the most inconvenient place they could possibly go yeah
30:39but temperamental cattle aside the mapperton rewilding project is already seeing results
30:46it's been amazing to see what's happened because i just remember this when i was growing up just being
30:52quite slightly dull and seeing all this different flora come alive and all the and all the animals and
30:59everything has been amazing to watch the invertebrates have come back the bird life that's come back
31:06and the way that the woodlands have recovered has been quite remarkable
31:12back in the gardens julie susie and lander have almost finished uncovering the first of two griffin
31:20statues but this is incredible this reveal this is unbelievable
31:30revealing the lost griffins is a magical moment for julie as she steps into her new role in charge of
31:37mapperton's gardens we're nearly there yeah there's a plaque over there that lists the names of the
31:48gardeners who worked on this garden from 1920 to 1927 of course they would have seen the griffin and
31:57to be able to cut back and showcase this again i think is wonderful and it's a wonderful in one
32:03sense
32:03tribute to them because they were the ones who you literally made this garden
32:10okay should we stand back and look at the one that's been able to breathe and open up
32:16done it done it yeah
32:21this looks so good it's opened up a whole new photo opportunity for visitors yeah it has i'm gonna
32:27be the first one to take that photo with the three of us okay okay all right should we get
32:32on to the
32:32next one there's no stopping you yeah all right let's go when your blood's up well completing this
32:39first task it's given me definitely some confidence and i need that moving forward but of course i'm
32:44still you know i'm a junior but i think for you know my first day my first big job it
32:51was a huge success
32:54the griffin may be back on display but uh what was that hydrangea called hydrangea espira vellosa yeah
33:03i got okay i got it hydrangea espira vellosa oh okay great
33:13for what it's worth i think you can be a very good gardener and still be terrible at latin
33:20how interesting though that the future of mappetan's wilder estate is in some ways a return to the
33:26past back at pitchford hall they are looking to the future too their ancient lime tree cannot go on
33:34forever but whilst they plan for the inevitable they are doing what they can to care for this living
33:41landmark fascinating
33:48this morning james nason has tree surgeons dave thomas and rob davis on site
33:55every time i see you know the weather forecast talking about a storm coming across wales into
34:01shropshire i'm absolutely terrified with the country's weather becoming more extreme dave and
34:08rob are giving what is believed to be britain's oldest broadleaf lime a spot of geriatric care
34:17it's almost like a it's almost like a haircut
34:20using impressive acrobatic skills and nerves of steel rob is removing branches
34:29and clumps of mistletoe how far can you go up the tree
34:37he could go within a meter of the top really wow yeah
34:43he looks quite comfortable yeah you are you've got to enjoy you yeah and you're going to like trees
34:49as well i've known rob for over 20 odd years he's very safe
34:58there does seem to be quite a lot of mistletoe which average from my perspective is is obviously
35:03excellent yeah it's actually more than i more than i expected
35:12the mistletoe is it's parasitic isn't it yes definitely and it just creates weight that we
35:17don't need in in the in the in a tree in the picture of the iron yeah because of this
35:21sail effect
35:21when the wind's coming through it just adds to the volume of
35:27stuff within the tree the wind can't travel through it like it would normally
35:33but by reducing that sail area by just 10 percent you know what i mean yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
35:40by one heck of a lot yeah
35:43and important work like this to save pitchfence precious natural heritage is expensive
35:53top tree surgeons like rob and dave don't come cheap
36:01i've had to look around it it doesn't look good on parts of the tree it's hollow in the middle
36:07isn't
36:08it but it's still standing yeah depends what nature throws at it and and nature's throwing
36:13quite a lot nowadays nowadays more yeah yeah a lot more you know these winter storms
36:21we've got the mistletoe yeah that's yeah it's quite weighty what he's also done is
36:28it's taking out this dead wood from the tree so it's a great job maybe i can sleep slightly better
36:36at night thinking well at least we've done our best james's plan is to give the lime tree a haircut
36:43like this every three to five years such an amazing tree that is it its future may be safe for
36:52now
36:52but all james and rowena can hope is that under their watch this important piece of pitchford's
36:59heritage will reach its 600th birthday
37:15at treburfith house in wales it's the morning of duany and gareth's big wedding
37:24but as feared the weather is not looking good
37:32your heart will sinks when you see the rain coming down at breakfast time a bit of a moment
37:37there's always the worry about the weather particularly where we are in wales it's unpredictable
37:42but the show must go on and working hard outside is alice vine the florist here comes the rain again
37:52i mean uk wedding you have to think it's gonna rain but you know like it's kind of just part
37:59of the
37:59story of the day isn't it if it rains there'll be umbrellas and it'll be really romantic and fun and
38:03it makes a good party because everyone will stay together right jolly peonies in we go
38:13with 38 of the wedding guests staying overnight at treburfith home owners sally and hugh martineau
38:20also have their hands full hugh does the cooking he's hugh poaches the eggs and i do this bit
38:31i think everyone's a bit nervous which is kind of normal um and everyone's up very early i heard
