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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 grounds 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 appétit.
01:19But 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 leeks, as you can see.
01:37And stop their fears becoming a reality.
01:41I think of all the ancestors going back 900 years.
01:44If we fail, it's on our watch.
01:47Of course, being to the manor born has always been a privilege.
01:51But 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?
02:30As we've seen at so many of the houses we've been visiting, country houses today tend to be a product
02:37of many things.
02:38We've seen many eras and numerous individuals.
02:41But more than any other that we're following, the look and feel of our first house today was shaped by
02:47one key person a century ago.
02:50That person's work is now being put front and centre once again, as a defining feature for the house's future.
03:01We're heading to Northamptonshire for another visit to Ashby Manor House.
03:09The house we see today has been shaped over many centuries, and the latest in a long line of custodians
03:16is Nova Guest,
03:17who is proud of this beautiful home's rich architectural evolution.
03:23Ashby Manor House, at its core, is an Elizabethan house, but it has a number of architectural influences.
03:29So, we have the Catesby Wing, which is 16th century.
03:33The Gardener's Cottage, which is 17th century.
03:38Viewed from the east, however, the hand of Edwin Lutyens becomes obvious.
03:46The most famous architect of the early 1900s spent over 30 years working at Ashby.
03:54He created a whole new facade and designed formal gardens and parkland,
04:02turning this centuries-old manor house into an Edwardian design icon.
04:08A hundred years later, the grounds are looked after by Ashby's regular landscaper, Finn Toner,
04:15still in awe of Lutyens' eye for detail.
04:19The whole house and the whole design, the whole Lutyens' design is based around this central feature through the canal,
04:24so you've got centre of the house working out this fantastic landscaping.
04:27But it doesn't just stop there, it carries on all the way through to the end.
04:31With symmetrical yew hedging and sight lines down to the lake,
04:36Lutyens' clear vision was then for an open parkland, dotted with single large trees.
04:44In recent generations, though, this vision has become slightly less clear.
04:50You actually look through from the house, you can't see there's a lake there at the moment
04:54because the reed bed and everything's so high.
04:56And closer to the house, extra trees have appeared, surrounded by shrubs and undergrowth.
05:04Now, Nova and her team are on a mission to remove the impostors
05:08and restore Lutyens' original vision.
05:11None of this is supposed to be here.
05:13The ash tree are probably self-seeded.
05:16So we've got three areas that we're going to be looking at,
05:21and they've started on the first one.
05:24We're clearing the island essentially, so unfortunately the ash is going to come down.
05:28And then we're re-prepping all the ground, trying to get rid of all the root structures of all the
05:31weeds,
05:32and then we're going to create it back into lawn.
05:34This is going to look very different.
05:36Yeah, move on down to the second one.
05:38So this again is all coming out and going back to lawn.
05:41Bigger units will come out and get laid over, ready for getting chipped up.
05:44And then we'll go through, strim out all the smaller stinger nettles and brambles and stuff like that.
05:49Yeah, this is quite a big job.
05:51The decision to return the parkland to its 1900s design may not be in tune with Nova's modern sensibilities,
05:59but it's necessary to keep Ashby grounds looking their best for paying visitors.
06:05I mean, obviously the environmental side of my brain is like,
06:08we shouldn't be pulling anything out of the ground.
06:11You know, that's not really what we're doing these days.
06:15But thinking about Lutyens, I think he'd approve.
06:18You know, he'd landscape the grounds.
06:22And I think that we are doing the right thing.
06:27Taking down these ash trees, you know, there's a lot of ash dieback in the area currently anyway,
06:31so it's less heartbreaking, if you know what I mean.
06:36Getting them down is quite easy and quick.
06:38Just got to avoid the lawnmower.
06:41That's one lad that's always doing his job.
06:44Cutting down a tree takes no time at all for an experienced landscaper like Finn.
06:51Doing it well, on the other hand, requires some proper planning.
06:55And Finn has a trick up his sleeve to ensure minimum impact to Ashby's carefully maintained grass.
07:02Just lay that there, so when it comes over, some of the branches will spike straight into the ground.
07:08And just a bit of a crash mat just saves hurting the lawn too much.
07:26But, with the sound of chainsaws humming away, Nova is still worried about the end result.
07:34We can plant lots of more beautiful beach trees on that side, and then it's going to be okay.
