0:00:02 > 0:00:05This country has an extraordinary and captivating history,
0:00:05 > 0:00:08and wherever you are in Britain, you're never far from somewhere
0:00:08 > 0:00:11that's going to remind you of this remarkable legacy.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15Much of it we already know. It's celebrated and loved.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17But there's still an awful lot more out there,
0:00:17 > 0:00:20and it's all waiting to be discovered.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25We've travelled the length and the breadth of the nation,
0:00:25 > 0:00:28searching out hidden riches and forgotten stories
0:00:28 > 0:00:32that reveal much about Britain's incredible past.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36And today on Britain's Hidden Heritage,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39I'll be going behind the scenes at one of Britain's most extraordinary
0:00:39 > 0:00:43and least-known-about stately homes, a treasure house
0:00:43 > 0:00:48that has sat virtually untouched for over 150 years.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51This room is real history.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56Clare Balding travels to Yorkshire, to uncover the inspiration
0:00:56 > 0:00:58behind one of the world's most loved romantic novels.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01To think that Charlotte Bronte came here,
0:01:01 > 0:01:04and that, from that, her imagination took off!
0:01:04 > 0:01:06And it's so exciting!
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Charlie Luxton reports on a crumbling watermill
0:01:09 > 0:01:12in Derbyshire, that tells us about a forgotten side
0:01:12 > 0:01:15of the Industrial Revolution.
0:01:15 > 0:01:20It's a massive, massive, massive timber wheel here.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24And guest reporter Ann Widdecombe is on a journey of discovery
0:01:24 > 0:01:27to find the escape route Charles II took
0:01:27 > 0:01:31as he fled from his murderous enemies.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Next thing he knows is, he's being woken up. Come through this door.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38- Through here?- And he has to squeeze down through that trap door.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43This is a journey to the very heart of Britain's hidden heritage.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08Nestled in the Northamptonshire countryside
0:02:08 > 0:02:11lies an exceptional architectural delight,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14and at first sight, it's distinctly un-British.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17Just walking through these impressive grounds,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20you could be forgiven for thinking we'd been transported back in time
0:02:20 > 0:02:24to 17th-century France, and if you're impressed by the exterior
0:02:24 > 0:02:27of this French fancy, then, just wait until I show you
0:02:27 > 0:02:30some of the hidden treasures inside!
0:02:30 > 0:02:33Welcome to a magnificent Boughton House.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43Hidden in the middle of an 11,000-acre Northamptonshire estate,
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Boughton House must be one of Britain's greatest stately homes.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56And it's full of wonderful treasures from the 17th and 18th centuries.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04As you enter the house, you are greeted by paintings
0:03:04 > 0:03:08by the Great Masters, furniture of outstanding taste and quality,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12and extraordinary diverse collections await
0:03:12 > 0:03:14around every corner.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18Yet in spite of its obvious cultural importance,
0:03:18 > 0:03:22it has remained, for the most part, in obscurity.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27The house has been the home of the Montagu family
0:03:27 > 0:03:30and their descendants for almost 500 years,
0:03:30 > 0:03:34but it was under the ownership of Ralph, First Duke of Montagu,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37that the house we see today took its present form.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Ralph Montagu was a passionate builder,
0:03:41 > 0:03:43patron of the arts, and, most tellingly,
0:03:43 > 0:03:46ambassador to Louis XIV, the French king
0:03:46 > 0:03:48who created the Palace of Versailles,
0:03:48 > 0:03:53an obvious inspiration for the continental exterior of Boughton,
0:03:53 > 0:03:58though the house itself is much more than just an architectural copy.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04In fact, Boughton is a bit of an oddity,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07because, when you enter the house for the very first time,
0:04:07 > 0:04:10you're struck by a series of juxtapositions.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12On the outside it's most certainly French,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15but on the inside, with its heavy oak panelling
0:04:15 > 0:04:18and its wide, unassuming, understated doorways
0:04:18 > 0:04:21and little inner courtyards, it's most certainly English,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24yet the whole place is laid out like a grand palace.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27But it has the intimate feel of a private home,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31and that's because the current duke, Buccleuch, and his family
0:04:31 > 0:04:35still live here. But the overriding feeling you get
0:04:35 > 0:04:37when you're walking around this magnificent house
0:04:37 > 0:04:41is the fact that you are literally stuck in time,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43some 300 years ago.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Just walking round, you notice that the fabrics,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01the condition of the furniture, the artwork, the gilding -
0:05:01 > 0:05:04everything is in such good condition.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07How did it escape all the wear and tear of use?
0:05:07 > 0:05:10Well, one of the things, if you come to Boughton, you'll see
0:05:10 > 0:05:13is we always keep the light levels down as much as possible.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16The house has a very interesting history.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19It starts off very much the creation of the first Duke of Montagu,
0:05:19 > 0:05:23and he comes back from being ambassador to Louis XIV in France
0:05:23 > 0:05:27and embellishes his house with wonderful French architecture, art.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31His son, however, was not as much interested in the house itself.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34His view was more the landscape, so he concentrated there.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39But then the house really wasn't used between about 1760 and 1920,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42so everything remained in the pristine condition that it is today.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46Gosh! It's cocooned in time, really, isn't it?