38:37people around sort of six ish but um yeah no i think there's definitely excitement building
38:46breakfast is out of the way which is the main thing now it's putting some bales out for the
38:53fire pit for later on chairs is the next thing although they seem to be making a start on that
39:03they're putting them out loosely yeah that's what that's that's your concern that's my problem
39:08all right better go and see what's happening with these chairs
39:13come on easy the good news is that the rain has stopped
39:20and things are definitely looking brighter
39:25it's really quite hot now and the sun's coming through burning off the damp so yeah still crossing
39:32our fingers and with the weather beyond anyone's control
39:37all sally hugh and the team can really do is be ready on time
39:44so the ceremony's at one i normally like to be done and out
39:47an hour before because so i've got to be speedy speedy
39:54the 174 chairs meanwhile have quite a way to go there's a sort of way of doing it so we
40:00kind of
40:00create a fan or a herringbone shape so they kind of spread out as you go out up the hill
40:06so it takes a bit of an eye
40:09how many have you got in that row there this one yeah i think the first two rows need to
40:15get up and
40:15down so they'll need a bit of space for movement around and then we can be a bit tighter with
40:21the
40:21ones behind that just keep the spaces even between them i think you've got an extra row in there
40:26um you've got more space you're always going to have a little bit of imbalance because it's never
40:31central to the grass it's central to the arch so that lines up with this one then does it yeah
40:37broadly
40:37yeah having now hosted around a dozen weddings a year over the last few summers
40:45hugh and sally have become experts at their craft it's just the right sort of gradient where you can
40:51sit on a on a chair and look down but not topple over so it's perfect for weddings
40:56but this event's unique touches are bringing a special sense of occasion for sally
41:05well just thinking that arch is amazing it's so beautiful
41:09that's really transforming this space for the ceremony the flowers frame a sri lankan ceremonial
41:17platform called a purua where the bride and groom will stand to exchange their vows
41:27with enough chairs for everyone laid out in perfect symmetry and the weather just about holding up
41:37the water bar there's enough time for a last minute lawnmower from hugh before the guests arrive in their
41:43finery and now for the big moment i'm gonna ask you to rise to welcome the groom as gareth
42:01and Duwany start their married life together
42:06at this historic country house.
42:16With everyone sitting down and the wedding running smoothly,
42:22there's no relaxing for Hugh,
42:25as he has to keep an eye on the wider estate.
42:29And while yesterday it was sheep,
42:31today Hugh needs to check on the cattle.
42:35This is our small heart here,
42:36and they fit really well within this landscape as well.
42:40These are white galloways.
42:42Big cavies. They're looking well.
42:47On hot days like this,
42:49you see the benefits of having trees in the middle of the field as well
42:52because the cows just congregate.
42:53They find it far more comfortable under the shade of the trees.
42:58I'm just going to point out this tree here to you.
43:00It's got an amazing canopy.
43:02They say that an oak tree for every metre in circumference
43:05is about 100 years worth of growth,
43:07and that tree over there is about 8 metres in circumference.
43:11So we think that that tree is probably somewhere between 600 and 900 years old.
43:16But, yeah, it's a beautiful tree.
43:18There's a pair of nesting kites that just sit on top of that.
43:23Oh, there's one over there.
43:31But with 170-odd people back at the house,
43:38there's little time for bird spotting.
43:41Hello. Congratulations.
43:43You all right?
43:46Indeed, Hugh has become used to finding his house full of wedding guests.
43:52It's normal, man.
44:06The guests are now in the marquee,
44:10which means it's back to chairs for Sally and Hugh.
44:14I'm a little weary. I've had a 3.30pm coffee.
44:19It'll be better once all the chairs are inside.
44:22I'm just about ready for a beer.
44:24He's had one already.
44:29Whether it's a first or second beer,
44:32with another successful wedding under their belts,
44:35Sally and Hugh are carving out a new way to preserve an estate
44:39that's been in the family since it was built, 175 years ago.
44:44Yeah, it's gone great. Everyone's really happy.
44:47And it's been really dry and warm, so that's a result.
44:51Everyone's probably looking forward to their food right now.
44:54And it smells amazing.
44:56I can smell the Sri Lankan food from here.
44:58So, yeah.
45:03I can't believe that the rakes of old would have imagined
45:06that this would be the way that we live and run the house today.
45:10But here we are, and this is what we do.
45:17I think they're lighting some sort of candle.
45:19It looks like some Sri Lankan tradition.
45:22Never had a Sri Lankan ceremony here before.
45:25It's been a lovely atmosphere and really fun just watching it all.
45:30All the amazing saris and outfits.
45:33It feels lovely. It's a really nice feeling.
45:43Next time on Saving Country Houses,
45:46the mistakes of the 1980s are revealed at the Pitchford Treehouse.
45:51This is a galvanised steel mesh.
45:53It's just your basic sort of builder stuff,
45:56but it's just totally wrong.
45:58An expert pays a visit to the Chavenage Attic.
46:01Good God.
46:02And would you say this is the one of the biggest private attic railway?
46:07From my point of view, it is the biggest private attic I've ever seen.
46:10Wow.
46:13And we meet the delightful house in Wiltshire
46:15where 20,000 visitors and a septic tank proved to be a challenging combination.
46:24We managed to get the emergency call out so we could get it pumped out.
46:27Everyone's always desperate when they give you a ring.
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