Inside a 1,000 Year Old CASTLE Built by THE KING

This remarkable castle, built on the instruction of William the Conqueror, has been in the same family for 450 years. With an extraordinary variety of castles, manors, and stately homes available, this truly is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – don’t let it slip away! Mention “Julie” when booking for £1,000 off any stay of 5 nights or longer. 🏰 https://storiedcollection.com

Prior to the Watson’s ownership the Castle was held by the crown. There are very few other homes that have been continuously occupied for nearly 1000 years and within that time been owned by just one family since being relinquished as a royal Castle.

🇮🇹🏡✨ Check out my brand NEW https://www.youtube.com/@julieinitaly YouTube Channel – Authentic Italy Delivered to your Doorstep! I’ll be bringing you flea market finds, rare antiques, vintage fashions, and of course, some Little Italian House renovations. Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/@julieinitaly 🛍️🖼️👗🔨

The Gilded Age American Heiress Exhibition opened to the public here at Mapperton on the 5th May. However, if you can’t make it in person you can buy a ticket (3 cups of coffee) for a virtual hour long tour with me, and support this ongoing project over at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/juliejmontagu

A new exhibition offers a glimpse into the captivating world of Alberta Sturges Montagu, the 9th Countess of Sandwich, and an American Heiress from the renowned era known as The Gilded Age.

Curated by Mapperton’s very own American Viscountess, Julie Montagu, the “American Heiress” collection is comprised of more than 10,000 previously unseen letters exchanged between Alberta (Sturges) Montagu and her family, as well as the peerage at large.

Dating from 1888 to 1951, these letters constitute the largest unpublished private collection of correspondence from the period. They offer a remarkable glimpse into the life of a “dollar bride” during the Gilded Age, shedding light on both triumphs and struggles.

The exhibition takes innovation to the next level by introducing Alberta AI, a ground-breaking creation that brings her story to life like never before.

🌟 Support the creation of “American Viscountess” and help us produce more extraordinary historic house episodes by becoming a Patron at https://www.patreon.com/americanviscountess!

Here, you’ll enjoy early and ad-free access to all our vlogs and Historic House episodes, along with exclusive behind-the-scenes videos, American Viscountess merchandise, and more! Your support is what fuels these vital Historic House episodes. 🎥

🏡 As our guest, you’re invited to indulge in a 5-night stay at Mapperton! Treat yourself to an unforgettable experience at one of England’s grand estates. Discover more details at https://www.grandhistorictours.com.

🏰 If you’re passionate about castles, manors, and stately homes, stay in the loop with the latest updates through my bi-monthly American Viscountess newsletter at https://julie-montagu-ltd.ck.page/9ab3679fb6. 📬

🏰 Join the UK’s most extraordinary membership scheme and play a part in preserving Britain’s independent heritage. International membership is available too! Visit https://www.historichouses.org/international/ and use code AVTV05 to enjoy a £5 discount. 🏡🌍

📷For an exclusive behind-the-scenes look, follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/juliemontagu and https://www.instagram.com/americanviscountess

📺And don’t forget to check out our sister channel to experience what it’s truly like living in a historic house in the 21st century: https://www.youtube.com/c/mappertonlive. Subscribe for a unique perspective!

🇮🇹Be sure to subscribe to my NEW YouTube channel: Julie in Italy, Authentic Italy Delivered to your Doorstep on YouTube https://youtube.com/@julieinitaly

🛍️ Step into the world of the Gilded Age with our latest American Heiress merchandise! Explore the collection at the American Viscountess Shop: https://americanviscountess.myshopify.com

📚 Dive into my best-selling books on health and wellbeing. Discover delicious, healthy recipes and much more: Explore My Books, details below.

– Superfoods Superfast, 100 Energising Recipes to Make in 20 Minutes or Less: https://www.amazon.com/Superfoods-Superfast-Energizing-Recipes-Minutes/dp/1849497869

– Superfoods, The Flexible Approach to Eating More Superfood: https://www.amazon.com/Superfoods-Flexible-Approach-Eating-More/dp/1849496668

– Eat Real Foods, Simple Rules for Health Happiness and Unstoppable Energy https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Real-Food-Happiness-Unstoppable-ebook/dp/B017DOB1EO

– Recharge: A Year of Self-Care to Focus on You https://www.amazon.com/Recharge-Year-Self-Care-Focus-You/dp/0349418144