0:05:46 > 0:05:48Exactly, yes.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59At the time of the first and second Dukes of Montagu,
0:05:59 > 0:06:03Boughton House, its park and garden, were at their zenith.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07From the surviving accounts, we know that building work was constant,
0:06:07 > 0:06:12the buying of artworks prolific, and the entertaining incessant.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16But, in the 1760s, it all fell silent.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21The family had no sons,
0:06:21 > 0:06:25and the heiress daughter had married the Duke of Buccleuch
0:06:25 > 0:06:28and moved to Scotland. Boughton was no longer required,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31and for over 150 years was sealed up,
0:06:31 > 0:06:34tended only by a loyal staff of housekeepers.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Slowly, at the beginning of the 20th century,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44the house began once more to be used by the family,
0:06:44 > 0:06:48and as they did so, the gentle process of restoration began,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51bringing the place back to the splendour we see today.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56But always Boughton is a house that is never far
0:06:56 > 0:06:59from its 300-year-old roots, and the first Dukes of Montagu
0:06:59 > 0:07:02who created it and filled it with beautiful things.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13This place is a real treasure house. It reads like a Who's Who
0:07:13 > 0:07:16of the greatest furniture makers, designers and painters
0:07:16 > 0:07:18of the 17th and 18th centuries.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21I'm standing right here in the middle of the drawing room.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Can you imagine owning one oil painting by the baroque painter Anthony van Dyck?
0:07:25 > 0:07:28You'd feel pretty chuffed with yourself, wouldn't you?
0:07:28 > 0:07:30But can you imagine owning 40 of them,
0:07:30 > 0:07:32and having them all displayed in one room?
0:07:32 > 0:07:35That's what I'm surrounded by right now -
0:07:35 > 0:07:37the great master's work, Anthony van Dyck.
0:07:37 > 0:07:42Absolutely incredible. Ralph Montague bought all these
0:07:42 > 0:07:46for just £3 each in 1682.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48And if you look really closely at them,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51you can see they're studies. They're intended for something else.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55They're all monochromatic. These were intended to be sent off
0:07:55 > 0:07:58to an engraver, who would cut these onto a sheet of copper,
0:07:58 > 0:08:02so there was no need for the colour or busyness. He just wanted the outline, the detail.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04And up there, there's King Charles I.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07He was responsible for bringing van Dyck to England.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10He was a great fan of his work. He made him the court painter,
0:08:10 > 0:08:13knighted him in 1632, gave him a pension
0:08:13 > 0:08:17of £200 a year. That's how highly regarded he was.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Now, this room is real history.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29One of the many extraordinary advantages of this house
0:08:29 > 0:08:32being virtually sealed up for 150 years
0:08:32 > 0:08:35is that very little was ever thrown away.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40And the Montagus and their successors, the dukes of Buccleuch,
0:08:40 > 0:08:43were scrupulous at keeping paperwork and records
0:08:43 > 0:08:47of just about everything. Boxload after boxload of letters
0:08:47 > 0:08:49and documents have been kept in storage,
0:08:49 > 0:08:54leaving us an invaluable archive of daily life in the 1700s.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59There's a lot of material here,
0:08:59 > 0:09:03- and this is just a very small part of it.- This is just my workroom,
0:09:03 > 0:09:05where I bring the papers, the archives, up to look at
0:09:05 > 0:09:09- and to scope and see what's in them. - "Scope" - I like that word.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13You are the social-history detective, aren't you, in a way?
0:09:13 > 0:09:17It's the keeper of the family records, to see what's there
0:09:17 > 0:09:19and what we can determine from it.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25'Gareth's studies really reveal what life would have been like
0:09:25 > 0:09:27'throughout the years at Boughton,
0:09:27 > 0:09:29'including some surprising revelations
0:09:29 > 0:09:32'about one unusual resident.'
0:09:32 > 0:09:36The second duke, Duke John, who was known as John the Planter,
0:09:36 > 0:09:40had a reputation of being very kind to animals,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42and there's always been a story in the house
0:09:42 > 0:09:45- that he had a lion, a pet lion. - Did he really?
0:09:45 > 0:09:49We never believed it. We all thought it was a legend.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52And the myth was even worse than that. It was a toothless lion.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56It had lost all its teeth. We know that John was the keeper
0:09:56 > 0:09:59of the ordnance, and hence responsible for the Tower of London
0:09:59 > 0:10:03for this period, where there was the Royal Menagerie,
0:10:03 > 0:10:07so again, the legend was that he brought one of the old lions
0:10:07 > 0:10:09to stay at the house here.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12And what we have here - this is again 1745 -
0:10:12 > 0:10:15"Lion must never be locked up at all,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18but to go where he will, except into the garden,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21where he must not go for fear he should be drowned."
0:10:21 > 0:10:24- Wow! He really did exist! - Yeah. "He must be free
0:10:24 > 0:10:28of the old pantry, to be fed there,
0:10:28 > 0:10:32to have boiled meat, no horse flesh, nor bones given him,"
0:10:32 > 0:10:35- which again intimates he probably was toothless.- Yes.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38"To lie every night in his house in the old pantry,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41and to have his trough filled every morning with fresh water"...