07:42As country house projects go, removing trees and planting new ones makes a big impact for relatively little cost.
07:51So, it's a smart way for Nova to spend her limited resources.
07:56Even if she won't be the one to sit in the shade of the trees about to be planted.
08:02The finances and stuff, you've got to really aim at the correct places,
08:06because you can't just do all of it.
08:07There's just so much area, so much ground, so much you could do.
08:11You really need to focus your funding into the bits you think are going to make the biggest difference.
08:17We have the business running to, you know, to be able to have the funds available to do wonderful projects
08:23like this.
08:24But, we're doing projects like this because we feel that the grounds are improved.
08:30You know, when we have all these visitors, sometimes we have weddings that are up to a few hundred people,
08:34and we have people walking through the grounds.
08:37This can't have sort of bracken and weeds and things coming out of a planting pocket
08:41just because we haven't quite been able to deal with it.
08:44We're going back to how it should be.
08:46We're taking the landscape back to how Lutton's intended it to be.
08:49And that's going to be wonderful for visitors coming here, because it looks how it was supposed to be,
08:55how it was planned out 120 years ago.
09:00As much of the ash trees as possible will be put to good use.
09:04The smaller branches will be turned into wood chip,
09:07whilst the bigger limbs and trunk will be saved for firewood.
09:11And, to control costs, Finn has given himself an ambitious schedule.
09:17So, we're probably here for about three days.
09:20By the end of the day today, we'll hopefully have all the trees down.
09:24When he told me his time scales, I was like, are you sure?
09:30I mean, I actually thought he was going to be bringing four guys in,
09:34but here they are, two of them, and they go absolutely hammer and tongs.
09:39But Finn has brought in some serious hardware to keep things moving.
09:46It's like an army tanker, isn't it?
09:49It looks like it's for another time.
09:52I could do with that vehicle here all the time, to be honest.
10:07Felling a tree may be quick and easy,
10:10but what's left behind could prove more difficult and costly to deal with.
10:17We've budgeted this orb without a stump grinder,
10:20but I'm not quite sure how you...
10:22I thought all trees, stumps need to be ground up with a...
10:26You get this proper machine.
10:27So, that's in my mind,
10:29because we can't have a stump sticking out of the ground.
10:42At Ashby Manor House in Northamptonshire,
10:45it's a day of dramatic change in the surrounding parkland.
10:53I don't think I can even watch the next one, because...
10:56But, whilst owner Nova Guest's ash trees come down,
11:00her landscaping costs are going up.
11:03They are quite big stumps for the machinery that we've bought today,
11:06but on trees this established,
11:08it's probably going to end up more of a stump grinder job than it is pulling it in the machine.
11:13It will add a little bit of cost, because, obviously, we have to bring the other machinery over,
11:16and there's probably a few hours working, grinding them out,
11:19and then we've got to get the machine here and get it back and fuel,
11:21and, yeah, all adds up.
11:27Landscaper Finn has two trees down and has now moved on to the second area that needs to be cleared.
11:36It's been a busy day.
11:37It's already possible to see the impact of Finn's work,
11:41and Lutchen's vision is slowly returning to Ashby.
11:48If you look, you can start to appreciate all the beautiful trees,
11:53which were really hidden from view before.
11:57Tomorrow, he'll be coming to focus on all the reeds and bulrushes
12:01along the front of the lake,
12:04so you'll be able to sort of walk down to the lake and actually walk up to the water,
12:08which will be amazing.
12:11I like to think I am truly doing everything that not only Lutchen's,
12:21but future generations will see what I have been, the vision that we've had,
12:25and the thought process behind why we did it.
12:40Both the joy and the challenge of gardens is how they change and evolve over time.
12:47So, as we've seen at Ashby Manor,
12:50major steps are now being taken to restore the landscape to how it was intended to be.
12:55The same can apply inside a house, too, as time takes its toll on family treasures.
13:02And when those treasures are handmade and centuries old,
13:07the time and cost to restore them can be enormous.
13:13Down in Dorset, this is exactly the challenge being faced at Mapperton House.
13:22Once voted Britain's finest manor house, Mapperton is the seat of the Earls of Sandwich.
13:29The current earl is Luke Montague.
13:32But this has only been the family home since 1955.
13:37In country house terms, the Montague family are relative newcomers to Dorset.