[Music] today I’m visiting one of the great castles of England Rockingham Castle in northamptonshire it was built over 900 years ago and throughout its history it is transformed from a military stronghold and symbol of royal power to a domestic country house and intimate family home join me as I explore mulue family connections literary and artistic Inspirations plus I’ll be lending a helping hand with some of the daily tasks which are all too familiar to me living at [Music] maon when I married into the British aristocracy it was the start of a wonderfully exciting Journey but it was also a little daunting I became a VI Countess and for an American girl from a small town outside Chicago that was quite a shock I live with my husband Luke heir to the Earl of Sandwich and our family at mapperton house in Dorset living in a place like this is a joy but also a challenge and every day we’re aware that we’re preserving a very special part of Britain’s heritage mtin has opened up an extraordinary new world for me and I can’t wait to share it with you [Music] all so if you love castles and manners and stately homes as much as I do please join this American B Countess as I journey into the British Countryside in search of some of Britain’s Finest historic houses [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] hi Julie very lovely to see you to see you come in come in thank you thankk you so much it’s cold that no it’s definitely that January post Christmas day but I’m feeling the warmth in here that’s for sure well come into the fire so Julie here we are in the Great Hall this is part of the original um Norman Castle it was the hall that was built by when William the Conqueror William the Conqueror yes ordered it in 1067 we know that we also know that it was in the Doomsday Book at 26 Shillings value in 10 1086 unbelievable so really I’m standing on a thousand years of History absolutely and and you know the the Great Hall is for me is just a fascinating concept because it’s really where everything happened is that right everything well you’ve got to have a little bit of imagination because what you’re in today is a tutor construct okay of which is 400 years 500 years later right right the original Norman Hall would have been a big barn getting straight up to the ceiling a couple of open fires reads and rubbish on the floor the king would have been living at that far end and everyone else and dogs and don’t ask me where they went to the L because the smell and the feel youve got to be S it’s very difficult today was it would have been quite sort of earthy right it would have been twice the size for 500 years from the Norman Conquest to the tutor period Rockingham was a royal castle during this time successive kings and queens of England visited with some adapting the castle to their own needs and tastes edbert the did the first makeover this is 1260s and he put in central heating no he put in the fireplace put in the fireplace and he put in the windows and he built up there would have been the minstrel’s gallery and above it he built a a chamber for his Queen who didn’t like slumming it with the troops right incredible so you’ve got a lot of a lot of sort of Med the difficulty is you have to imagine it here cuz so much has been replaced by what other Generations have done done right and so my family came here in sort of 1540 and finished doing the Reconstruction cuz the date is 1579 on the beam see so your family arrived here tutor period Tut period tutor period so you your family’s been here since well what 450 years incredible should we go through to the library and have a coffee yeah I would love that but I have just thoughted rather I mean this is quite a beautiful portrait of Elizabeth the I assume it’s her yes yes it is yes yes it’s um painted by G she’s it’s a quite a young portrait I think probably pained bunches probably 20 25 30 she doesn’t look all not like those later ones where she was very much an icon and and heavily very Fierce yeah exactly but did she ever visit Rockingham no but she was stayed locally and she had lots of one of the extraordinary things about this part of world very very rich particularly Tudor um uh houses and and and wealth because a lot of her closes advisors lived by so there William cile who was at Burley which is only 15 mil away you have Ator which is was another Palace fing hay which is where Mary Queen of Scots um was executed that’s 15 miles away but there’s nothing there it’s just a man very fine church right you have Kirby Hall which is literally 4 miles away which is is semi- ruined but was Christopher hatton’s house my good oh my good you know we are so rich in big houses big Estates but it’s all that a lot of it is around that tutor period is around that tutor period I know when I was driving here was there were so many brown signs telling me to go to visit this Hall in this house but it is it’s really rich with historic houses around here you could just Castle H all day long you could well I I I should have said of course well the Monte connection of Bouton yes I know of course of course I did see the sign to Bouton on my way here exactly let’s get let’s get have a Cofe great have you ever wanted to be Lord or Lady of the manor and stay in a grand Castle or stately home with great friends and family when I lived in the US I was fascinated by these places the extraordinary history the Royal connections and of course the stunning historic buildings and works of art I’ve been lucky enough to marry into one of these families and I now live here at Matton which is known as Britain’s Finest manor house but now it is also possible for you to stay in many of these great houses and Estates thanks to storied collection storied collection offers exclusive hire of private Estates and castles across the United Kingdom in Ireland where the historical significance and Legacy of each property are carefully preserved and guess what maon is now officially a member of storied collection 2 each historic house within storied collection has been handpicked to ensure the highest standards of accommodation and service they cater to a range of interests including fishing golfing or enjoying guided tours by the owners themselves so whether you’re organizing a grand family reunion an exhilarating trip with friends a corporate retreat or even a wedding these places offer an accessible way to turn your dream into memories that you will cherish for a lifetime and it’s much more affordable than you think with a diverse range of castles manners Mansions a stay with Story collection is a unique opportunity that is not to be missed and please remember to mention Julie when booking to receive a 1,000 discount on any stay of five nights or more click the link in the description below to explore and reserve the historic home of your dreams Vil this is V of the joy of rock hum is it it’s it’s it’s been mucked about with over the years as each generation has has adapted it to its own use you’ve just walked out of the medieval Hall you’re now into a Victorian not a heavy but Victorian staircase to take access to the first floor a corridor that was added onto the Tor Wing so that you didn’t have to go from room to room that you had a bit of privacy and then you go back into the Tudor house so I’m going from medieval Victor which is 1850 right to back to 1560 to tutor here incredible and then you into a room which was two rooms being moved turned into one room by the victorians as a library right and then redecorated in Georgian style so 1760 by the edwardians which is you know so it’s all it’s it’s all a bit bogus really so the edwardians came in here redecorated it but georgean GE well it was very interesting there was a sort of reaction as you get with every generation that sometimes you like what went PR sometimes you don’t when I came here as a child anything that was Victorian was dispised it was disgusting it was Gres it was over the top nowadays actually it’s it’s much more fashionable people quite like Victorian stuff it is ah come and sit down and and oh BR fantastic and I was just um as walking in I was looking at all your wonderful photographs of your family so cuz how long have you been here we moved here in ’99 my father having inherited in 1967 and as a young I came here when I was 10 in 1971 okay so that’s when we moved in when Michael my great uncle handed over and moved down to your NE of woods down to Dorset yes so this is what I’m obviously uh fascinated about as well coming here is the mulue connection here so it’s it’s your Michael kamour who lived here at rockan Castle married Elberta sturgis’s who would became the ninth Countess of Sandwich an American like me her daughter Faith so Michael married Faith absolutely they moved here in 1948 Michael had inherited the castle through the female line we’re not very good at male as in this family and was say that the female is a very important person brilant so I think it’s been through the female line in my family about four times fantastic and Michael inherited from his uh Uncle sorry Uncle great uncle right who was the last Watson and he he was 16 when he inherited CU his father it went father died within three months of the old re Vicor dying and they had double death duties and it was a great thing you must know you think after the first first world war so many Estates were broken up the the HS have been killed on the Western Front yes and everything was do and Michael was determined to keep the house together and he went off to the Navy following the family tradition and age 16 age he was at he was at Dartmouth at the time but he was he age 16 suddenly inherited this great shock and they let it this is the love to an American to pay the de duties you’re kidding me yep so so from 1925 through to 1932 or 30 three an American Family called the emanuels and he and he came and lived here with his family that was quite clever of Michael very clever very for seven years for the American to come here something had to be put in one of them was B yeah I was about to say and the other thing was central heating Central and I think actually the the daners L were added there was quite a bit of work done to make it um comfortable for the for for the American family that’s incredible so that American family then helped pay those double death duties absolutely and then Michael was able to keep it in the family because so many homes were lost after the first world war so many homes he was fascinated in running the estate and making sure it all worked and kept right from the moment that he had inherited as a Young Man although he had a career elsewhere so then he married Faith what I think I’ve read is 1947 yes and then they came here and lived here and I I mean I’m doing my dissertation um for my Masters on Alberta Sturgis because she was an American like me so faith of course is then half American so Michael did marry a you know half American very important it was an enormously important source of revenue for these old tired Estates to find some wealthy exactly energetic Dynamic American exactly but then they didn’t have children so what I’ve read is that they experienced quite they had huge trauma huge trauma Faith had been married before yes uh and and and had lovely Gemma um who Michael adopted as as his daughter yes uh and then Michael and Faith tried to have children and they had uh one Francis who lived for three months and then two that were still born um and what is rather ironic is that Faith was Reese’s negative which is that issue where you your blood cells attack your you as the mother’s blood cells attack the baby’s blood cells and and it all and my wife is racist negative but nowadays all you do is you take a jab you take a jab right and it’s not a problem right you know when we were born you had a full blood transfusion and so poor Michael who desperately