0:10:41 > 0:10:44- Wow!- .."and have fresh"... - Can you imagine
0:10:44 > 0:10:46a lion roaming around the grounds?
0:10:46 > 0:10:50In 1745. You know, lions of Longleat - we were there first.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58The owners of Boughton might have been scrupulous
0:10:58 > 0:11:01about recording its history, but with other old country houses,
0:11:01 > 0:11:05it's not always the same story. Clare Balding has been to Yorkshire
0:11:05 > 0:11:08to unearth clues about the inspiration
0:11:08 > 0:11:10behind one of Britain's greatest Gothic novels.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21This is one of my favourite novels - Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24I first read it as a teenager, and there's something about this book
0:11:24 > 0:11:26that stays with you forever.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29It's been translated into 43 different languages.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32It's sold millions of copies all over the world.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35It's particularly popular in Japan and in China.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38There has always, though, been a certain mystery
0:11:38 > 0:11:41about the basis for the characters and the emotive settings
0:11:41 > 0:11:46in the book. But we're going to try to uncover some of that mystery,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49because I've come today to a country house in North Yorkshire
0:11:49 > 0:11:53that has secrets behind hidden panels.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Much of the action in Bronte's Jane Eyre
0:11:58 > 0:12:01takes place at the fictitious Thornfield Hall...
0:12:02 > 0:12:07..home to Jane's love interest, Edward Rochester.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Employed as governess at Thornfield,
0:12:09 > 0:12:13Jane also meets Rochester's deranged wife,
0:12:13 > 0:12:15hidden away in a locked attic.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18SHE SOBS AND SNARLS
0:12:18 > 0:12:22But where would Charlotte Bronte have found the inspiration
0:12:22 > 0:12:26for the violent and insane wife of Mr Rochester,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28locked in the attic? Could it be possible
0:12:28 > 0:12:32that that place and that person were based on reality?
0:12:32 > 0:12:37Could Thornfield Hall have been based on this house?
0:12:39 > 0:12:42This Gothic mansion is Norton Conyers Hall,
0:12:42 > 0:12:45the ancestral home of the Graham family.
0:12:45 > 0:12:50Built in the 17th century on top of an existing medieval hall,
0:12:50 > 0:12:52the gardens are a popular local attraction.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55What the visiting public probably don't know
0:12:55 > 0:12:58is that the Graham family legend has it
0:12:58 > 0:13:02that this place was the inspiration for Thornfield Hall
0:13:02 > 0:13:05as described in Jane Eyre.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10It's well documented that, in the summer of 1839,
0:13:10 > 0:13:14Charlotte Bronte lived not far away in Lothersdale,
0:13:14 > 0:13:16employed as governess to two young children
0:13:16 > 0:13:19of the wealthy Sidgwick family.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24'And the Grahams believe that, during her time in the area,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27'Charlotte visited Norton Conyers.'
0:13:27 > 0:13:31We think it was probably a family day trip,
0:13:31 > 0:13:33and the children would've come as well,
0:13:33 > 0:13:37which is why she came, to look after the children.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40And what do you think she would have made of it?
0:13:40 > 0:13:44I think she would have been enchanted by the ancient atmosphere,
0:13:44 > 0:13:47and she would have found inspiration here,
0:13:47 > 0:13:50because there's a tremendous atmosphere.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53In the Victorian era, it would've been common
0:13:53 > 0:13:57for well-to-do families to pay informal, unannounced trips
0:13:57 > 0:14:00to neighbouring country estates.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04It was very popular at that time, if you had a carriage,
0:14:04 > 0:14:08and were dressed respectably, to come and visit houses
0:14:08 > 0:14:11- such as Norton Conyers.- We're not talking about an invitation
0:14:11 > 0:14:14from the owner, to say, "Oh, come round and have a look."
0:14:14 > 0:14:17- They would just have turned up? - Er, yes,
0:14:17 > 0:14:19especially because the seventh baronet...
0:14:19 > 0:14:23- My great-great-grandfather. - ..who owned the house at the time
0:14:23 > 0:14:28was very often away, and so the servants would be in charge
0:14:28 > 0:14:33of the house, and it would have been a very nice break in their day
0:14:33 > 0:14:35to be able to show a visitor round.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40So, we know that Charlotte Bronte worked for a time nearby,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43and we know that well-to-do families like her employers
0:14:43 > 0:14:47would have made regular house calls to other local country homes.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51But could there be any truth to the Grahams' claim?
0:14:53 > 0:14:57I am officially intrigued, but, like any good investigative reporter,
0:14:57 > 0:15:02I need more clues to prove that this could have been the inspiration
0:15:02 > 0:15:05for Thornfield Hall. So we have to go to the text itself,
0:15:05 > 0:15:08and here, the passage on Jane Eyre's first approach.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11"We now slowly ascended a drive
0:15:11 > 0:15:13and came upon the long front of the house."
0:15:13 > 0:15:17"Candlelight gleamed from one curtained bow window."
0:15:17 > 0:15:20"All the rest were dark."