13:43So this is like the private side, if that makes sense.
13:47This is where we live, the back of the house.
13:49And then we're going to come through here.
13:51And this is where we open it up to the public.
13:56Chicago-born Julie is the current Countess of Sandwich and the third generation of the Montagues to live here.
14:03But her home is full of heirlooms from the family's previous and even larger house in Cambridgeshire.
14:10And there's not quite enough space here.
14:13Even though this is a big house, most of it is open to the public.
14:17So there's actually not a lot of space, which I know sounds crazy, but there's no space actually for me
14:22to have a room where I can store things.
14:25A case in point is Julie's big restoration project of the moment, the Montagues 18th century tapestries.
14:35These tapestries have been displayed in various rooms at Mapperton since the family moved here.
14:41But a closer look reveals how degraded their wool and silk has become.
14:48They've now been taken down and all bar one are in storage, awaiting conservation work.
14:54But you can't simply tidy these massive works of art into a cupboard or pop them under the bed.
15:00Could you?
15:02I had to store the tapestries that have yet to be restored underneath a bed in a room that's open
15:10to the public.
15:15Just one second.
15:16Unfortunately, this means that gaining access to them is now rather a cumbersome job.
15:21What I want to get out is, of course, the one that's really difficult.
15:25So just one second.
15:26The tapestries here at Mapperton have been so close to my heart and they were in such a state.
15:32They are in such a state.
15:34They're so stuck because it's so long.
15:37This has been a dream of mine to get as many of these tapestries restored as I possibly can.
15:45You know, they have sentimental value because they've been a part of the Montague family for hundreds of years.
15:52Restoration work on the historic tapestries, however, is a dying art that's painstaking and slow and horribly costly.
16:01It's the gift everybody that keeps on giving.
16:04Reinvigorating the largest tapestry will cost Julie more than £100,000.
16:09We're not done yet.
16:10I think we are.
16:12We're not. One more.
16:14But Julie does have one ace up her sleeve to help foot the bill.
16:17Her sizeable online following.
16:20What we're doing is restoration projects within the house that need to be conserved and repaired.
16:28Putting those restoration projects out on social media.
16:32One under here is much bigger than this one.
16:35And asking our followers to donate towards these projects.
16:40That's exactly what we're doing and it's working.
16:43So I'm going to have to move these.
16:46So far, Julie has raised enough money for work on a different, smaller tapestry to get underway.
16:53It depicts a classical garden complete with ornate fountain and peacock.
16:59This tapestry has been in the hands of the restorer for several months now.
17:06And it's now time for Julie to get on the road and look in on the restoration process.
17:12So this tapestry has been a part of the family collection since the 18th century.
17:18And I'm visiting Emma Telford in her wonderful workshop and she has started the work.
17:27Based in Hereford, Emma Telford is a specialist textile conservator who's worked on tapestries for the likes of Blenheim Palace.
17:35So I've got it ready for you to have a look at under here.
17:39Oh my goodness.
17:42Wow.
17:44And she has been hard at work on the Montague family tapestry for the last few months.
17:52Lots of pins.
17:54Look at all those lovely colour pins and lots of threads here.
17:58So a lot of work being done.
17:59It looks a bit of a mess, but I often think things start, they look worse before they get better.
18:05Well, I can already tell it looks so much better.
18:10Emma's first job was to give the tapestry a very delicate bath and she's now looking at the wool and
18:16silk itself.
18:19It's clear she's not the first person to carry out a restoration.
18:24That is where the original silk weft has entirely disappeared, almost entirely.
18:30These are remnants of it here.
18:33But the rest of it has gone and it's got this ugly wool repair running through it.
18:40And I'll take them out, but somebody's spent a long time doing them and if they hadn't done that,
18:46it could be that even more of the tapestry, that the physical bits of the tapestry would have fallen away.
18:53So, you know, you have to be respectful of that.
18:56Somebody's taken the trouble.
18:57Somebody else in the past, a hundred years ago, maybe longer than that,
19:02thought that it was worth looking after and did their own version of these tapestry repairs.
19:08So, it's part of the history of the objects now.
19:16This is the conservation stitching and it reintroduces some of the integrity of the design that's lost by just infilling
19:27with the suggestion of the colour that was there originally.
