- 10 hours ago
Saving Country Houses With Penelope Keith - Season 1 - Episode 10
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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.
01:19But 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 leaks, 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?
02:33We have been following nine country houses across a whole summer period.
02:38season but this is just one moment in the long timeline of our historic houses and an insight
02:45into the projects restorations innovations and hard work going on just so happens that this
02:52summer has been one of the hottest and driest on record although as i know only too well we gardeners
02:58are rather keen on some rain amidst the sunshine but timing is everything
03:07close to the south coast in dorset we're paying a final visit to mapperton house
03:15it's now the start of autumn but there's a perfect dawn to welcome an important day
03:21in mapperton's calendar we're used to early don't worry we're used to early early and full-on
03:27by 6am the mapperton events team are already on the ground oh still embarrassing that's embarrassing
03:34they're led by events manager holly who's overseeing the arrival of dozens of stall holders
03:41so we have our autumn plant and garden fair and hoping the weather stays good for us all um but
03:48yeah we'll wait and see but it's going to be a really good event hopefully today morning
03:53today's event is welcoming many professional nursery growers from across the region
03:58who have all booked a sales pitch at this end of season fair and you can see some people are
04:06still
04:06just setting up we're close to opening in hosting the plant fair mapperton owner julie montague and her
04:16husband luke are carrying on a more than 30 year tradition caroline it just looks sensational it looks all
04:24right it looks so good the fair has become a useful earner for the estate too events really matter at
04:33mapperton and julie actually has done a brilliant job of building them up and making them more profitable
04:39than they've ever been thank you it's all right yeah i like events julie and luke are hoping for a
04:47thousand strong turnout of shoppers today which should lead to a healthy profit it's five pounds
04:54to come to the plant fair part of it goes to charity we want people to come and obviously buy
05:00plants
05:01but we want them to stay for the day or for at least a few hours and we realized in
05:06the past that
05:07people were just coming in buying their plants and then leaving and we want them to make a day out
05:11of it so enjoy tea coffee cakes sausage rolls quiches inside or outside so just to make a day of
05:19it
05:19rather than just in and out grab a plant and go but there are a few nerves for all concerned
05:26it's been a very hard year we've had so little rain since march it'd be nice if it didn't rain
05:31today
05:36and in spite of the perfect dawn the forecast is far from good
05:43it's the calm before the storm super calm because this week we have been on tenterhooks
05:48because storm amy is on its way and there is some uncertainty as to when it's going to hit
05:54we've looked at 80 mile an hour winds there's going to be pouring rain 80 and we have been
06:00through this at mapperton before we had to cancel half the christmas fair last year we had to cancel
06:05the plant fair the year before yep and we are just praying that it doesn't happen again so hopefully
06:10people will arrive early get their plants and get a sausage roll or a cage and go to the cafe
06:16yeah
06:16um before the storm hits with wet weather predicted chef christine massingham is preparing for what
06:25could be the busiest day of the year my first day doing a plant fair i'm stressed at the moment
06:34this
06:34is me stressed because i've got a lot to do this is me winging it meanwhile christine's array of delicious
06:43food is a social media opportunity for julie who knows how to tempt her followers look at this
06:51roasted tomato and cheddar quiches all in-house sweet potato harissa and feta rolls and i just got to post
07:00that good morning the social media can work two ways it can work reaching this digital audience at least
07:07for us it can in a historic house that's open to the public and it can reach that physical audience
07:12so that they're coming here they're able to explore what they've just seen on social media and sort
07:20of like stepping into it saying wow i'm here at mapperton and i've only seen it on the screen but
07:25now
07:25here it is in the flesh by half past 10 the car park is filling up the public are flocking
07:35in
07:36and the plant fair is well underway even mother nature looks friendly
07:43that is the sun i mean two two days there were like meetings going on there was like
07:50so many emails going back and forth are we going to cancel i mean look at this this is a
07:56lovely day
08:00at the moment we are extremely lucky and i really hope this stays