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Could be here. But we need more from the text.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25We need more about the house, and we need more
0:15:25 > 0:15:28about Charlotte Bronte herself.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35'Inside, and it becomes clear that there are many passages in Jane Eyre
0:15:35 > 0:15:38'that seem to describe Norton Conyers.'
0:15:41 > 0:15:45For example, "the steps and banisters were of oak."
0:15:45 > 0:15:48"The staircase was high and latticed."
0:15:48 > 0:15:52"Both it and the long gallery into which the bedroom doors opened
0:15:52 > 0:15:56looked as if they belonged to a church rather than a house."
0:15:58 > 0:16:02It's easy to imagine this place being Thornfield Hall
0:16:02 > 0:16:04when you read those passages from Jane Eyre,
0:16:04 > 0:16:08but we're after concrete evidence. And we've got some.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11Now, Norton Conyers isn't the only house
0:16:11 > 0:16:14claimed to be the inspiration for Thornfield.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17There is a theory that a house called The Rydings,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20home to Bronte's lifelong friend Ellen Nussey
0:16:20 > 0:16:22could also be a contender.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25But someone who certainly didn't subscribe to that theory
0:16:25 > 0:16:28was James Graham's great-grandfather, Reginald.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34There is this letter here, which is written by Reginald Graham, 1888,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37to Erskine Stuart, who was a Bronte scholar
0:16:37 > 0:16:39who was very interested in this book.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43And Erskine Stuart sent Graham a photograph
0:16:43 > 0:16:47of The Rydings, and he says, "I observe the picture
0:16:47 > 0:16:51represents The Rydings as of two storeys only,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54whereas the book describes Thornfield
0:16:54 > 0:16:56as being distinctly of three storeys."
0:16:56 > 0:17:00"In my mind there's strong evidence that Norton Conyers
0:17:00 > 0:17:03was far more likely to be the scene for Jane Eyre
0:17:03 > 0:17:05than The Rydings."
0:17:05 > 0:17:08There was a fair amount of competition, wasn't there?
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Still is, between various country houses
0:17:11 > 0:17:14saying, "We claim we're the basis for Thornfield Hall."
0:17:14 > 0:17:16And that's what this is all about.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20He's saying there are more reasons why Norton Conyers is Thornfield
0:17:20 > 0:17:22than any other house.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28The third floor of Thornfield is an important aspect of Jane Eyre.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31In the book, it was here in the attic
0:17:31 > 0:17:35that Mr Rochester kept his insane wife locked up.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39The fact that Norton Conyers also has three levels
0:17:39 > 0:17:41is a crucial piece of evidence.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45'And in 2004,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47'a startling discovery was made
0:17:47 > 0:17:50'that further supports the Grahams' claims.'
0:17:50 > 0:17:55A good run of apparently solid panelling
0:17:55 > 0:17:57from the Edwardian period,
0:17:57 > 0:17:59and there's a new door put in
0:17:59 > 0:18:04to give access to a staircase which was previously unknown.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06They were once good service stairs,
0:18:06 > 0:18:10but in alterations, they're not needed, and they're panelled over.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12'This previously-hidden staircase
0:18:12 > 0:18:15'is similar to one referred to in Jane Eyre
0:18:15 > 0:18:18'as a route used by Rochester to visit his wife
0:18:18 > 0:18:20'on the third floor.'
0:18:20 > 0:18:23This is extraordinary!
0:18:27 > 0:18:31Here's the corridor linking all the servants' bedrooms.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35So this was only really occupied from last thing at night
0:18:35 > 0:18:37until first thing in the morning.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41'Although this floor bears a striking resemblance
0:18:41 > 0:18:43'to that portrayed in Jane Eyre,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46'one room in particular shares a dark secret
0:18:46 > 0:18:50'incredibly similar to the attic of Thornfield.'
0:18:51 > 0:18:54It's well documented in the Graham archives
0:18:54 > 0:18:57that, in the 18th century, well before Charlotte Bronte
0:18:57 > 0:18:59would have visited, a mysterious woman
0:18:59 > 0:19:03was kept locked up in this tiny room
0:19:03 > 0:19:05at the far end of the attics of Norton Conyers.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10She was known as Mad Mary. We don't know who she was.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12We don't know if she was a servant
0:19:12 > 0:19:15or whether she was a member of the family.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19And mental illness was not well understood at that time.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22Anybody who was considered mad was hidden from view
0:19:22 > 0:19:25and forgotten about.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Family legend has it that Mad Mary was kept under lock and key,
0:19:33 > 0:19:36secreted away in the tiny attic room.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41And the Grahams believe that this was the inspiration
0:19:41 > 0:19:45for the character of Mr Rochester's deranged wife.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47INSANE LAUGHTER
0:19:47 > 0:19:51So this room, and the woman who was kept in this room,
0:19:51 > 0:19:56was the inspiration for one of the greatest Gothic romance novels
0:19:56 > 0:19:58- ever written?- That's right.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02It's somewhere where that person can be kept quiet,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05and serviced by appropriate servants.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08It makes me feel terribly sad, being in here,
0:20:08 > 0:20:11because it feels so much like a cell.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14It's very small. Compared to other rooms in the house, it's tiny.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18And you've just got one little glimpse
0:20:18 > 0:20:20of an outside world
0:20:20 > 0:20:23that you would never be allowed into.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31We'll never know for sure if Bronte came here,
0:20:31 > 0:20:34or based elements of Jane Eyre on what she saw and heard.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38'But one thing's for certain - all Bronte fans, like myself,
0:20:38 > 0:20:40'feel drawn to try and understand
0:20:40 > 0:20:43'this most captivating of romantic novels.'