19:32And it stabilises the actual physical material of the tapestry, which you can see otherwise would be just all hanging
19:42like that.
19:44This is all going to consolidate it so that the design isn't distorted and the material is secured so that
19:53it can be displayed.
19:59In the neck of the peacock here, there is actually quite a bit of the original silk still remaining.
20:08So, this, this is all original silk.
20:11Right.
20:12And then I've colour matched where the silk has actually come out altogether like here.
20:18I've colour matched and infilled the losses.
20:23So, these threads here are the tail ends of my threads, my sewing threads.
20:28And you can see the colours that I've been using.
20:32This is going to be tricky as well.
20:34Yeah, that's going to be tricky.
20:35This, wow.
20:35Yeah.
20:36Well, in the tail feathers of the peacock, we can just make out some remnants of the design.
20:43So, here are obviously some bits of peacock eyes.
20:48Most, these bits are wool and this is silk.
20:52And most of the silk has dropped out.
20:54So, there's going to have to be a certain amount of artistic license, really, because I can't see what the
21:01actual original looked like.
21:03Yeah, I'm building up to that.
21:05I'm building up to the tail.
21:09With sections in such bad condition, it's easy to see how Emma's work takes weeks to complete.
21:15But Julie is delighted to see her beloved tapestry slowly coming back to life and can't wait to be able
21:23to show off the finished product to Mapperton's visitors.
21:27Honestly, if you had talked to me about three years ago, I would have never in a million years thought
21:34I'd be sitting here with Emma watching this happen.
21:37And it's all thanks to her loyal international following.
21:42So, I raised $20,000 for this tapestry.
21:48If you're passionate about a project that you want to preserve for future generations, people will get on board with
21:56it.
21:57It's really exciting.
21:59And the fact that you've managed to interest so many people to do that in a very short space of
22:06time is really amazing to me.
22:09Nobody's making anything like this now.
22:10In that respect, it's kind of priceless. It's irreplaceable.
22:15When you're saving a country house, moments like this that witness hard work paying off truly are to be cherished.
22:27Well, that was wonderful. That was like all of your efforts coming together because I've had this obsession with these
22:36with these tapestries.
22:39I look at Mapperton is like little like mini battles, basically.
22:45And so I feel like I'm winning this small battle.
22:49But Mapperton is a bigger beast than that.
22:52And you're never ever going to complete the puzzle. Ever.
22:57It's literally impossible.
23:12A country house is not a project that will ever be completed. I think that much is clear from what
23:19we've seen.
23:20A series of mini battles is how Julie Montague at Mapperton rather brilliantly sums it up.
23:28We're paying a final visit now, though, to a castle where it's fair to say something has been completed.
23:35This will ultimately become just one chapter in its very long history.
23:40But the castle is now looking at its best, seems well set for the future, and is a wonderful tribute
23:46to those that look after it and its unique owner.
23:52Forty miles up the northeast coast from Newcastle, we find Chillingham Castle, owned by Sir Humphrey Wakefield and maintained by
24:04a team of loyal staff.
24:07Well, now I'm going to do the gates. April till November, the gates open and close every day.
24:14Eleven o'clock open and as soon as everybody leaves five-ish close.
24:18Chris Harbour is one of Chillingham's caretakers. It's his job to open the castle for business.
24:24This gate broke off last year. It weighs a ton.
24:27Wouldn't want this to fall on you, that's for sure.
24:32And there we are. I'll be ready for an open for business.
24:39But the fact that Chillingham is open for business at all is nothing short of remarkable.
24:47The original medieval fortress was turned into a country house in the 17th century once England and Scotland had formed
24:55a United Kingdom.
24:57But in the 1930s, the house was abandoned and left to slowly deteriorate for half a century.
25:06When it was acquired by Sir Humphrey more than 40 years ago, it was something of a project, to say
25:13the least.
25:14Now it is a home once more and a flourishing tourist attraction, all thanks to its owner.
25:23I love that view there and looking across at the castle.
25:29Sir Humphrey Wakefield took over Chillingham in 1982.
25:33He spent a decade saving the castle from becoming a ruin.
25:37And now in his 90th year, has the place running in his own unique way.
25:45Even on hot days, Sir Humphrey likes the ambiance of the fire.
25:52And that's done.
25:53And then I carry on with the rest of my jobs.