08:03but it's looking yeah for the time being at least all is well and as expected the mapperton cafe is
08:14bustling hi thank you for waiting becky antram works here during her university holidays
08:23it's always the highlight of the season these events it really gets people through the door a lot
08:27local people as well which is really nice fingers crossed it'll be a good money maker for us today
08:34everything is all homemade none of it so i just thought i'd throw that out there yeah
08:39and today marks an important day in the season for becky as well
08:44that's 10 40. so it's actually my last day at mapperton in the cafe today
08:49i'm back to uni tomorrow but i am gonna miss it the team is just lovely like christine in the
08:54kitchen lisa they're like kind of like my work mom as the morning wears on it appears people have
09:00heeded luke and julie's advice to get here early thank you overspent as usual both visitors and
09:09stallholders alike have had a good couple of hours yeah it's been positive day they've sold a fair bit
09:15so more than half of it at the moment considering what the weather forecast was and we might not have
09:20had anyone at all or we might have had pouring rain hasn't been bad at all but storm amy is
09:26still
09:26threatening to make an appearance i felt a few little drops of rain but i the r-word is a
09:35swear
09:36word on a an event day we don't like to say the r-word because we don't like it to
09:41do
09:44it's gonna slow down now i suppose as lunchtime approaches the rain sets in and the storm is
09:52moving closer we've done almost three and a half hours of trading and everybody seems really happy
09:58so few but in truth it may not be the rain that poses the greatest threat
10:08it's um it's the wind wind is the worrying cop we should let everybody know they should start to
10:15pack up it is storm amy is coming i think we got five minutes before the wind hits mapperton
10:35house has been hosting its annual end of season plant fair but as lunchtime arrives so too does the
10:44full force of autumn in the form of storm amy oh now the wind's gonna blow
10:53this may be an important event in mapperton's calendar but the montagues don't want to take any
10:59risks we're about to get hit by all of this okay it's literally got this little pocket okay well
11:06let's put let's put these down it's the wind i don't mind rain it's the wind that causes look
11:11it's the wind that just blows everything over because it's too tall it's gonna hit in a minute
11:16so i'm encouraging people to um think about packing up actually
11:27with no choice but to call an end to the fair everyone beats a hasty retreat to the cafe
11:34but after several hours of successful trading luke and the team are unlikely to let the weather dampen
11:41their spirits one has to realize with these places that they aren't simply a family home
11:48they are the center of a community you can just see how much fun people are having and i find
11:55it
11:55really satisfying when people come and tell me what a wonderful time they've had
12:03and after another year as custodian of this wonderful estate julie is more determined than
12:10ever to preserve the history of this small corner of dorset for future generations
12:17i've become very attached to this place and i never thought i would
12:21ever if this place was was gone or had to be sold and owned by somebody who didn't want to
12:31open up to
12:31the public if you lose that you've really lost the stories that come with a visit to this house okay
12:43one
12:43two three cheese cheese oh my god that's so cute one more
12:51i'm so pleased that at least half the mappetum plant fair proceeded storm free of course in years
12:59to come it may prove more memorable because of the awful weather at another of our houses rain
13:05is not threatening a particular event it is however revealing some maintenance issues
13:12and this in a house where the current generation are making a real effort to get the building in
13:18better shape for the next generation
13:23midway between birmingham and manchester our destination is the 1500 acre estate of whitmore hall
13:34it may be a beautiful morning in staffordshire
13:37but last night's weather has led to something all homeowners fear
13:43a dripping ceiling
13:46well sit wrap is we have a small leak in that corner
13:51fortunately for whitmore's owner edward kavanagh mannering
13:55it's only the small ceiling of the hall's single-story porch
13:59right
14:01and maintenance chief simon chafe has arrived with a ladder to investigate
14:07well i know in the summer we had some work done on the stonework so possibly
14:11there's debris from the work that was done
14:17oh it's completely flooded yeah
14:24it's the fun part of running a grade one house this drains sewers
14:32the rain was that heavy potentially it's washed some moss off
14:36the issue is the drain hole is about that big
14:40and it doesn't take much to block it up
14:44as expected the small drain holes are blocked with with moss and a bit of debris from when they