0:20:46 > 0:20:49Maybe it's a limitation in us
0:20:49 > 0:20:52that we're seeking to find the proof, the real thing,
0:20:52 > 0:20:56- what was it based on.- Obviously a novel is a work of the imagination,
0:20:56 > 0:20:59and this is an amalgamation of various houses
0:20:59 > 0:21:03that Charlotte knew. I think we really shouldn't try to pin it down,
0:21:03 > 0:21:08but I think there's definitely a sense of Thornfield in this house.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11I think you just have to come here and see it, and you feel that.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20I can't tell you how strange it feels, how eerie,
0:21:20 > 0:21:22to be allowed to wander through these rooms
0:21:22 > 0:21:25and hear the wind whistling outside,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28and imagine the screams and the groans of a woman
0:21:28 > 0:21:31locked away in an attic room for the whole of her life,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34and feel the spirit of Charlotte Bronte.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37In a way, the ghost of Jane Eyre is here.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40It's in every room.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51Still to come on Britain's Hidden Heritage,
0:21:51 > 0:21:56Charlie Luxton discovers a forgotten story of the Industrial Revolution.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59I think at the end, the prosecuting counsel
0:21:59 > 0:22:03pointed to him and said, "There stands the thief."
0:22:03 > 0:22:06Guest reporter Ann Widdecombe follows in the footsteps
0:22:06 > 0:22:09of a fugitive king, as he fled his vengeful enemies.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13British history doesn't get more exciting.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17And at Boughton House, some 18th-century construction secrets
0:22:17 > 0:22:21are revealed in a part of the house that was started but never finished.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25- Gosh, look at that! - It's fantastic, isn't it?
0:22:25 > 0:22:29Oh, it's just wonderful, absolutely wonderful.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36'But first, my tour of this incredible sleeping beauty
0:22:36 > 0:22:39'has taken me outside to the magnificent gardens,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42'where a huge amount of work is taking place.'
0:22:46 > 0:22:49The 150 years of neglect in the 18th and 19th centuries
0:22:49 > 0:22:51has meant that much of the original gardens
0:22:51 > 0:22:53has disappeared or grown over.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Originally there would have been avenues of lime trees,
0:22:58 > 0:23:02formal gardens, and a unique set of waterways.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06The current duke, Richard, has plans to restore much of the garden
0:23:06 > 0:23:09to its former glory, in particular the water features
0:23:09 > 0:23:14which would have once been integral to the landscaping of the house.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18I met up with the duke and his landscape manager
0:23:18 > 0:23:22to find out how the restoration is going so far.
0:23:22 > 0:23:23What are we looking at here?
0:23:23 > 0:23:27Well, we're looking at a bird's-eye view
0:23:27 > 0:23:32by, possibly, a famous landscape gardener
0:23:32 > 0:23:37called Bridgeman, in about 1725, 1726,
0:23:37 > 0:23:40and you can see the immense scale of the Boughton landscape
0:23:40 > 0:23:45at that time, dominated, really, by this water structure,
0:23:45 > 0:23:48a large lake in front of the west front of the house.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50And its great value for the house
0:23:50 > 0:23:53was that a visitor arriving from this side
0:23:53 > 0:23:57would see this magnificent, very French-style north front
0:23:57 > 0:24:00- reflected in the water. - Oh, how beautiful!
0:24:00 > 0:24:03It would have been very beautiful. In essence,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07we are peeling way the layers that have accumulated
0:24:07 > 0:24:10over the centuries without there being water in here.
0:24:10 > 0:24:16I reckon that, if you come back in three or maybe four years' time,
0:24:16 > 0:24:18this may be transformed.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27'Restoring the stunning system of canals around the house
0:24:27 > 0:24:29'is a labour of love for Duke Richard.'
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Work on the north front has yet to start,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35but to the west of the house, phase one has been completed,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39and gives a wonderful feel of what it would have once been like here.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49You see how important water was to the enjoyment of the house.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53- You can.- A lake like this would have been much used.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56I suspect there would have been fish in it.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59It would have been a larder for the house.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01And the future?
0:25:01 > 0:25:05I think the future is... is an exciting one.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08I think that this recovery of the landscape
0:25:08 > 0:25:12is really terribly important for the next generation.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16It's not something to be afraid of, but something to be enjoyed.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22The restoration of the gardens and the wider estate
0:25:22 > 0:25:24is a 30-year project.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26But of course, with a house as old as Boughton,
0:25:26 > 0:25:30it's not just the gardens that are in need of maintenance.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37The house itself is under constant review,
0:25:37 > 0:25:39understandably, with so many treasures,
0:25:39 > 0:25:41all of which have a story.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49There are some fabulous antiques and artefacts here in this house,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52and the lovely thing about it is,
0:25:52 > 0:25:55the things that are meant to have wear do have wear.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58They have been used, like the seat cushions.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01But other things are still in perfect condition,
0:26:01 > 0:26:05no damage at all, like this fabulous pair of Meissen swans
0:26:05 > 0:26:08made by the Meissen factory in 1750,
0:26:08 > 0:26:11commissioned for Madame de Pompadour.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14who was the mistress of Louis XV.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18And mistresses were considered quite important at the time.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21You had to listen to them - more important than the wives!