25:59Alongside Chris, Sir Humphrey's small team includes fellow caretaker Ian Carr.
26:05It's a 19th century clock made by Reid and Sons of Newcastle.
26:09And my job is every day to wind it.
26:14But it's inside the castle's rooms where Chillingham's unique charm becomes apparent.
26:20It is packed full of an eclectic collection of antiques and quirky curiosities.
26:27Does anything caught your eye or everything?
26:31Richard Craig, a long-standing castle steward, has the job of explaining all this to visitors and he never tires
26:38of it.
26:40Yeah, that dates from the 1760s. French slipper bath.
26:43Previous owner was Mick Jagger.
26:46Everything on display here has been acquired by Sir Humphrey, who, having left the army, has spent decades working in
26:54antiques and enjoying global adventures, including an expedition to Mount Everest.
27:01The original ladders from sort of camp one, really.
27:05Me going over the icefall.
27:07My boots have no idea how they survived.
27:12Chillingham is like a museum to everything that Sir Humphrey has ever shown an interest in.
27:18And today's challenge for Chris and Ian is displaying a new item in the castle chapel, an historic crucifix.
27:26Somebody wants this built.
27:28OK.
27:29To put a cross on so that he can look at it.
27:32But he wants me to make a table up.
27:35So I've made this piece of wood up.
27:38This is just the temporary thing.
27:41OK.
27:42So he'll rest that on there.
27:43Well, he's going to have a proper piece of wood made up.
27:45Yeah, yeah.
27:46And then he's got this carpet.
27:47If you lay that on the back there, this cross that he wants to put on here.
27:54This has just come back from the restorers.
27:58Sir Humphrey had this in his apartment for years.
28:01Added more mother of pearl to it.
28:02Yeah, yeah.
28:04Because this is a really early 16th century cross.
28:07But it was actually in a terrible state for a long time.
28:10Oh, right.
28:11I think it doesn't look too bad, actually.
28:13No.
28:13But he wants it on show here so the public can see it.
28:16Because there are lots of things that the public doesn't get to see.
28:19But somehow the word lots feels like a staggering understatement.
28:24We're now going into my rather chaotic long gallery.
28:29It's packed up with things which will go on display one day.
28:33I mean, there's so much and such variety here that I don't really know where to begin.
28:40It does buy obscure things and you think, where on earth is that going to go?
28:45And then, surprise, surprise, it turns up somewhere.
28:47But, yeah.
28:51I don't know where to put things.
28:52I put them here, as it were.
28:53That great sledge.
28:54My mamma's side saddle.
28:56Wonderful horse harness.
28:57Man traps.
28:59What else of interest?
29:00A great big pot.
29:02These leopards and tigers here are shot by my father or my grandfather.
29:06And for Richard, this ever-evolving collection is a constant journey of discovery.
29:12I came in today and I thought,
29:14ah, I noticed there was a musical instrument that I didn't quite recognise
29:17and another chair that I didn't recognise, and this is only from last week.
29:21So there's often new old things.
29:24Things do get moved around, so it's something else to get your head around
29:27because doubtless somebody's going to ask about it.
29:31Because sometimes we think things have been stolen.
29:34But they haven't.
29:36It's because he's moved them and didn't tell anybody.
29:38One of Chillingham's most renowned and indeed most feared works of art
29:43is said to be of a 17th century Spanish witch.
29:46And she curses people who steal.
29:49And she looks like she's going to curse someone.
29:52The castle even displays signs warning visitors of the witches' powers.
29:56But it appears many of Chillingham's visitors have ignored the warnings and paid a price.
30:04All these letters here and drawers full of them came from people who've stolen things.
30:11Just endless letters saying they're sorry they've stolen things.
30:15One letter apologises for the theft of a button that dropped out of a drawer,
30:21which seemed to result in a 20-year-old dog dying just two days later.
30:27Coincidence or curse?
30:29Or maybe just a very old dog.
30:33I get 25 letters a year saying my mortgage has gone wrong or whatever.
30:39And constantly since I took whatever it is.
30:41But I sent back this.
30:43So please can you tell the Spanish witch to give me a break?
30:51That's fantastic.
30:53Thankfully, many items from Sir Humphrey's collection are less appealing to the light-fingered.
30:59In comes man, steal your car, but he can't because he's caught.