was to him ly was so important in 1967 Sir Michael K Seymour passed the castle and estate to his nephew James’s father Commander Michael Saunders my father mother was brought up here this is this is where the family lived and they and most of my family most of my uncles and aunts were born here right and it was still pretty basic as a house I think I remember Dad saying you know you used to jump over the buckets whereever where where the holes in the roof were and Michael and Faith came here in 1948 and took over the house and they did the most extraordinary work to try and make it more comfortable and they closed the old kitchen or stopped using the old kitchen created a a bit of a flat at one end which is where they lived what did they do to this room did they this room they decorated it in a wonderful apple green look very light apple green not heavy beautiful sort of the the the the curtains all I remember Brown Vel velvet curtains were very typical of that period but it was rather mean they there was no furniture at that end of the room they all sat around this fireplace and it got to a stage where all of the paint particularly on the plaster started to look really chipped and then we had a crisis with that with dry Rod which is all all these old houses you always get something that tweaks you right and so 10 years ago we completely took it it was big exercise you had to take all the books out take the bookshelves off the walls and we rehung in here and changed it from green to this drag blue and this carpet is a modern copy of the carpet which was here which is the one over there okay so we we created this Synergy of of actually making it one big room rather than it being a sort of anti room yes yeah and it’s a real living space it’s very cozy it’s lovely and do you spend you must spend lots of time here this this has always been my favorite R partly I love being surrounded by the books actually brings back one of the points That’s so exciting about these these houses is that because they’re owned in private hands and they are lived in and their family homes that is a real attraction to the visitor and they love the idea that this this is not just a museum and it’s you know and the amount of times that I’ve had to go around when the children are younger and sort of kick a bit of plastic under a sofa said that it’s not on display exactly but we’ve been but we’ve been open this place has been open for for for Michael and Faith used to open it rather um sort of on a Thursday afternoon cuz it was half day closing and they would come in the Great Hall and Faith would Grump at them and sort of take the money and sort of it Al I and then when my we came here my parents were much more commercial so you’ve got the I love it this is a little bit of sort of history of the houses open so this is the look at all these guide books this is this is the this is the 1950s guide book right which was written by my grandmother and I’m not sure how much of it is um true and how much is more sort of and it’s some of those good stor you look at it it’s about 10 pages not a picture inside no not a picture at all um so that’s that’s that’s your mother did this my grandmother grandmother your grandmother so this is Michael’s sister right wonderful and then you have and then you have this was this was the sort of 1970s guide book so you know there’s the LI there’s the library as it was ah as it was with the green yes and no furniture and no furniture fantastic okay so that was your father that was the first one that did can you date that yeah yeah I can um that is 1980s look at this like C Sketchbook right it is oh my goodness look at this and then what about that one this is one well we’ve actually just redone it but this was the one that was done when we first came here so there’s some Blade with hair in the front and red triers oh God you know and look at your young family there but I’ve just turned to the Watsons of Rockingham page and of course I’ve spotted here lady faith montue who married obviously Michael kamore daughter of the ninth early sandwich so we’ve made it into your guide book youve certainly made it into so pleased so pleased there we are I would also point out that it’s not the only time that the word montue appears you go right to the top of the left hand page Edward Watson Edward Watson married Dorothy daughter of Sir Edward monsu of Balon who I think is the father of the monu family yes he certainly is we have one of his portraits um hanging at uh at M and it’s my mother-in-law always tries to hide his hands because she says that they look like fish so she hides them with a plant but that’s him he’s really the founding father of our we may we we have another one as well I think he handed them out a bit like sort of confetti but we’ve also got a picture of dorfy which I’d love to show you so we going we going have wonder that absolutely follow [Music] me lovely your guide book are we in the new one too yes you are definitely okay good before showing me the painting of Dorothy montigue James stops off in the panel room a room at the heart of the evolution of Rockingham you’re back in to the old Norman Hall and this is the other half of the Great Hall with a great West window it’s where the king’s platform would have been actually the window is Tuda so we have to a little bit carefully I don’t think that that would have been there orally this is decorated in about 1670 so when I talk about Rockingham having a little bit of color from each Century this is the coroian Charles II room yes and it was the the Lewis Watson who is the his father had a disastrous Civil War and he lost both his castle and his silver his wife was a parliamentarian this room is a room of reconciliation you’ve got all all the family Coates of arms it’s dedicated to the mother and it’s and this paneling interesting enough is Pine because Oak was in short supply due to the Fire of London and the Victorian stained it to look like Oak to look like Oak how fascinating I I mean that I mean it’s just incredible what they did so what do you use this room for today well it was the Victorian dining room and then Michael Kumer used this to hang his centy pictures we it was a it was a it was a sort of winter sitting room my father remembers coming in here to play parlor games but this is the when we have the house full this is the bit of the party room this is you’ve got the back gam table here and it’s the only sprung floor so this is where the dancing happens where the only and you sit there slightly terrified that things are going on and so might get broken but I wanted to show you this this is the most lovely portrait of Michael captures him by Maggie Hamlin and he was a great great personal friend of Maggie’s he he really encouraged her to get going and he they knew each other intimately and you can just see that he she’s really captured his spirit and his character and can I tell you that I recognize this because we have the study of this hanging at Matton we must have received that study from but it is I mean now for me I’ve only seen the study obviously walking by and now to see the actual portrait painting is incredible I mean she is just outstanding I mean Wonder now we need to go and see our joint relative exactly yeah I so we are cousins is that right we are and here I I I happen to know having been to Bon this is cere mue in in his finery as uh Chief Justice of the pleas and he um there is a picture of him at Bon and he doesn’t look like that he looks fearsome no we at mton we have the same exact we share that same um portrait really scary and with the ruffle colar and the hands these are not too bad no they’re not too bad they don’t look like fish so there he is well he’s much younger in this one and he seems a little bit happier here yes but look at him being very Grand and and putting his mue crust up there and um you know but it’s a that’s a I think that’s the equivalent of the sign photograph isn’t it I it was sort of handed out to all of the acolytes yeah no no of course of course I mean it does say on off the executors to King yeah yeah there we are 1556 so he was he was the executive of Henry of Henry VII of Henry VII yeah which is why I’m sure it’s why we have rocky in because he would have this a royal castle it was his he would have facilitated the lease he would facilitated the Le this is the this is Dorothy the daughter oo she looks quite Fierce so that’s his daughter yes right so that means that she would be the aunt of Edward montue the first ear of Sandwich Absolut there we go we we really are related James you know it’s there is there’s there’s the connection she’s quite a sort of terrifying lady but I rather like this portrait I think the detail I think it probably is very accurate and that’s what she looked like you know there’s no there’s there’s none of that sort of Lely making you look terribly beautiful and rather all standardized face that is what she looked like and I love the detail of the bodice and you know it’s extraordinary though you know I came here thinking oh yes there’s this multicue connection with faith and and this is brilliant but I had no idea at all of you know this other female connection right here should we get see there are a few more um rent relatives as I refer to the portraits in the gallery’s go upstairs they you gone out of the medieval Hall back into the Victorian editions rather lighter staircase which gave access to the gallery to the gallery and the gallery was originally an exercise run [Music] the Tudor house always had a gallery and the gallery was there for the for people to exercise during the you would come up here and you would walk up you perambulate up and down really and it was originally it was originally a third as long and then after the Civil War when they rebuilt the castle after the Civil War it was only Built to to to 2/3 length and then it would have been used by the Georgians to hang which is all these big po portraits of portraits yet another became a gallery a gallery as you and I would know yes and then the victorians turned it into a sitting room in a sense it encapsulates the sort of the story I keep on talking about rocking everything changes and different people use it in different ways and today is probably the room we use least because it’s the most difficult room to use if only because of the weight of the floor that if you ever do anything of any with any volume of people in here you have to put joists underneath to hold it up because it it it floats then if we look back out the window you we we we’ve looked at how the house is used and how it’s it’s it’s a domestic it’s a I’m not going to say home because that’s probably rather Grand but actually you look back and then you’ve got the old medieval castle yes and we need to again have a look at that we need to again see what that that actually there was the defensive side and we’ve still got some of that that that wasn’t knocked down after the Civil War right well I can already see even just from peering up here that you can just see the lay of the land here oh you can see why they Chas it absolutely you know your your commanding position in in in this with two natural valleys it’s quite obvious why why they should we wander back a little bit more exercise possibly you stand here what is it it really is its carpet bowls actually exactly there we go perfect [Music] when you come to rockan this is what it’s a castle it looks like a castle it feels like a castle you’ve got a you can see the curtain wall what’s left of the curtain wall running up to your right with the Norman Tower and then the mot which would have been behind that wall at the top which is n Resa that would have been where the keep was it was dominant we’re sort of sitting down here looking up you turn around and you have this what is our sort of I IC Towers