0:26:21 > 0:26:26The base is made up of spelter. It's a mixed metal fused together.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29And I like this naturalistic bulrush around it,
0:26:29 > 0:26:34this wonderful scrollwork. It makes the swan feel more important,
0:26:34 > 0:26:37almost as if it's on a crown, rather than a nest of reeds.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Now, the interesting story about the history of this is,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43while the French aristocracy were losing their heads
0:26:43 > 0:26:46on the guillotine during the time of the French Revolution,
0:26:46 > 0:26:50they were also losing their houses, all of their treasures
0:26:50 > 0:26:53and items of furniture, and the English aristocracy
0:26:53 > 0:26:56were sending agents over there to buy it up on the cheap
0:26:56 > 0:27:00and bring it back over here - including the Duke of Buccleuch.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09The astonishing collection of antiques and furniture
0:27:09 > 0:27:11in the house is wide ranging,
0:27:11 > 0:27:14from the surprising and sometimes unusual pieces
0:27:14 > 0:27:17like these flame-stitched sofas and chairs,
0:27:17 > 0:27:21dating to the William and Mary period, to the Boughton state bed.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24This great bed has had over 6,000 man-hours spent
0:27:24 > 0:27:27conserving it to its current condition,
0:27:27 > 0:27:29ostrich feathers and all.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33It reminds us of just how flamboyant these rooms would have been
0:27:33 > 0:27:37in their heyday in the 17th and 18th centuries.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41However, there's one collection of furniture
0:27:41 > 0:27:44that has really caught my eye, and it's the work
0:27:44 > 0:27:47by 18th-century French cabinet maker Andre-Charles Boulle.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51His work is distinctive, with its intricate brass fretwork
0:27:51 > 0:27:56inlaid with wood, tortoiseshell, pewter or mother-of-pearl.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00'I met up once more with Gareth, who was keen to show me
0:28:00 > 0:28:04'Boughton's prize piece, and perhaps one of the greatest examples
0:28:04 > 0:28:06'of Boulle work.'
0:28:09 > 0:28:11- Gosh! - HE LAUGHS
0:28:11 > 0:28:15That is one of the best examples I think I've ever seen.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18- It is magnificent, isn't it? - This is all tortoiseshell?
0:28:18 > 0:28:22This is all tortoiseshell, with the blue and the red as well,
0:28:22 > 0:28:26with the inlaid brass. Because, as you know, the problem with Boulle,
0:28:26 > 0:28:29that you have the different media, tortoiseshell and brass in this case,
0:28:29 > 0:28:32and of course the heat, and the glue, even, that they used,
0:28:32 > 0:28:36shrinks at different rates, and as the small pieces ping out,
0:28:36 > 0:28:39as they expand and contract, then, of course,
0:28:39 > 0:28:42just simple dusting, or people walking past,
0:28:42 > 0:28:45can cause them to bend.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48It's a very unusual piece. Do you want to...
0:28:49 > 0:28:53Of course, this is what is not regularly seen,
0:28:53 > 0:28:56not only by the visiting public, but as a piece of furniture,
0:28:56 > 0:29:00- you wouldn't normally leave it open. - I can't see anything wrong with it.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04I couldn't tell you what's been restored and what hasn't.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06It's that good, isn't it?
0:29:10 > 0:29:14Repairs are currently taking place on another piece of Boulle work
0:29:14 > 0:29:16from Boughton. It's being carried out
0:29:16 > 0:29:20by Yannick Chastang, one of the very few craftsmen in the world
0:29:20 > 0:29:24who are still able to do this kind of intricate fretwork.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29To restore marquetry like the work of Boulle
0:29:29 > 0:29:33requires a steady hand and a very sharp fretsaw...
0:29:34 > 0:29:38..sandwiching the thin metal between two slices of plywood
0:29:38 > 0:29:40to prevent the metal from bending..