31:05Do you want me to clean that day?
31:07Right, no, Amanda, no.
31:09Amanda Crossman has been Chillingham's cleaner and restorer of all metal artefacts for the past 11 years.
31:16And her work involves a never-ending conveyor belt of new items.
31:22Oh, every time he goes away and comes back, there's more stuff follows.
31:30This is one of the ceremonial Chinese bits of armament.
31:35I don't actually know what it is, probably for stabbing someone.
31:38But yeah, it's rather rusty, so I better clean it.
31:45The advert, it came out on April Fool's Day, which appealed to my sense of humour.
31:50And it was for an armour cleaner.
31:53I thought, yeah, I can do that.
31:56The only skill I had was cleaning mother-in-law's brasses in the pub.
32:01So that was, that came in very handy.
32:04And the technique for cleaning centuries-old armour is surprisingly simple.
32:10You've got the steel wool, the thinnest that you can get so it doesn't hack at the metals.
32:15And you put loads of beeswax this time.
32:18You just basically just rub it.
32:19You just rub until you get all the rust off.
32:24The last time I did this was several years ago.
32:26So he doesn't mind, like, a proper patina occurring, like, because he's sort of ageing the suit of armour here.
32:34He said he'd rather have it fitting in more with the medieval castle here, which was good for me because
32:38I didn't have to scrub so much.
32:42It's a fascinating place to work.
32:45Everything in this place has a story.
32:48You just learn something new every day.
32:51You can see where there's a nice bald patch, free from rust, where a hand must have gone.
32:56There's, like, thumb there. Sort of fits.
33:00A hand.
33:02Great.
33:03Next one.
33:11More than 40 years after Sir Humphrey arrived here, Chillingham is a country house reborn.
33:18It has turned its own eccentric charms into its greatest selling point.
33:24Ghosts, Chillingham.
33:26We have many.
33:29Complete with gardens, ghosts and treasures galore, Chillingham feels well set for the future.
33:38I suppose my thing in life is beautiful things and beautiful buildings.
33:45Each detail of this house I fall in love with.
33:51It's like a jigsaw puzzle which is clipped into place.
33:55I've had my chapter, and I still love my chapter.
34:01Maybe in a month's time some collapse will happen, but just at this moment in time, it's a damn good
34:06moment.
34:23It seems to me that an owner with real enthusiasm and determination may be the most important factor
34:31in seeing a country house succeed in the 21st century.
34:36Mapperton's tapestries could have been left to deteriorate.
34:40Chillingham Castle could so easily have become a ruin.
34:43And at Ashby Manor House, it feels like Nova Guest is determined to protect and promote all that's best about
34:51her own wonderful home.
34:52From its Edwardian landscaping to the Tudor Gatehouse, where planning of the gunpowder plot once took place.
35:04It's now a week into Nova's project to honour the landscape design of Edwardian architect Edwin Lutyens.
35:13Finn Toner and his team have removed ash trees, shrubs and brambles in order to open up the parkland
35:20and re-establish views down to Ashby's Lake.
35:24So the guides are still here. I knew it would take longer than Finn said, but that's kind of fine.
35:31But golly, you know, what a difference it's made.
35:34We can certainly say this is stage one complete.
35:39Returning it to parkland means that you can now see all these beautiful trees.
35:43And I think for all the weddings and events, it's just going to lift the filming and photographing experience.
35:50And then he's done a great job here and he's just, as you can see, levelling this off.
35:54And we're having the stumps ground down tomorrow.
35:57But do you want to come and have a closer look at the water? Come down.
36:02Along the lakeside, Finn has removed large amounts of rushes and wreaths to reconnect the park with the water.
36:10Before, you didn't realise until you got closer just what an enormous body of water this is.
36:16And now that we've opened up this whole stretch, it means you can actually appreciate that it goes all the
36:21way behind.
36:24And we've got a few of those last wreaths to take out.
36:27The work at the lake has also revealed one lost treasure.
36:31Yeah, look.
36:33The Lady of the Lake statue was here at Ashby, perhaps 150 years before Lutyens arrived.
36:39But she's barely been glimpsed for decades.
36:44She too now enjoys a view across the parkland.
36:50Standing here and looking back up, you can actually see the house from this, on this diagonal, which I've never
36:56seen before, because that was always enormous shrubs there.