but what’s really interesting about them is that they’re not unique they’re may be familiar to you because they are identical in size to the entrance Gateway Ed the first entrance gateway to the Tower of London the only thing about t of London is it looks that different is that it’s got another story so being three stories it looks slightly narrower and less dump squat of course I thought it looked familiar to be honest yes so Tower of London just has one more Story another story in a bit and and then the crenellations right and and then it’s got the port cus but it has the port col and the reason we know that is that there was one plan when we were looking at trying to develop the visitor experience here that people come here thinking this is a castle and it looks like a castle with this wall and it’s you can see it it dominates the land of course but you walk through and it’s like a stage set well where is the medieval bit well it’s it’s sort of gone and moved on we thought at one stage it’ be quite fun to put the PO P colors back and we needed to have a template so we sent the maintenance team down to the Tower of London because it’s they’ve got a port cisa just to see the the mechanism and then they did the dimensions and they’re absolutely identical so obviously Ed the first had one stain Mason and one designer and he used the same footprint everywhere same but youprint that the same BL inredible but you can see the here’s the groove of the pork colorss Oh Yeah sadly sadly you haven’t got it hanging down and you can see where the winding gear of course you can yes incredible but we we sadly decided not to do actually I thought it was becoming a little bit too too much of a film set and rather ridiculous but actually the re main reason we didn’t do it is that the actually you can’t fit the the winding Gear with it sitting proud of the crimin okay so that idea failed but it is a medieval Gate House of course it is Wonder and it s of gives you a wonderful impression as you walk in oh it’s fantastic then you’re in and you sort of and you imagine coming in on your horse or your Carriage it’s it’s it’s it all sits up there and with the flag right there yeah oh you good it’s very good the flag’s flying rather well today at least we got a bit of a breeze I know flag’s looking fantastic so you get a sense of arrival why did they choose this site what was so special about this site why why here I mean you you can see it so clearly when you get to the edge you can’t see anything over the wall no you can’t you climbing up towards the wall and then you get this extraordinary view look the well river running through the middle here and you see the site and you can see how it controls you can literally see mile after mile you I mean this is so absolutely this was the perfect spot so in front of you you see the whole evolution of time of the castle you have the cross Gable of the old Norman Hall and you know I saying it was twice the length when you were inside I said it’s the whole length and you can see it it was an enormous TI yes absolutely the the medieval castle essentially that big building the curtain wall which would have gone all the way around and you you have been protected protected yes in 1544 James’s ancestor Edward Watson was granted the lease to Rockingham from the crown and set about transforming the medieval castle into a tutor home he first of all built this Wing originally a third as long came right out to the end never I don’t think he ever finished it built the wing going that way put the bedrooms in so you’ve got the bedrooms on the first floor with the with the gabled end and these three Wings connecting to the curtain wall and then you’ve got equivalent Wings going up the other side it’s absolutely fascinating hearing James decode the phases of building here at Rockingham the the English civil wars during the 17th century divided families and like the dissolution of the monasteries in the century before destroyed so much of England’s architectural Heritage leis Watson who was the grandson of the of Ed Watson who got the leas on the castle he would entertained James I first he bought the freeold of the property in 1620 and was a a successful rers his second wife was a maners who were parliamentarians and lived at Beaver Castle so he hedged his bets he sent his silver to Beaver to be safe with his brother-in-law while at the same time flying the RO standard here thinking he was safe in his castle and he got it wrong because the parliamentarians captured the castle and he got locked up by the king for losing his castle in Beaver Castle the king had taken oh my good and all his silver but he was then pardoned he was and he came back and and he joined the king at Oxford and was made Lord rockim and then after the Civil War he came back here and he spent a lot of time trying to get all his bits and pieces together but he built this little building here and lived in here while they rebuilt the rest of so that’s a rather pretty restoration building 1665 I can see on the the DAT is on the on on the drain pipe and then you get the Victorian editions you’ve got the gallery staircase has been tapped on there there yes and then the flag Tower which was put there to balance the fact this Wing’s not not as long as the one on the other side so it’s not this it’s so now I have one little secret I want to take you to okay because there’s something we’re going back to the medieval but we have a little surprise inside the castle okay come with me all right exciting this is a house with all sorts of different bits and different quots there’s a lot of doors that’s why I’m getting conf oh my God you get you you getus you get completely confused so who come in and so we’re now getting into the service wiing by turning left and right here you have a you’ve got the color color scheme you’re still in the old Hall that’s the butler Pantry the Bell pools oh I love those brilliant they’re all a bit broken I’m afraid Tower bedroom Tower dressing Tower bed I love it and then you go out of the old hall there’s the wall so this is the wall That’s the wall look how thick it is goodness so you’re right now you’re getting into that first Gable those yes and you have the all making sense the housekeeper room the kitchen you’re in the service part of the house yes but we’re going back to the med oh my goodness a cobal street no leading up to what would have been the keep so here’s the I just feel like I’m actually like on a set of like of a medieval uh future film or something and this is where the service wings so you would have had your brew house you would have had your through of course you can can I walk on this you can walk on these things so this it was just where all the store rooms were yes well it was the there’s the kitchen which I just showed you that’s the ready use lder store there would have been Brew House Woodshed Bakery the bakery is in here and then that building at the end the victorians turned from a house into the laundry and it’s and it’s we if we’ve got a moment we love to show it is the project to do and so this is the problem child it’s a it’s a wonderful building but it’s it is it epitomizes the problem of owning a historic house there are always going to be areas which need work and this is probably the worst description of needing work um it’s watertight it’s dry Brant which is great it also we got to store today’s commercial stuff these Santa’s post box exactly the pumpkin the look at this look at these crows here who made this the Scarecrow this is brilliant and so I thought oh it might make a rather smart office until I got a quate of three4 of a million pound nearly I was going to say a million dollars and I thought no I didn’t think make a very good yoga studio wouldn’t it it would be right I would love it particular the first but the first floor would be wonderful light would be lovely that’s right you could check in everybody here have sort of like your locker rooms down here and then you go upstairs and you do yoga there we go I’ll just have to somehow um raise some funds for it I know exactly about big problems exactly built after the Norman conquest of 1066 Rockingham was a royal Fortress a symbol of Norman power and a strategic stronghold between North and South England the layout of the house and the castle was two Baileys with a Mot so this was one Bailey right and the other Bailey we’ll see as we go around the corner and then this was the mot with the mound not here because this is the spoiled and there would have been a moat the moat would have come round so that is yes this is the moat that would have gone around the keep to act as the defense so if you think of Windsor Windsor is exactly the same design Rock it’s the same designer built Windsor that built rockium and so the keep would have been here with a Mot originally on top with a a still wood Stockade and then it was Stone and it was a you can imagine you see the dominance of that and it was there until the Civil War and then at the end of the Civil War the parliamentarians said at these places could not be refortified they knocked them down here at Rockingham you get a real sense of how vast the castle complex would have been in the 1670s the Lewis Watson the son of the fellow who was here during the Civil War basically came and he created a a 17th century Terrace Garden so you’ve you come up every level is slightly different and they’re all about five steps and then they’ve created there a there’s a sort of pleasure walk that goes up the side of this mound but if we go up to the top The Wonderful by The Band Stand you can look over and see the layout of the of the old keep or the fortifications of the keep which are turned into a Victorian Rose [Music] Garden this is wonderful Liz and I created the garden Randy outside because there was nothing there was a couple of very narrow beds and a couple of big uh Victorian cherries which fell over how clever it’s actually really really clever this is not what I was expecting when you said come visit the Rose Garden I mean I know they’re not out right now but I was not expecting this this is Sensational the round bit is where all the good the um gun ports were and then if you go this way yes Julie you get you can see the dominance of it over the rest of the castle no but it’s rather wonderful to feel that actually we’ve been able to do something in this Garden to leave a bit of a legacy with this this creation of the New Garden here linking and given it’s only 15 years old these you have done amazingly and that they’re now the same height as the um as the use on the of the Victorian it’s incredible it’s absolutely incredible and I like what you said it’s just you know it’s always adding on every generation adding on to what is already there but putting your mark on it leaving a little bit yeah leaving a little bit I will definitely have to come back here in June end of June the best we the end of June beginning of July is when the Roses suddenly come out we’re not a road to D in oia Garden we’re Limestone but roses love this place but roses roses it’s all about the rose here I love it there’s a long list of tasks that need to be done every day at Rockingham Castle I’m meeting up with caretaker Pete Smith to lend a hand I’m ready good you ready for it all I’m I’m let’s do it I’m so excited let’s do it which way to the right Pete lives on site here at Rockingham tending to the fabric of the building and making sure everything is Ship Shape each day okay there you go you’re in there’s a lot of keys and they’re heavy as well Y and you carry them around all day all day just in case we need a key all right what’s the plan so head down this way do the fire check the fire make sure it’s still lit put a log on it yeah then through to the panel room Naval Lobby Library Stone passage how many steps are we going to do uh