0:29:45 > 0:29:49..and working in the most minute detail,
0:29:49 > 0:29:51as the work of Boulle is not only rare,
0:29:51 > 0:29:54but, as you can imagine, incredibly valuable.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02When fully restored, this desk will be a sight to see.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22We are so lucky that houses like Boughton
0:30:22 > 0:30:24have survived over the years intact,
0:30:24 > 0:30:27because it gives us a fascinating insight
0:30:27 > 0:30:30into the social history of the upper echelons of society
0:30:30 > 0:30:32back in the 18th century.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35But when it comes to our industrial heritage,
0:30:35 > 0:30:39we're not always that keen to preserve it for future generations.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41Charlie Luxton has been to the Derbyshire Dales
0:30:41 > 0:30:45to check out what was one of the last vestiges
0:30:45 > 0:30:49of an almost-forgotten side of the Industrial Revolution.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57I have to say, this really is one of the most beautiful parts of Britain,
0:30:57 > 0:31:01and these woods just outside Matlock are especially magical.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05And today it's hard to believe that, 200 years ago,
0:31:05 > 0:31:08this landscape would have looked completely different,
0:31:08 > 0:31:11because believe it or not,
0:31:11 > 0:31:15this is where the Industrial Revolution really got going.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20The Matlock valley is world renowned as a birthplace
0:31:20 > 0:31:24of the Industrial Revolution. It was here, in 1775,
0:31:24 > 0:31:27that the great industrialist Sir Richard Arkwright
0:31:27 > 0:31:29built his cotton-milling empire.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33By using the ancient technology of the waterwheel
0:31:33 > 0:31:37to power his newly invented cotton-spinning machines,
0:31:37 > 0:31:40Arkwright not only revolutionised the cotton trade,
0:31:40 > 0:31:42he virtually invented the modern factory,
0:31:42 > 0:31:45and with it, the mass-production process.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50His machine was called the water frame,
0:31:50 > 0:31:54and it made Arkwright a very, very rich man.
0:31:58 > 0:32:00But there is a hidden side to this story -
0:32:00 > 0:32:03one of industrial espionage,
0:32:03 > 0:32:06because, just one mile from Arkwright's mill,
0:32:06 > 0:32:08a group of 18th-century venture capitalists
0:32:08 > 0:32:10moved into a secluded valley
0:32:10 > 0:32:15and set up their own copycat version of Arkwright's mill.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18Until recently, these mills were overgrown,
0:32:18 > 0:32:20forgotten and neglected.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25I want to find out who built these mysterious cotton mills,
0:32:25 > 0:32:29and what role they had in Britain's Industrial Revolution.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33So, Julian, what is this building?
0:32:33 > 0:32:38- This...- Yeah?- ..was originally a cotton-spinning mill.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41- OK. And when was it built? - It was built very early,
0:32:41 > 0:32:44um, 1785.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48- Who actually built it? - They were a company called Watts Lowe and Company,
0:32:48 > 0:32:51- venture capitalists, if you like. - They were people
0:32:51 > 0:32:55being drawn to the area, into this kind of pot of gold
0:32:55 > 0:32:58- that was being created? - I think it was exactly that
0:32:58 > 0:33:02in the very early days, and it was a water-driven spinning process.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08So the Watts and Lowe company were muscling in on Arkwright's business,
0:33:08 > 0:33:11and they had a secret weapon -
0:33:11 > 0:33:14Mr Lowe himself.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16We think he probably worked for Arkwright.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19He certainly had a knowledge of Arkwright's methods.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22- So he did the dirty. - He did the dirty, yes.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24He wanted a slice of the action himself.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29Buoyed by their inside knowledge, these entrepreneurs
0:33:29 > 0:33:33set about building their empire right under Arkwright's nose.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37However, they had a problem.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42Arkwright's inventions were all securely patented.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45But, like all successful entrepreneurs,
0:33:45 > 0:33:47they took a risk.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53The people who built this mill, Watts Lowe and Company,
0:33:53 > 0:33:57gambled on the fact that Arkwright was going to lose his patent rights,
0:33:57 > 0:33:59and went ahead and built this mill.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03So they were working on the premise that he would lose the protection
0:34:03 > 0:34:06he had over his process, and they built all of this
0:34:06 > 0:34:08- in the hope that he would?- Exactly.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13Industrial espionage, insider trading,
0:34:13 > 0:34:16and a breach of patent. It's fair to say
0:34:16 > 0:34:18that, if this were today's corporate climate,
0:34:18 > 0:34:22Watts and Lowe could expect a call from Arkwright's lawyers.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26But in the 18th century, Watts and Lowe felt secure
0:34:26 > 0:34:29in their hidden valley, and gambled their futures
0:34:29 > 0:34:34by building their very own version of Arkwright's water frame.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36So this is the heart of...
0:34:36 > 0:34:39That is the wheel pit from the waterwheel, yeah.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42Ah, lovely!
0:34:42 > 0:34:45So, is this how deep it would have been originally?
0:34:45 > 0:34:47No, it would have been much deeper than that.
0:34:47 > 0:34:52- Your shoulder's at the level of the axle. It would have been another 12 foot deep.- 12 foot?
0:34:52 > 0:34:57It's a massive, massive, massive timber-and-metal wheel.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59A massive wheel, yeah.
0:34:59 > 0:35:04With their Arkwright-inspired mill, Watts and Lowe were in business.
0:35:04 > 0:35:06Using the waterfall as a power source,
0:35:06 > 0:35:09and 200 people to work it,
0:35:09 > 0:35:12they ignored Arkwright's patent and set up shop.
0:35:14 > 0:35:19How much of a copy is this from Arkwright's original?
0:35:19 > 0:35:22Well, I'm guessing, but I suspect it was very close.