14:49have the work done on the porch
14:50okay use the trusty garden cane method
15:03it's literally taken a garden cane to clear the hole and it's draining now
15:08oh here we go
15:11a couple hundred meters there it shows you how easily damage is done to buildings
15:18well that's a quick one easily solved this may be one small problem dealt with
15:25but the long-term well-being of whitmore hall remains edward's big concern
15:31so to help pay for future restoration work he's opening up more and more of the estate to health
15:38and leisure activities the 80 acres of whitmore lakes was created with fishing in mind
15:45but several of the pools are now reserved for taking a dip with friends
15:53or swimming coaching
15:57and one other attraction
16:00people love the fact that you can sauna and have a view
16:03it's a very spiritual place you reconnect water fire air it's wonderful
16:15enjoy your swim you know where you're going yes yeah edward's wife heather has been a driving force
16:20in setting up whitmore's wellness offering she and edward are now looking to maximize the business
16:26potential of heron lake we had it as a paddleboard lake and it was successful but um not really big
16:34enough so we had the idea to expand our saunas we've got five sauna bases but we're going to put
16:42five
16:42quarter saunas on top of the bases however they now need to retrofit one element of the project
16:51what we forgot to do irritatingly was put the astroturf in which runs from the back here
17:01right the way through to the water's edge and then so many meters out into the water
17:07and so you haven't got mud underfoot until you you go into swimming depth okay get your wagers on
17:16this is all a long way from how heather first met the 34th manoring to run the whitmore estate
17:23uh oh look at that they feel good actually good fit he came to try a car when i was
17:30selling cars
17:31so i had to take him out on a on a test drive in the car he was interested in
17:36and apparently i said
17:38that i thought his farmer's arms were i recognized him as being farmer's arms because my father was a
17:46farmer yes take it to the wet point instead of buying the car he said do you fancy going for
17:51a drink
17:51sometime and so that was it okay four meters yeah so he never bought the car from me i did
18:00later you
18:01did but not from me so yeah it was a persian 306. no i didn't get a commission but after
18:08nearly 30 years
18:10together i'm sure heather has forgiven him you just want to go out and swim all this and cool off
18:17yeah with the astroturf measured edward heads off to see the 35th generation of the family
18:30uh second in command of mopping is my daughter adelaide who's hiding adi 17 year old adelaide
18:40is in an unusual position as edward's sister fleur and mother christine are well aware
18:47the line of inheritance father to son father to son for 900 odd years and in that time we've had
18:57three i think three female heirs and then we're on to the next one and that is adelaide and she
19:05will
19:05inherit from edward won't you so she will be hurrah for a bit of feminism uh she will be the
19:11the fourth
19:13female heir in a thousand years but for now adelaide is helping her mother set up for tonight's yoga
19:20class we've got 14 clients tonight and we're just going to set up the hall
19:30i've been helping mostly this year um working in the summer overall just when i'm not
19:36in sixth form but it's really nice it's really nice and calm and chill and um yeah it's definitely
19:43a nice job to be able to have out of all the sort of ones i could have at my
19:47age it's really nice
19:50the challenge her parents and aunt have set themselves is to ensure they hand over a house
19:56in reasonable condition we're making absolutely certain that this building is fit for purpose
20:05for the next generation and making certain that we're not giving her a nightmare so today fleur has
20:16arranged for heritage consultant tony hannah to pay a visit and make a thorough tour of the property
20:23this is nice yes it's like the equivalent of bringing a doctor in because if we leave it too long
20:29the the financial costs would be enormous without even breathing you're probably looking at well over
20:36a million pounds we need to look at the sellers that'll allow us to understand how to look after
20:41the building but what we really hope is that nothing needs to be done
20:58whitmore hall in staffordshire has been in the hands of one family for over 900 years
21:06edward kavanagh mannering and his sister fleur are keen to preserve the history of their home
21:12and hand it over to the next generation in the best state possible
21:17you're good sure
21:25none of the lights work put your phone light on watch out for the dead mice
21:32today they've invited heritage consultant tony hannah to explore the many layers of history in the hall
21:39and assess how the building is holding up he believes the evidence of whitmore's earliest origins will be