around about 20,000 today great just in a castle we’re going to 20,000 yeah just in the castle you don’t have to leave the castle to get your daily amount in up and downstairs [Music] incredible so the first task is to stoke the fire in the Great Hall and there’s quite an art to it it’s warmer in here a lot warmer a lot warmer lot goes 24/7 the fire goes 24/7 it does in the winter month yeah oh my goodness we’ll go for a smaller log first okay so if you get pick up the front one okay oh I there a little gate here that goes like that that goes like this yeah so it’s leaning up oh yeah okay if you do it the other way it smokes oh yeah no we don’t I know about that we don’t want that yeah we don’t want smoke no okay so that’s it like a little bit more or here that’s it that’s good is that really yeah that’s it okay okay bang on that that’s you’re just going to do this throughout the day every time we walk past if it’s burnt down we’ll Put Another Log on incredible so this we’ll bring some more logs in later on right that is brilliant okay fantastic all right that’s done okay so as we walking around we check all the lights all yeah I know all about light bulbs Pete make sure no bulbs are blown yeah and but do you I mean every day you must find one every time we’ve got walk around we head up don’t walk around with head down all right so we can take this this one off the list this one’s off the list Great Hall TI all right wao this is dark yeah well this is really dark just on the right hand side on the right hand side which there’s like a lot here yeah bottom one bottom we’ll go for the bottom one I like there’s and then the next one and the next one and the next and the next one remember you got to check all the bulbs all good yeah I think it’s all good all right what about shutters two bolts with the two bolts up two bolts up yeah okay right out let that slightly then just turn it never going to be invited back just okay okay turn turn drop it down and folds yeah which way it folds in yeah and then it fits in we have fold again fold again and then it goes into that and it goes into that I love these fold it again so fun I’m sure you’re much I know I know that you’re super fast at this I know I’m taking my time just don’t want to break anything tick off the list tick off next room so next is a library all all four lights all four lights one two three four press the button yeah see you’ve got button ones we don’t know I like the button style security really like the button style because we’ not got visitors today yep we can leave the blinds down we can leave the blinds it stops the sun coming in and fading the thir iner exactly there go right H some have got buttons some haven’t some haven’t yeah yeah all right and then your last one and I’m checking bulbs what about those bulbs they’re they’re non oh decorative yeah brilliant right bulb bulb bulbs all bulbs do it Stone passageway next before we go then Julie what we need to do conserve electricity oh need to turn some lights off all off unless we’ve got visitors yep yeah great again checking the bulbs yeah oh yeah I forgot about that thank you I’m sure all the bulbs are on for the reminder and then more of this bolt at the bottom mhm yeah pull that turn it button yeah push okay okay you got it okay that one’s a hard one obviously and fold okay this one and here we go this is all very familiar but takes quite a while I think it even beats how long it takes to draw all the curtains at maon each morning one and check bulbs check bulbs did I check bulbs in there yeah just checking those yep all look good okay you know I wanted one to be I know there you tomorrow about five or six will be out such a great job done such great okay here we go shutters yeah shutters again okay how long have you been here at Rockingham uh 4 years and 4 days oh it’s quite lucky four years and four days yeah yeah all right and before that before that I was in the Army I was in the household Cavalry no blues and Royals what yeah oh my goodness so how many years were you doing that I joined in 1976 and I left in 1992 that is a long time so can I just ask did you have to wear the helmet yeah and plume the plume and carasses or breast plates called them did riding school riding school’s good good experience G service at Windsor yes escorting from Victoria Station to booking Palace how many times have you been sort of inside Buckingham Palace as in the gates oh inside the gates yeah too many times I can’t remember right too many times you can’t remember that’s incredible what we need to do is go upstairs now and raise the flag okay here we go so through the door put the lights on light on the left hand side more steps though more steps more steps so we’re at the moment we’re on yeah what are we 1,00 929 okay I’d really like to get to you know we’re going to get to that 2,000 2,000 2000 oh easily yes but we’ve this has been quick and we’ve already done 2,000 yeah okay you’ve only got another 18,000 to go exact I just got to stick with you all day long and I’ll get there so we got 56 steps to do here we are this is halfway what well 2/3 we going to go so we got the gym now we’re going further up oh my goodness good okay all right here we go no wonder you’re in such great shape Pete keep going we’re hanging the flag this is the flag this is the ladder we’re going up to hang the flag okay um do you have a fear of heights no okay that’s good have you no I don’t have a fear of heights I have a fear of cows do you have a fear of cows no why a cow no I just the only good thing about that uhhuh there’s not many cows up here I know I have so it’ll be all right good I know I know so I’m fine with fine not with cows unless there’s a cow up there I don’t think there is unless you knew about my fear and you stuck put one up there right now and there’s no cow there’s no cow that’s good just a height no I don’t have a fear of heights luckily I love this this is incredible right okay I’ve never never raised a flood never never never no never do not let go of the ends okay if we let go of the ends you know what we got to do no shimmy up the FL pull to get the Rope oh my God okay oh we could lower it down what we need to do by the way what is this flag that this is the Griffin this is the Griffin family Griffin the family Griffin what we got to make sure is it’s right way up we don’t want the Griffin upside down have you done that before yeah and put the Union Jack up wrong way well okay be X military that didn’t go down well okay the Griffin so there’s the Griffin okay that’s the top one so we unhook them okay I’m to keep hold I’ll keep hold okay I’ll keep hold hold I’m holding this yeah that wants to hook through there okay hook through here yeah mhmh okay yeah hooked hold it okay so we can pull so now I’m going to pull you’re going to pull until you get the bottom rope so keep pulling uhhuh go on go on go on keep going keep going keep I love this this is amazing all right hold it there uhhuh yeah through that one okay okay got it yep got it I’ll love that I’ll swap you again okay pull and pull oh this is so much fun till we get to the top oh my gosh this is so much fun this is amazing okay well Pete I think it looks pretty darn amazing what do you think it’s pretty good it’s blowing as well how fun I know it’s blowing so fun we see the Griff in and guess what we got it the right way thanks that’s the best [Music] [Applause] [Music] to celebrate the 950th anniversary of the founding of Rockingham there are a series of events and festivities planned and over the past 2 years a group of embroiderers have been stitching the castle into the history books taking inspiration from the world famous bay tapestry which illustrated The Battle of Hastings the Rockingham panel tells its own story hello hello I was told I might find all of you here oh my goodness this this is the place this is where it Happ all happening this is where it happens this incredible so we started in October um 2019 and we’re just in the last few stitches now my goodness this is brilliant you know what’s so wonderful is that of course embroidery when you visit historic houses and of course Rockingham Castle there’s embroidery everywhere everywhere you look there’s embroidery of such a wonderful sort of Pastime it is and um it’s wonderful that you’re you know bringing it up to the 21st century ab and this really is even though it has William the Conqueror ordering rocking to be built right down here we have 2021 which is when it was Jun to be finished but Co obviously has delayed it with a CO symbol and a little mask and it’s going to be ready 20 this year this year this is brilliant I so who came up with that clever design a wonderful G that is that was that is very very clever so you have William the Conqueror obviously right yes this is his crowning his coronation he was um crowned immediately so he could um cuz the coronation is the important part so he could begin to take control of the rest of the country and to do that he ordered castles to be built throughout and Rockingham Castle is is one of those castles um that’s the date along there it was 1066 is the famous date B of course 1068 to 12 uh to 1071 um that is the building of the castle here but of course originally it’s a motten Bailey Castle because here were’re on an escarpment we were in a forest um surrounded by Woods yes uh very high up so the the remnants of the Martin Bailey Castle is now the Rose Garden is now the Rose Garden and the last half of it is the modern day Rockingham with these are Edward the first um round Towers round Towers there and we have the wonderful we’ve got the family here and you’ve got oh my goodness yes so this is James L liant outfit two daughters Henry the son and Lizzy standing telling us all about the castle how fantastic that is brilliant and who’s on the horse over there riding into that is um from the Bayer so we’ve linked it yes we put the traditional there with in the modern Park to to link the panel together fantastic with the flag riding with the flag which I’ve just hung so yeah it was wonderful it was absolutely it was breathtaking how brilliant can I just ask what kind of stitching is this here cuz it’s called C it’s called the Bayer Stitch but it’sing oh it’s okay and so you you lay down threads like this and then you have to go over the top at right angles and just hold them down with a little Stitch so I’m just doing narrow pieces but this piece will have been worked like that exactly so you lay down the threads and then you go over the top in the angle and hold it down with little stitches and the bear was all all done like that all done like that this is French knots would not have been on the Bayer right but it gives itext it gives it texture exactly very tactile but that looks complicated as well it is yes yes so I did the French knots and I did those specifically because this is how a Mot was built a layer of stones a layer of dirt I should have counted how many knots I would love to know how many I did took I don’t know how many days several so you do let people give a stitch is that right we do if you ask I can can I please do just one stitch and I promise not I promise not to mess it up it’s just a stitch we have a thread ready for you to here okay now I used to stitch when I was younger but you know it was a long time ago we’re just putting little yellow dots to look like flowers so if you want to put some somewhere so I could just do one you just do one just do one everybody do run one everybody so I’ll just go through here okay and then I see you’ve got to go all the way under there find it there you are EXC I might do a bigger one yeah do next Stitch be brave okay there we go oh I’ll go right here okay yeah I’ll do a much bigger one that was just a little speck now be careful you might have to go home and start your own I know well that’s what I’m