37:01This is true to the house's roots.
37:05Lutyens would be proud.
37:08The parkland isn't Nova's only major project to conclude this summer.
37:16She has also been wrestling with the restoration of Ashby's Tudor gatehouse.
37:22With new lime plaster panels, this small but important part of the estate should now be weatherproof for decades to
37:30come.
37:32And after a thorough clean, the room where the planners of the gunpowder plot once met is almost ready to
37:39be opened for visitors.
37:41The final piece of the puzzle is to try and recreate this important moment in history with some suitable set
37:48dressing.
37:49I'm imagining if they had all those plotters in there at one stage and they were sort of looking at
37:54maybe maps of the Houses of Parliament, they may have needed a table.
37:58And then what kind of seating?
37:59That would have been very simple stools?
38:01Or if it was a chair, what would have been a chair that could have been the kind of chair
38:08they sat on?
38:09When it comes to interiors, Nova is in her element.
38:13But reimagining a scene from the early 17th century is not her speciality.
38:19So, she's on her way to the town of Toaster to get the advice of Chris Green.
38:26Hello.
38:27Nova.
38:27How are you?
38:28Chris is part of the third generation to run this very specialist family business.
38:35I know you're a bit worried about what you might have, but...
38:38Yes.
38:39If we're thinking about 16th century...
38:41Difficult.
38:44So, why is 16th century furniture so difficult to find? Like, there's not much around?
38:51To be quite honest, most of it just didn't last. It didn't stay a course of time.
38:54Yeah.
38:55Because most of it was soft wood. A lot of it was soft wood and it was in very damp
39:00houses.
39:01And it got used, really, basically.
39:04Yes.
39:04Got heavy use and a lot of it just didn't survive.
39:07And what kind of furniture would have been in the plot room? Not very...
39:11I would think quite...
39:11Fine furniture.
39:12Not very fine furniture and quite basic.
39:15Yes.
39:15Perhaps a small dining table.
39:17Yes.
39:18You know, a chair up the corner and pretty basic, really.
39:23Chris's store is an absolute treasure trove of furniture, ranging from 100 to 400 years old,
39:30with just a few items dating back even further.
39:35This is certainly 16th century.
39:38Gosh, look at it. It's got a whacking...
39:39Great big hole in it, yeah.
39:40A hole in it. Is that wood worm or...?
39:42Yeah, that's a bit of worm and probably an odd rodent got in there, I think.
39:46It's actually...
39:47It's good solid timber, but even that, you know, it's obviously a show sign of wear, you know.
39:53It's big enough for a person to hide in there.
39:55Or get buried in.
40:02It's a 1750 age...
40:05A bit earlier than that.
40:06Yeah, first quarter of the 18th century, 1720.
40:10So it comes to the all-important table.
40:13Whilst the date might not be spot on, the size is the perfect fit.
40:17That's going to be six foot plus, isn't it, that one, I should think?
40:21I mean, that's a really good size.
40:23You'd get eight round that, wouldn't you?
40:25With the table arranged, it's time to see what else could help recreate the historical magic.
40:33These were typically for the end of the bed, to put your bed linen in.
40:39So you think this is 17th century?
40:41That's quite an interesting little size for the plot room.
40:45We were thinking, Chris, we have to keep in mind what we can actually get up the stairs.
40:48It's a narrow staircase.
40:49It's a narrow staircase.
40:53This sort of chair here.
40:55They probably would have...
40:56It's such a lovely chair.
40:57Yeah, it's an early chair.
40:58My gosh, that's so nice.
40:59It may not have been two grand for the room you're talking about.
41:01These are early candlesticks.
41:04They would have walked round with the drip trays there so that you don't get...
41:07So you don't burn your hands on the wax.
41:10These are probably even earlier.
41:12Oh, look at these.
41:12So they...
41:17Gosh, aren't they amazing?
41:19So as your candle...
41:21Look at the wooden base.
41:22And as your candle burns down this, you just turn this and that goes up like that.
41:27I've never seen anything like that.
41:28Very clever.
41:28So you've got to look up there to walk round with.
41:30So what age is this?
41:3317th century.
41:34That's incredible.
41:35They're lovely, lovely little things.
41:36Where do you find these things?
41:38Ah.
41:39Yeah, that's your secrets.
41:40That's amazing.