21:46found in the cellar it's here these vaults here yeah i think this has been added so this goes goes
21:54down
21:55further you think there might have been another layer yeah oh my god this was probably added this stone flag
22:02for um when they built the the 17th century facade the vault in there you see that that's brick
22:12see that's dressed stone there can you see how it's been been marked i couldn't say what date but
22:18i would say it's definitely medieval dressed that's amazing the stone was chiseled so it could bond easier
22:24with the other stones it's not clean straight wall that's that's medieval stone and that's what i hope
22:32to find out here straight away we're already seeing that this house goes back to the medieval period i feel
22:38like an archaeologist now tony suspects the origins of whitmore hall match those of the nearby 12th
22:46century church since then a timber framed manor was developed in tudor times with a further brick
22:53facade added in the late 17th century you've got air vents here that keeps it dry god the whole house
23:00is littered with you you think about it how clever they were six because they realized they weren't
23:06going to build directly onto the timber frame building there's a gap there's got to be a gap and
23:10to keep that air flowing that gap and that will keep the brick dry and the wood dry also act
23:16as
23:16insulation whilst tony's here there's one important outbuilding on the estate that fleur and edward would
23:24love to get his opinion on supposedly one of the oldest stables in the country walk into it and
23:33it's just got such a sense of history real history well the stable they've got a wonderful atmosphere
23:40about them they've there's something very special about them we've had parties there a lot of very
23:45good parties fleur had a very good we had a medieval feast there didn't we darling just watch the
23:53cobbles okay yes they got a bit out of my hand i think but for many years now the condition
24:00of the
24:01stables has become another headache for fleur and edward so these are the stables that we know
24:07well we know that existed in 1600 and considered some of the oldest with the columns and and that side
24:14of it so we think that this building's always been here it's a lot older than any of us have
24:19ever
24:19thought and it got converted into stables in the 1600s i mean who knows whatever the original purpose
24:27of the building this is now a very rare example of a tudor stable block with horses housed on the
24:35ground
24:35floor and their grooms on the floor above wow this is really well built you've got really good west
24:42middle of the vernacular here you've got box timber framing this would have been made uh prefabricated
24:49so this would have been put together on the grind and then lifted up with a winch and then the
24:56cross
24:57beams with the purlings going and that's how it would have been constructed since then one other
25:04intriguing detail has been added all these marks here those are what called ritual burn marks they're
25:12actually indented they've burnt their way and feel feel across oh god how do you feel the burnt tells
25:19me it's a red hot poke or something very hot they're sometimes called witch burn marks but that's not
25:25correct because what they're meant to do is they're meant to bring you good fortune the mark and the wood
25:30would have been almost like a blessing yeah so the scorching would have said we're marking this with goodness
25:37yeah and there would have been a priest who would have there to witness that and blessed it yeah
25:42for a stables it's it's really well built and it's a really good condition that's really good news
25:49i've studied west midlands architecture for for years and just seen it here and all the elements are
25:56here in this building just adds to this exceptional rarity it's relief to hear good news about the condition
26:05of the stables but how is the hall itself faring
26:13you spent a lot of time looking the building from the outside and the inside what is your
26:20take on the current condition i mean would you call it average good poor i i wouldn't say it's poor
26:26i wouldn't say it's good i would say it's in the middle middle
26:30i think if if i was going to give it marks out of 10 i think it'd probably be around
26:36six
26:38tony will now compile a full report on what he thinks the maintenance and renovation priorities
26:43should be in the years ahead a lot of the stuff that they can do to to rectify
26:51any structural deficiencies in the house can be done fairly easy so i'm really pleased to be involved
26:59with such a beautiful house such a beautiful setting
27:05and for owners who are feeling the weight of history and responsibility this is a welcome boost
27:14i just go and i see problems yeah i see maintenance i see bills you don't see the building i
27:19didn't see
27:20the building but he loves the building he was helping me fall back in love with the building and its