thinking I’m thinking what can we do for mattin mattin was in the Doomsday Book so I could do I could you know start from there there we are I’m H I’m yeah that is lovely bring the needle back up somewhere and’ll be ready for the next one sure here we go that’s lovely okay thank you thank you thank you so much for let me be a part of the 950th uh anniversary of Rockingham what an Exquisite historical record and I’m so thrilled to see a traditional craft continuing here at the [Music] castle hello hello I’m Julie my name’s Dean I’m head Gardener head Gardener wow amazing I’m honored to meet you anytime I meet a head Gardener I’m like oh my gosh you guys are absolutely incredible no we get that far so wow so this is here we are in the Rose Garden which my understanding is this is where the keep used to be is that it is yes and if you look at the design of the garden it’s actually designed to look like a keep still with the the U being the um the different entrances and we also have box shaped U on the outside which is the soldiers marching back to the keep so we’ve tried to keep that so it’s um in keeping with what his original purpose so this is the Rose these are all roses here yes they are it’s a yeah traditional formal Rose Garden which is not as common as it used to be really so and so tell me what you’re doing now and are these can I ask cuz I know a tiny bit about roses are they new roses or old roses or a mixture they’re a mixture they’re mixture they are old style hybrid tea roses which we don’t really use that term anymore but these are the the taller larger flowering variey so yeah there is a mixture of all different things so I I fact it just must look absolutely spectacular it does yes is it what is it end of June when when they’re in yeah probably a little bit early in that here because we are quite sheltered with the the UR hedge all the way around so we have quite a long season of roses so that’s brilliant my observations from talking to people that have come is that it’s a very romantic garden and obviously there’s nothing more romantic than roses and you know when you’re working in here it’s really nice because you do see couples and they’re often taking pictures of each other with the rose and things like that so it’s lovely sniffing the Ros and all those sorts of things soov that’s really nice and we’ve got obviously the Fantastic views and everything so yeah it’s a romantic type Garden AB absolutely okay so you’ve done a lot of planting right now these are all new Ros no not not all of them are new a lot of them it’s we’re in rotation so we’re rotating a lot of the older roses out they’ve done their job and you know it’s time for them to have a rest as it were and um but we’ve got to plant lots of new Rosies uh over 200 um to get the garden back in to to where it needs to be um but the problem is is that roses don’t like being where roses were before so Rose replant disease is a real problem for a garden like this and um the old method I mean scientifically we don’t exactly know what causes it even now with all the scientific discoveries we’ve had we’re still not exactly sure why Rosies fail I mean there’s lots of pathogens and different things in the soil but um and so you know there’s various meth me of of getting over that but the main method that people have been using for years and years is the one where they take out all the soil and then replace that all with fresh soil and take all the old soil away and the the problem with that is it’s not only you know back breaking it’s a lot of work and it’s a lot of cost but also it’s not very ecologically sound either uh and so what we’re doing and hopefully successfully is doing a slightly different method whereas we’re planting them in recycled cardboard parts so you’re going to actually you’re going to put in the cardboard yes with it yeah that’s right so it’s I’ve never heard is this something new no it’s not it’s not new as anything in gardening there’s no no no such thing as a new idea but um mostly it would be some I would recommend somebody to do if they were doing one in a border okay but it’s not very often you do 200 of them but um going try it out this going to try it out try it out so the idea would be is this little self-contained environment it’s got compost in there and it will its roots will grow and the first year we’ll take very good care of it and its roots will grow and as the water penetrates into the cardboard that will break down into the soil and then the first tentative Roots we’ll go out into the old soil and hopefully because it’s bigger and stronger by then and we’ve taken care of it it will be able to withstand any attack just as the old R roses do fantastic but all the all the cardboard as well it’s recycled from things that we brought in the summer from the different packaging so um brilliant it’s all good in in the compost we made here ourselves in the woods oh my gosh okay so yeah yeah so it’s local and it’s um yeah it’s recyclable it’s um fantastic for the environment all of that right hopefully yeah hopefully I wouldn’t say it was completely work free but I think it’s a lot less worth than digging them all out and replacing them anyway but what we want to do is make a round hole and so we can drop it straight in ah so yes that’s why we’ve got so we what we’ve got here our Spades that we normally know for digging post holes yes so not not your normal Spade no no not at all and then what we’ve got to do is measure how big the pot is against the Spade Y and then go for that height so we’ll move this line out the way okay so if I do this one m and drop her in then you can have a go the other one okay so wonderful okay it’s all part of the process so what we want to do we want the edge of the pot that’s quite good actually we want the edge of the pot to be just above just above cuz we don’t want too much of that old soil to go into that okay so and then we just back fill and then you back fill it and basically the other thing there’s no firming down there’s no stomping on it stomping on it we’re not going to move any roots and basically we’re going to let the weather do the job for us so what will happen there is that the frost and the wind and all those things will go in and compact that soil you know firm it back around the and then we’ve got a lovely growing environment the only thing I would say is taking care of it is that you’ve got to remember until the cardboard breaks down it’s in a pot so you’ve got to water it as if it’s in a pot so you’ve got to be careful with watering when it starts off right so you’ve got to okay so where would you like me to make my mark So if you go about 18 in apart okay so quite close but um because it’s a rose bed we want it nice and full and if you want to have go there okay and bearing in mind you’re trying to make a a round hole Yeah a round hole a round hole yes you’ve got to be yes more um straight down the sides there’s lovely uh rotten clay there for you that’s right exactly okay I’m going to make this round hole oh she’ll feel it once we’ve uh done 200 of these yeah I is this only your first two no we we’ve done a whole bed over there actually so uh but I’ve got a very uh good team as well and they’ll be a here helping me yeah cuz I can already feel this in my back yeah that’s right I don’t think I’d like to do it all on my own though no do you I I’m going to have to do some yoga after this for sure to stretch it out and I’ve only done one okay but um it’s uh yeah still com still better I think than taking the entire two tons of soil away I agree yeah I mean you would have to just dig all that out I think we’re getting there now you know okay what do you think I think we’re there yeah I think there yeah so we’ll uh measure her up the only other thing as well you’ve got to be careful of is that uh the pots don’t get horrendously wet because then you haven’t got a pot more of a a mush okay yeah there we go there we go I think that’s okay cuz that one’s quite deep in its pot so yes if it just back fill around that and uh okay so I’m just going to back gently back fill around it and uh push it back in and we’re good to go okay okay here we go and hopefully you’ll come back and uh take pictures of them when they’re all flowering and wonderful we will absolutely um come back because you know this is as you said rose gardens just everybody loves a Rose Garden they do even I mean we have so so many wonderful plants these days but you know something about the Mystique and romance of a rose that really did really uh people all right what do you think here Dean I think that’s good yes I’m think I’m happy with are you really happy with that yeah that’s good okay okay so uh we shall remember that one we shall label it I hope it survives Julie’s Rose I really hope it survives yes um um brilliant but that but listen how fascinating um to be able to do work like this that also is environmentally friendly soil I think we all have to think that way now you know and it’s even even if you’re working in ornamental Gardens you’ve still got to you know lessen the impact environmentally and of course we are growing things as well so you know that’s good for the environment everything everything that we grow um but yeah I mean and also it’s um finding new ways to keep the landscape the same you know the you the old rose gardens are important people love to visit them and I think you know I’m very passionate about it like keeping these rose gardens going and and making them taking them into the uh a new age basically but also keeping that mystique and romance so of course of course and making sure that people when they come back to Rockingham they can you know take their photo um embracing each other in front of a rose here we we do have people that have come here for years and um they’ve come back and they say you know we had our wedding here or we had our wedding anniversary and you know they like to look at the roses and remember those times so of course brilliant brilliant well thank you Dean this was incredibly educational and I am looking forward to coming back here and seeing um how Julie Rose is blooming blooming we should definitely uh Mark brilliant brilliant all right thanks de so much take care byebye out of the Winter Chill I head inside to the warmth of the Great Hall to meet rockingham’s archist basil Morgan who has kindly looked out for some fascinating documents from the time when lady faith montigue and Sir Michael Kum Seymour lived here in the mid 20th century so basil how long have you been the archist here at Rockingham next year it be 30 years 30 years not all as archivist start I was a guide but most of the time as archist most of the time and has it been just fascinating over the past 30 years what you’ve what you’ve uncovered absolutely yes CU being a historian anywhere is to teach it uping in school right so the whole history side interests me a lot yes with Michael K Seymour did he keep a lot of his correspondence his letters journals um as well as lady faith very much so yes he did um she wrote to him she was a regular correspondent her husband the fourth um baronet she wrote to him all the way through the wall virtually daily whether he was up in orley Islands or whether he was the Battle of Jutland or out in the the Black Sea rescuing zaris they were incredibly correspond and he somehow managed to get letters back virtually every day to her that’s incredible he knows how the system works yeah no no exactly but it worked and then with faith were you able to uncover some of her letters because they were married in 1947 is that right I think it was yes just after he came out of the exactly exactly the interesting thing about faith is her connection with the novelist y forer I’ve read that yes who was a very big novelist or before 1914 really most of his novels and they were about the