41:42Yeah, lovely thing.
41:43Yeah.
41:44So they probably would have been absolutely ideal for your room, I should think.
41:48I can see straight away how you can create so much feeling in a room, especially that room,
41:54if you walked in and it had some appropriate things in.
41:58It brings it to life.
42:00But having assessed Chris's stock, Nova is keen to understand the price tags.
42:05So this gother here could be £550.
42:09That's a friendly price to you, Nova.
42:11Okay.
42:12Early sticks, £350.
42:15Good.
42:17And then what about our table?
42:21The big table downstairs, the big gate, there could be £1,750.
42:24£1,750.
42:25Okay.
42:26On the chair.
42:27£650.
42:28Okay.
42:29Yeah.
42:31I mean, these I'm definitely going to get.
42:33Yeah.
42:34They're lovely, yeah.
42:35They are lovely.
42:36I thought if I found one thing it would be a bonus.
42:39I really didn't think there would be really suitable things because of the age we're looking at.
42:45So, I mean, to find those candlesticks, amazing.
42:49I mean, they're beautiful.
42:51And to find a table of that scale.
42:53And it's very close to the right era.
42:56So I think that is ticking a box.
43:02A week later, the antiques are on their way to Ashby and the gatehouse project is set to be completed.
43:13So here we are and we've been on quite a journey with our plot room.
43:17It's an exciting morning.
43:19And we've got Chris's brother, Nick Green, arriving from Ron Green Antiques today.
43:23And he's got that wonderful gate leg table that we looked at.
43:27Yeah, okay.
43:28It's not, um, right.
43:31I mean, I'm hoping it can get up the staircase.
43:33I don't quite know.
43:35I'm thinking it will because the sides go down.
43:37So we're going to carry that up.
43:39Oh, I have you, Nova.
43:43So we're hoping to bring the room to life.
43:49And start to get a sense of how I envisage the plot room to be for when we have school
43:55groups.
43:56Right.
43:59It's going to be fun to see if it pounds out as I had in my mind.
44:04So I picked some, um, rosemary and sage.
44:08Kind of to ward off bad spirits, but also because it smells lovely.
44:12What else have I brought?
44:16I thought they might have, um, they would have definitely had some apple trees.
44:20Without a doubt.
44:21So I'm sure maybe they were eating apples.
44:23I've got some inappropriate Victorian chairs.
44:27We'll have to find something a bit...
44:28Earlier.
44:29Earlier at some stage.
44:30Light the fire.
44:31We're going to light the fire.
44:34Is it going to draw?
44:37Uh, it was such an incredible moment lighting the fire, getting the table up there, sort of pulling in those
44:43four chairs.
44:45Uh, yeah, completely thrilling, actually.
44:49Uh, I adored it.
44:50I adored it.
44:51I adore the room.
44:53Fireworks.
44:54Probably should have had a fire guard.
44:55Fireworks already.
44:58But at least we can start to think about them sort of being on some kind of stool or seat.
45:03They would have had to sit down to have long discussions into the night about what they were doing.
45:07Mm-hmm.
45:08It's great to see this.
45:09Yeah.
45:10Very exciting.
45:12Oh, the candlesticks!
45:14Ah!
45:15I went to light the candlesticks.
45:18It's a fabulous room and has the weight of history.
45:22It means, you know, being able to sit down in there and sort of, you know, you can take it
45:26in for a bit longer.
45:29It's better than I imagined.
45:31And now I can proudly show people the plot room.
45:35I'm so excited, actually.
45:41I'm so excited.
45:42Next time on Saving Country Houses.
45:46At the end of a long, dry summer, it's wind and rain that threatens the Mappet and Plant Fair.
45:53It's the calm before the storm.
45:55We've looked at every single weather model.
45:57And it's going to be 80 mile an hour winds.
45:58There's going to be pouring rain.
46:00There's furniture in every room.
46:02Emma Loesley-Williams faces the prospect of moving into our Cotswold Manor.
46:09Every drawer is full.
46:10I think we're going to need a really, really, really big skip.
46:15And a heritage archaeologist is called into Whitmore to give his verdict on the state of the house.
46:21You call it average, good, poor.
46:25Marks out of 10 for current condition.
46:28I think it would probably be around six.
46:30All right, thanks.
46:31All right.
47:01Transcription by CastingWords
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