27:40specialness having followed our house owners for a whole summer i think we're already seeing them
27:46feel the results and rewards of their hard work often this is work that stands to benefit the house
27:53for generations to come and in some cases it will enable more people to share in the history and
28:00beauty of these important buildings one shining example this summer has been in northamptonshire
28:08where a key historic attraction is about to open to the public for the first time in decades here
28:15at ashby manor house so we've got 35 ladies from um the levington smart arts club i think it is
28:27and they are coming for a private tour of the house and garden ashby's owner nova guest has just completed
28:38a summer of costly renovation work on the estate's tudor gatehouse where plans for the gunpowder plot were
28:45once hatched at the end i want to take them into the plot room and then back into the house
28:50for
28:51tea and coffee and cake private tours like this have been only a small part of ashby's recent past
28:59but with the famous gatehouse now open they could become a regular fixture in the future
29:05so i think we've only done about four private tours um but i think i feel like it's getting more
29:13uh known about so i'm hoping it's something that we can you know do half a dozen of a year
29:19that would
29:19be perfect it's so lovely to get the house ready for anyone coming in filling it with flowers
29:25it's what it's made for to be filled with people that house to keep costs to a minimum and give
29:32visitors
29:32the personal touch for now nova is leading the tours herself yeah i always think golly am i going to
29:39run
29:40out of things to say but then i'm in the moment and it sort of seems to go on we
29:45shall see but maybe
29:47the more i do these tours the more i'm practiced today's guests will be at ashby for two and a
29:52half
29:53hours whilst private tours are a short and simple earner for the estate it's not all plain sailing
29:59a bit of excitement and dread that we are generating income oh we need to get the kettle out maybe
30:08both
30:08the kettles and plug them in with 90 minutes until the guests arrive housekeeper maureen is helping nova
30:16to set up they're going to come in the main gate and then we'll get the coat stick and then
30:23if they've
30:24got coats we can hang them here this is the city the long-term success of these tours will require
30:30plenty of five-star reviews 35 today okay i believe 35 yeah by 2 p.m all is set the
30:40guests are welcomed
30:41in and nova kicks off with some insight into the mastermind behind ashby's design
30:48so this is now the the stone hall which lutchens always like to incorporate a stone hall into his
30:56houses and this is very new 1906. we're going to make our way out the back door next stop ashby's
31:08rather quirky architectural import so you will have noticed this tudor building which uh was originally
31:17a shop on car street in ipswich my husband's uh great grandfather bought it and much to lutchens's
31:26horror uh he was asked to incorporate it into the design so here's the statue garden and the statues have
31:34been here for 400 years or so and we host weddings and events here
31:41and we're going to be able to do that nova is clearly a natural at engaging the group
31:45and the guests seem extremely pleased with their experience so far
31:51very impressive
31:54and it's been wonderful to be feel really feel welcomed it's just so beautiful and the amount
31:59of work that has been done in 10 years astonishing come on through but of course the highlight of
32:06today's tour is nova's passion project the reimagined plot room
32:15so this is the room where the robert catesby and the conspirators gathered to hatch plans
32:23actually a bit smoky i've opened the window we're trying to finish it i found a table which is 17th
32:32century after years spent locked up and neglected this small but significant room can now look forward
32:38to many more visitors but what did today's first group of visitors make of the plot room this is uh
32:45seems more compact and uh perhaps more secret than uh than we expected but it certainly has the atmosphere
32:53and so so yes there's a neon shimmer up the spine these are the first set of visitors we've had
33:02in here for a very long time such a lovely thing to add on to a tour and gives it
33:08sort of another whole different perspective with the tour complete it's back to the house for tea and cake
33:19that is definitely maureen i've only done and maureen makes the most amazing fruit cake
33:24that's my ridiculous um banana cake within days of adding some furnishing to the renovated gatehouse
33:34nova has already seen her work pay dividends for the estate well i think the tour did go well and
33:41i
33:42would love to do more of them actually because it's the middle of the week um it's a large group
33:48so
33:49it's you know it's it's a good amount of money um it's relatively easy in terms of you know impact
33:55on