Edward in upper class casting a fairly cynical eye over them and we’ve got a lot of letters about 70 all together that forer wrote to lady faith it started off when she had written a short story and fer was a great pal of her fathers so he said we’ll send it to forer I know forer and we got a letter where she he writes back saying uh what it’s like is a short story being quite gentle with her yes and writing back and saying well it’s a short story so you got to be pretty concise you hav’t got much space you know right and from that a friendship base and he came and Stage here very often did he yes he he um he often came here to stay for Christmas in the end he was inviting himself can I please come for three or four days wonderful so they really forged a friendship they form can I touch these yes by all means in fact I think yes that’s the one you’re looking at is the first one one I can see you’ve numbered them yeah the very first one commenting on her short story how it’s just wonderful just to see his hand writing his writing is is fairly readable yeah it is fairly readable and then his signature here um yes I should like to come to Rockingham and to see you and Sir Michael it is very kind of you to suggest it sure how brilliant this went on until um I think he died in 1970 it was it was very very lengthy certainly best part of 15 years how brilliant he says here could I come on uh the 25th for a couple of nights yes he really did invite himself by the end I generally spend Christmas um it sounds like itself um in um in in Buckingham but he’s asking if if he could come and he always left something behind he always has to write a letter or she has to write a letter saying we found your pen you left behind or we found your he always seems to left something behind whether this was hoping he could pick it up the next time the next I oh this is so brilliant and then what do we have here well that’s something I just found or I’ve just noticed uh an impression of fer by lady faith of serve I I’m just reading a little bit because I’ve the thing that comes out is hinching Brook is it was the family seat so um that’s where the first Earl of Sandwich lived up until my husband’s grandfather uh so that would be Faith’s brother uh sold it in 19 uh he sold it in 1955 and then bought matin which is where we are now another historic House end dors it in 1956 but Faith lived at henching which is you know uh 15 minutes from here I believe really quite close so anytime I read anything or spot anything with henching Brook I’m really of course interested and I just um if I if you don’t mind if I could just read something that I’ve just um spotted our family home henching Brook was only 15 miles from Cambridge where Forester a fellow of King’s College Cambridge had rooms and was now living he and my father were old friends but had not met for some years we drove through the great Gothic main Archway and pulled up at the front door during the war henching Brook was a hospital and after the war my brother to whom the estate had been transferred that would be hinch my husband’s grandfather found himself forced partly for economic reasons and much to his regret to sell the property I’m going to get quite emotional here um anyway because it’s just you know it’s it’s one of those things that you just it’s the family home and then you you just just found this and you read this um and in 1962 the Huntington County Council bought the house for a comprehensive school but in December 1955 that’s when he sold it the great house was empty and deserted before entering the house I took Forester onto the Terrace where Charles I and Oliver Cromwell once fought as boys we stood on the Terrace stemps and admired the great semicircular bow window the royal arms and initials eer on it in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s visit in 1564 we then wandered across the lawn to see the medieval nunnery and from there into the main house it was dark and lonely but beautiful every room shuttered and we looked at the furniture and pictures by Electric Light some of the furniture had been taken away but most of the family portraits the Hogarth the leles and the vyes still hung on the walls our tour took an hour and Forester had not said a word then he rounded on me explosively to abandon it like that to leave it empty just to clear it out what will happen to all its art Treasures he was desperately concerned houses are important you know a house gives security it’s an Anchorage and then she says I was seeing a new Forester for a second I had a glimpse of his real identity underneath and late that night I wrote in my diary the shade of Mrs Wilcox Howard’s end to her family it was only a house but to her it had been a spirit for which she sought a spiritual air we I have to I’m so glad you found this copy because I will immediately have to send this to right my father-in-law who grew up at hinching Brook so hinch’s um son is my father-in-law the 11th Earl of Sandwich and he grew up in henching Brook and I think I think these few paragraphs here really do sum up how I think we feel as a family the sadness around losing hinching brook house but I anyway uh basil I just want to thank you so much this has I think made my day I’m actually I I’m I mean I’m going to be just thinking about this the rest of the day but this I literally found out 10 minutes ago it’s cataloged but I was looking through the for to five for the letters right and suddenly found that and I thought is that by lady faith and it’s signed by lady faith incredible so thank you thank you not at all it’s really hard for me to articulate the emotion that I felt today when I sat with basil and we were looking through some of the letters that Forester had written to Faith of course I have this huge interest in faith and learn learning a little bit more about her because she was the daughter of Alberta sturis the ninth CEST of Sandwich who was an American like me and married into the montue family there was a whole range of emotions that overcame me when I started to read her memories of really the first time that she met Forester and she brought him to an empty hinching Brook of course that’s my last name VI count as hinching Brook and when I started to read really the sadness around that and the regret of having had to sell hinching Brook for economic reasons and there was a real sadness that I felt and I was overcome by emotion but I’m so happy that basil was actually able to find that but for me it was a sense of sadness and a sense of really remembrance of how these historic houses um uh went through so much over the last century some survived and some were able to stay in the family like Rockingham castle and some weren’t like henching Brook and they were either demolished or like hinching Brook made into a school it was just wonderful to be able to read that account [Music] it’s believed there’s been a church on this site at Rockingham since the 13th century but after the destruction of the English Civil War in 1650 it was rebuilt and just as with the castle itself each generation has added to it since there’s something quite wonderful and really magical about coming into a church but in particular this church this is the Parish Church of Rockingham C castle and it lies just beyond the castle walls it was a lovely walk to come here but I am here for a purpose and that is to find the memorial that was made and created for Michael and faith and their three young sons who didn’t make it so I’m here searching that out right now [Music] all around the side Chapel are the most beautiful sculptures but some were pieced together following the Civil War when it’s thought sir Lewis Watson brought together fragments of the memorial to his grandmother Dorothy montue with that of his father sir Edward Watson oh here we go wow they’re right away and here it reads remember Michael clour 1909 to 1999 and his wife Faith monu 1911 to 1983 they’re three baby boys the care they took of Rockingham and the happiness they found there and at withon now witheren is a part of maon so there still is land that we have that is part of meton estate that is called wither and um and uh the people who live at wither now the house that Michael and Faith Rett are are friends of ours and the many friends whose lives they touched and what I really love here is that faith is memorialized here alongside her husband Michael but also Al she’s memorialized here next to actually one of her relations so it’s extraordinary to see that Lewis created this Monument for his grandmother Dorothy montigue and his father Edward Watson side by side together using the remains of other family family monuments that had been destroyed by the parliamentarians and but it’s just lovely for me to see that there are two monu here memorialized in the Watson uh sort of family Vault if you [Music] like when the Norman Castle was transformed into an Elizabethan home in the 16th century the room every fashionable house needed was a long gallery and it’s here where James tells me of a very special visitor to the castle in the mid 19th century well it’s wonderful to bring you up here to one of our literary gems it’s so nice to have an association with some someone who actually is such a a giant of our literary history Charles Dickens incredible right away as soon as I saw that I thought there must be a story about Charles Dickens here it’s it’s we’re not a particularly literary family but it is rather nice Richard Watson who is the picture uh the gentleman on on the right was the youngest son of Lord Sons met Charles Dickens in loan um linia and Richard were on The Grand Tour okay the equivalent of The Grand Tour and they were staying in lozanne and then the Villa next door was Charles Dickens and his wife and they got on fantastically well this was to become a lifelong friendship with Charles Dickens inspired by his visits to Rockingham remarking to a friend in 1849 of all of the country houses and Estates I have yet seen in England I think this is by far the best and there are two really quite strong associations um two books are very associated with rocking one of them is David Copperfield and the second is blee house right David Copperfield Charles Dickens dedicated the first edition to Richard and ninia Watson incred by chance thought really but I have it here and this is the original original Edition and there’s wonderful story with it which I only really if I’m honest I only discovered when I got the book out today cuz I bothered to read the letter in the fly leaf that rich and L’s children Lo Dickens with a passion they were far from liberals they were high Tories hunting hunting Victorian landowner gentleman who did not like anything that sniffed of any liberalism and they sold all of the Dickens Mar mobilia you’re kidding me so all the letters went to America um all of the the books anything that was to say to went disappeared and this one appeared in a book shop in in with a book dealer in in in London in 1982 and it was bought by the third s Michael so Michael Com hima’s grandfather grandfather wow who was married who was married to 52 years later in one sense after it was signed it was found and it came and the Book seller contacted yes right and it’s a lovely note in in in the letter sort of saying it’s obviously very important because it’s got the man it’s got the private dedication absolutely look at it says affectionately inscribed to The Honorable Mr and Mrs Richard Watson of Rockingham northamptonshire as a token of as a token of the of such so what’s that regard and friendship yeah yeah token Charles Dickens Charles Dickens so he was really really close to Richard and linia and when he came to stay some of them was were relatively short some of them were slightly longer and he said a total of 20 days here and and he he took inspiration from his husband he staged plays for the benefit now who did he do how fun I know well we’ve got a play bill here and would he stage them here in the long Gallery do you think he did he did he certainly did one one of them they were staged here but he also staged another set we’re in the panel room how incredible I’m just taking it all in the Charles Dickens was here this is a wonderful brilant but this is a wonderful room to entertain yeah it creates same atmosph it does he was such a shaman but he was always the lead actor look at this Rockingham Castle will be presented Monday evening January 13th 1851 used up and you’re right Sir Charles Coldstream Mr Charles Dick to be followed by the interlude of a day after the wedding Colonel free love Mr Charles di then you have the performance will conclude with Mrs inchbald’s farce animal magnetism and the doctor the lead is oh Mr Char dick that’s the original that’s the play bill that would have been stuck right just for the household well I think I think that there may have been for other local friends as well you know sort of advertising it I bet you he’s never won to Mr shil no but it’s brilliant and also at the end it says the theater will be opened at a quarter before 8 and the performance will com commence at 8:00 God Save the Queen Queen so he used rock as an inspiration and it was actually very accurate accurate in terms of some of the descriptions of the rooms and some of the characters so Mrs Rell the housekeeper was a very accurate description of the housekeeper here at the time right and I’ve got some we’re sitting in the long Gallery at the moment there’s a lovely quote in here when he talks about how theot the evening Shadows draw across the pictures and as this is west facing with these big Windows you do get the ad and as the sun goes down out over across the valley it sort of draws the Shadows draw across the pictures and describing the r the portrait of lady deadlock over the fireplace opposite us he says here um but of all the shadows in chzn world the shadow in the long drawing room upon my lady’s picture is the first to come and the last bit disturbed at this hour and by this light it changes into threatening hands raised up and menacing the handsome face with every breath that stirs but so he’s really describing obviously this room this room and that port there I would possibly I possibly you’d bet on it yes how brilliant it’s a lot of fun so there’s a very strong association with Dickens in here the friendship between Charles Dickens and Richard and linia Watson was one of real affection which is reflected in Dickens works but also in his private correspondence and he wrote the most touching letter at his in distraught sadness at Richard’s early death in in 1852 he continued to correspond with with levinia right up until his the his death in 1870 he wrote two months before and actually we got a copy of the letter here where it says My Dear Mrs Watson regret the greatest pleasure I engaged myself and married to you for the 2nd of may you cannot too completely make me one of your family party the Dear Old Rocky him days are always fresh in my heart believe me ever Faithfully a Charles Dickens and that was written two months before he died it’s it that that relationship went on long after Richard Watson’s death and they were very close friends absolutely and I can’t tell you we we are so proud at Rockingham to have that association with one of England’s Britain’s greatest writers absolutely but but also that you were able to you know I think Treasures here at these historic houses are so important but when you when a treasure gets sold and then you get it back it’s even more special and more extraordinary to even have that back in in the family so wonderful incredible couldn’t agree [Music] more each generation at Rockingham has left their mark on the building itself but also out in the surrounding landscape to Mark the 950th anniversary of Rockingham and the year of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee J seems is planting trees across the estate and finding inspiration from those who have gone before him so jul this is a plan of the park and land Holdings at rocking in 1815 and reason I got it out is that it’s really exciting we’ve been looking at trying to do some really significant planting and one of the Ambitions is to plant 950 trees that you know and I know that you can easily plant 950 whips in a belt and they dis appear but actually we want to do something slightly significant and so one of the things that I’ve been doing it’s been really fun is finding some of the old Maps some of the old photographs finding where avenues that we used to have which have gone or disappeared or or lines of trees that disappeared so what I think is interesting about this map is that actually to shape the site of the park with the castle here there’s quite a lot of change yes but there’s this wonderful double Avenue that runs in from south lodge and if you look at the f photograph here that is the double Avenue goodness in in 1910 with and they were all Elms look at that double Avenue I don’t think I’ve ever seen and this and this Photograph you’ve got the remnants of it but they all died in 1976 a dutel disease of the D disease I see and and and and dad put back a sort it’s not really work but a mix of plane and Beach right Norwegian Beach doesn’t look good and it’s not a double Avenue it’s sort of half a sand half and I my ambition is not to go all the way down but actually just to do it at the top and so we’re going to do that and so that’s where all 950 Tre no that’s about 36 all right okay well maybe a bit more cuz you have to pay some every we also took a an Avenue out here of dead Sycamore we’re going to put those back and I really love this idea of the sort of belt single belts of trees around the park now we’ve got a belt there but I’m going to plant on the other side okay a whole line a single line all the way from this some suttry Copus all the way down back to the castle oh so this will be double lth fantastic now we need to go and plant a tree to Mark the Platinum jubilees so would you like to come and help me plant a tree in the wild garden I I would absolutely love to do that I can’t think of it anything better how fun let’s go and do that the formal Gardens here at Rockingham were redesigned after the Civil Wars in the 17th century they are made up of a series of terraces around the castle we would talking about Dickens earlier this Terrace was part of his inspiration this is where he conceived the ghost of Lady deadlock and this elephant hedge we always say we call it the GH walk or we call it the elephant hedge because it’s it it was I think more regular in the in the 19th century and it it got somewhat misshapen but actually it looks like if you look at it closely it it looks like elephants it’s wonderful it’s a it’s a Well we don’t know how old 400 year old it absolutely does oh my how wonderful and then if we go through this gate here we’re now going into wild garden and this was the access that the parliamentarians sacked the castle in 16 whatever it was 45 right they came up up this Ravine and they went over the wall and they climbed over the wall scale well I don’t think I think leis Watson was lying in his bed thinking he was safe as Hees inside his castle walking through an historic Garden like this you realize how Fashions and tastes change by the end of the 18th century formal teres were being supplanted by the desire for natural looking Gardens lady faith mscu and her husband Sir Michael K Seymour did much to revive the gardens when they lived here after the second world war both Michael and Faith adored the wild garden this was where their passion was in growing planting trees and recreating it we’re now 60 years later having to cope with the um the the legacy of that so so many of the trees who come to the end of their lives particularly the sort of prunes and you’re so Lizzie and I are having really good fun going around filling the gaps and taking out some of the older trees there used to be a whole line of beach along here which was much earlier but it’s now given me the opportunity to plant underneath here we won’t benefited from right but the Next Generation but so this is where some of the 950 trees will be planted very much so fantastic and looking at and we’ve we’ve already start you can’t see the Mill’s a stake there we we lost two big uh Beach here so we put um a couple of specimens in now we wander down we go back down the Steep bank here to the pond and you’ve got the other this is the where the wild swimming happened which you I love to Wild swim there there was a series of fish ponds down below us here and this Pond was actually created as a labor device in in the agricultural depression of the late 19th century and William Paxton who built the Palm House of Q was engaged to design a series of ponds here and there’s a there’s a spring up on the bank just below that very tall seoa that I was showing you earlier right so and and then it comes through here and you’ll find if you look carefully you might see the ladder cuz it got thrown in oh my goodness but can you swim I mean I would swim in this I would want to well I would you you’re you’re in here into about Leaf litter about that deep okay beautiful though it is rather peaceful and beautiful and I love that there was that little bench that we passed yeah it’s difficult to imagine it this time year you know you’re deep winter and everything hangs in in hibernation you come in spring in the summer and this is just a sea of different Leaf colors and things a lot of it’s down to Matthew Michael’s and face brilliant planting with the mix of the trees you have different greens different contrasts yes and it just has the most wonderful as you say till the midges come until the midges come exactly oh know now let’s get and plant our tree so how many have you planted so far of the 950 not very many we’ve done about we’ve done about um 30 in here in the garden okay this is the 31st this is the 31st we’re doing 38 in Avenues we’re putting in a couple of shelter bolts right we’re going to do some clumps in the park where it’s got rather thin so here we go here we go all right what am I PL what am I planting here what am I planting you’re planting a Scots pine Scott Pine fantastic and it’s been come out of its pot yes yes so if you would like if I pop it in there right and then if you’d like to take a little bit of that use the Spade mhm we can then and then I might have to get the professionals to come and sort me out cuz you think I might know what I’m doing it’s not well how do you how do you know I might know what I’m doing because you told me you’ve planted lots of trees including one in V at vur exactly and you’re reing at I’m reing at maon you know I’ve got to get used to this this is brilliant practice for me brilliant practice got to go back we need a little bit at the back here this is fantastic right you done a br job then now do you should I use all the soil oh I think so I think so I think I’m sort of halfed I might tip it up into that well yeah why don’t you could do that cuz I’m kind of getting to the end I think you’ve done with the diing bit I think I’ve done with the it’s not fantastic top it up look lovely yep I’ll get Gary to come and sort it out he’ll probably do out and do it again that’s what he did last time I’m still going to always remember that I planted it don’t let me know if Gary does that no I won’t there we [Music] are you are a star thank you so much J thank you you planted my 31st tree for the 950 for rockium the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee isn’t that just wonderful pass the queens and we’ll register it with the Queens green canopy that’s right and I’m going to remember the stage forever a brilliant oh that’s wonderful [Music]