33:55the house i think it would be clever to to try and do more of them
34:00and with fresh historic appeal on offer the future looks bright for this stunning country house
34:07oh that's a pleasure have a safe trip home
34:11take care everyone okay bye
34:17well i think that was quite good
34:31we're nearly at the end of our summer following nine country houses
34:35and we're finishing right back where we started
34:41chavenage house in the wonderful cotswolds
34:45what was it that attracted you to james
34:49obviously the big house wasn't it
34:52it was wasn't it it must have been
34:55there you go james leslie williams inherited this 2 000 acre estate from his grandfather
35:02two years ago but is still getting to grips with what he and wife emma have taken on
35:09a lot of the time we did actually count we got 25 bathrooms no fireplaces 25 fireplaces we don't
35:14actually know how many bathrooms we got this is all ours babe can we believe it it can be quite
35:21overwhelming having married james just last year emma's been rather thrown into a new life of saving
35:29a country house but this gung-ho couple have embraced the challenge by kick-starting a host of projects
35:41last one down they are all aimed at transforming chavenage's earnings
35:47right now it's power tool time james we're determined to add revenues and generate an income
35:53so that the next generation can can have a slightly easier life than we've had
35:57but having prioritized the business plan james and emma haven't had time to start turning the
36:03elizabethan manor house into their own home it's a prospect that emma is finding mildly alarming
36:12we haven't started the renovation yet so this is how it was done up sort of 70 years ago and
36:18it
36:18hasn't really been touched since this has been the family seat of the losley williams for six
36:24generations and every corner of it needs a good clear out before the couple can restore it
36:32so upstairs it's a lot of brown carpet you know on the surface it looks worse than it is
36:40there is stuff everywhere every drawer is full one too many railway magazines that we need to keep
36:50i think there's also a stuffed bird here i'm not sure anyone needs this amount of chairs
36:56lamps so many lamps don't don't know why it's going to be great but dealing with all that is for
37:05the
37:05future because the priority now is to complete a project that's been taking shape all summer
37:12as we've seen at whitmore hall in staffordshire james and emma are investing in the well-being
37:18trend in the form of a luxury sauna with james's homemade changing rooms
37:26with autumn now here the venture is ready to launch right
37:32what do you think a few finishing touches yeah i need to do some cleaning having committed
37:4110 000 pounds to this venture already james and emma are determined to make it a success
37:49oh it does look good it does look good little damp the old rug rained so much in the night
37:56i've added
37:57the fire pit i've also added like a log pile just need to get open get going get some good
38:04feedback
38:04hopefully um and see what people think and i think that's the only way that we're going to tell if
38:10it's
38:10going to work on it but before the public are let in the couple are unveiling it to the toughest
38:16crowd
38:16they know dad george and aunt caroline are you going to clean the window and i'll clean the deck
38:26it needs to look spick and span for the family they're hard not to crack
38:32the family don't really get it not sure which puts a little bit of pressure on it i'm not sure
38:38the
38:38family think it's a very good idea at the moment i do slightly worry about how much we've
38:44put on our plate well em's actually quite nervous i'm actually really excited can i just say the
38:49thing is we've rented this sauna so we're paying for it and it hasn't gone live yet isn't ideal
38:56because we are essentially losing money month on month james doesn't like it if i'm ever negative
39:01about anything i'm a glass half full kind of guy we've started two new businesses together
39:08in a really short amount of time and got married and so we haven't had any practice we're literally
39:12learning on the job and some things prop up and crop up and we're like oh my god we had
39:17like neither
39:17of us have any experience of dealing with it and if all that wasn't enough to cope with the couple
39:26have
39:26one more responsibility on the horizon we have got some news we are bringing a new life in yeah
39:37why don't there's nothing quite to show yet but no emma is pregnant and uh it's really exciting
39:46which actually makes us feel slightly slightly less daunting about moving into a manor house
39:54seeing as there's going to be a few more of us yeah i think well just one more at the
39:59moment
39:59just one more oh it's not tones no this afternoon though it's the older generation that james and emma
40:10are expecting they're on their way the family are coming caroline looks like the queen
40:17also coming along for a ride is big al who helped james build the sauna site i feel like
40:24it's kind of a royal visit this is a big inspection of what you've been up to i just don't
40:30think it's
40:30their cup of tea i think dad might come around caroline's going to be a hard nut to crack caroline
40:36have you seen anything like it no good stuff the idea is that we've tried to make it as private
40:45as
40:45possible um so why have you put in the most public field that we've got because this is the only
40:50field
40:50we got we got planning i see well the younger generation have really thrown themselves into it
40:57and i really approve of their enthusiasm um and i think if the amount of enthusiasm that goes into it
41:05pays off that would be great come and show us in come in it is it is very much a
41:10royal visit here
41:11first up on the inspection are the changing rooms built by james and big al oh it's nice isn't it
41:18actually it's nicer in here than that my carpet yeah it's a rather wet looking carpet it looks like
41:27loose no they're not loose it's just changing room so you can bring your bag yeah bring your cosi
41:34or your trunks a lovely view from here not a building in sight or a road or anything no that's
41:40it yeah
41:43on a beautiful evening with the sun low in the sky everyone agrees that the setting is perfect
41:51the joy of a sauna on the other hand isn't as clear to all people come yeah they take all
41:59their
41:59clothes off yeah they go and get hot and sweaty yeah yes they then stand and get freezing cold on
42:05the
42:05shower yes then they come into here to an ice bath yeah yeah and then go back and then go
42:09back in and
42:09do it all again and you're expecting to pay for it yeah that is the plan i would pay not
42:14to me it's like
42:16spanish torture but anyway i've heard some people say to me oh i hate being hot i love being hot
42:23but i just don't think they're spa goers for me personally to pay for misery um the idea of getting
42:30hot
42:30sweaty and then cold in the ice bath and naked it doesn't actually fill me with the greatest sort
42:36of joy but i'm not on trend and this could be fantastic we're going to find out see because
42:44you're coming in yeah yeah we're coming in i'm so not taking my clothes off let's have a look inside
42:50all right come in with the sauna on and becoming really rather toasty oh it's on
43:00time to take a test what happens now you just talk to each other like well so now we just
43:18kind of
43:18sweat and how long do you sweat for so it's basically like doing doing 30 minutes of exercise
43:25i'm quite warm now oh fresh air
43:32it's a very fine sauna and beautiful views to sit and watch the evening roll in
43:38what's this oh it's not jim it's not jim that's not the soup ladle what's this one
43:46after you put it on earth and then it steams it
43:54of course we've been brought up but it was virtually like an ice bath in our own bathrooms at
44:00shavenage so and we didn't have to pay for that so it for the people with really nice warm houses
44:06it
44:06could be terrific with the family mostly won over and the sauna set to open the lowsley williams clan
44:14members are feeling optimistic about the future of shavenage well done you boys you have done well
44:20and emma your style is fantastic i think trialing these new things potentially it could pay off yeah
44:27i also think you know this field wasn't making us any money you know if we can try and make
44:33something out of something out of nothing then it's another dripping tap isn't it yeah give it a go
44:37i think the future's great i think emma renouncing her pregnancies a kind of boost for everything
44:44yeah because we can see the next generation starting to grow and i think that's what we're
44:49all aiming for is to keep the loadsley williams family here as long as possible no pressure
44:59thank you so much thank you thank you for a royal visit okay we'll see yeah we will see won't
45:05we fingers crossed
45:12what a wonderful array of places and projects we've seen up and down the land at our nine country houses
45:19well seven houses and two castles but for me it's been the people who've shone the brightest
45:28the work of running a very large very old home never stops and the passion for that work has been
45:34so
45:35clear to see so how do you save a country house
45:44it's sounding like quite an expensive job it clearly takes hard work oh golly i think we place it
45:52good ideas 201 years old and here i am jimming it with a crowbar
45:59bold entrepreneurship all right come here you freshly laundered good as new and a strong team
46:05come on come on up and maybe the most interesting thing is that they are planning for a future
46:13not just for themselves but to be open to visitors like you and me for many years ahead
46:20that is why our country houses are worth not just saving but cherishing
46:26so
46:37so
46:38so
46:39so
47:00Transcription by CastingWords
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