0:35:22 > 0:35:26I suspect it was actually a rip-off of Arkwright's machinery.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29It would have been industrial espionage, for want of a better word.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32The local knowledge of these machines
0:35:32 > 0:35:35would have been worth a lot of money to the financial people.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38- It's a bit cheeky, isn't it? - It is a bit cheeky.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44'Watts and Lowe were saving themselves a huge amount of money
0:35:44 > 0:35:47'by cutting Arkwright out of the loop.'
0:35:47 > 0:35:50Leasing the rights to his water frame
0:35:50 > 0:35:53could cost up to £5,000 per annum,
0:35:53 > 0:35:56an extraordinary sum in the 18th century.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01In 1785, Richard Arkwright went to court
0:36:01 > 0:36:03to extend his patents once more.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06But this time the Crown was less amenable.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09Arkwright had a fight on his hands.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12The arguments were that there were ten processes
0:36:12 > 0:36:16in what he had brought forward with his water frame,
0:36:16 > 0:36:19and they could show that several of these,
0:36:19 > 0:36:21at least seven of them,
0:36:21 > 0:36:24had been there before, were not new to him.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27I think the second problem was that he hadn't specified clearly
0:36:27 > 0:36:32what his patent was, so therefore he could be more or less claiming
0:36:32 > 0:36:36anybody who was doing anything which was to do with powered spinning
0:36:36 > 0:36:39was infringing his patent.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43Arkwright's machine involved three sets of paired rollers
0:36:43 > 0:36:46that turned at different speeds, pulling and stretching the raw cotton.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49While these rollers produced yarn of the correct thickness,
0:36:49 > 0:36:53a set of spindles twisted the fibres firmly together.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57The various processes involved many bits of machinery
0:36:57 > 0:37:00that had already been invented by others.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04Arkwright's genius was to put them all together for the first time.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08But claiming them all as his was a different matter.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14So I think he, by, I think probably it would be fair to say, greed,
0:37:14 > 0:37:20with his patents, he managed to line up everybody else against him,
0:37:20 > 0:37:23and of course they go to court, and I think at the end,
0:37:23 > 0:37:27the prosecuting counsel pointed to him and said,
0:37:27 > 0:37:29"There stands the thief."
0:37:29 > 0:37:33Arkwright finally lost the patent for his water frame
0:37:33 > 0:37:36in a landmark case in June 1785.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40His famous invention was now public property.
0:37:41 > 0:37:46It then opened the gates to anyone to do this type of thing,
0:37:46 > 0:37:50and the state wanted this. They felt that he was blocking it.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53His patent was unreasonable, and he was really trying to stop
0:37:53 > 0:37:57the development of cotton spinning generally.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59He gets it all going, but he's holding it back,
0:37:59 > 0:38:02and the moment his grip on this process is loosened...
0:38:02 > 0:38:05- That helps... - ..that's when the flourishing...
0:38:05 > 0:38:08That helps us a lot.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12'The Industrial Revolution was now underway.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15'By 1788, water-driven mills started springing up
0:38:15 > 0:38:18'all over Britain.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23'And for Watts and Lowe in the Lumsdale Valley, trade blossomed.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27'For 30 years, they spun cotton using the water-frame design
0:38:27 > 0:38:30'free of the worry of being sued.'
0:38:32 > 0:38:38But in 1813, their luck ran out, and the company went bankrupt.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41Their water-powered mill finally met an opponent
0:38:41 > 0:38:43it couldn't beat - steam.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48It is quite incredible to think what this place was like
0:38:48 > 0:38:51in the late 18th, early 19th century.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54There would have been five of these waterwheels
0:38:54 > 0:38:56tumbling down this valley.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00I imagine there was no vegetation, no trees or plants.
0:39:00 > 0:39:04It would have been dirty, crowded, incredibly dangerous.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08And look at it now! Time is an incredible healer.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12I do know that this place didn't change the world
0:39:12 > 0:39:14like Cromford. I mean, that is where...
0:39:14 > 0:39:17modern industrial process was born.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21But the revolution - that really did take place here.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40'At Boughton House, my tour continues.'
0:39:40 > 0:39:42There's so much to take in,
0:39:42 > 0:39:47from the rare and beautifully preserved French tapestries that hang in the state rooms...
0:39:49 > 0:39:52..to the wonderful limewood staircase
0:39:52 > 0:39:56that would have once clattered with the footsteps of the staff
0:39:56 > 0:39:58who served this grand building.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06This place is a time capsule on a monumental scale.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15One of the marvellous things about Boughton House
0:40:15 > 0:40:18being stood unused for many years is the fact
0:40:18 > 0:40:22that it gives us a wonderful insight into how the occupants lived here
0:40:22 > 0:40:25and went about their day-to-day running of the place,
0:40:25 > 0:40:27aspects of it that we wouldn't normally think about
0:40:27 > 0:40:31in a big country house. Now, they obviously had concerns
0:40:31 > 0:40:35about fire, especially being in the middle of nowhere,
0:40:35 > 0:40:37and the first duke would have been 28 years old
0:40:37 > 0:40:42when the Great Fire of London in 1666
0:40:42 > 0:40:44ravaged and destroyed the city.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48He would have seen that first-hand. He would have been concerned.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51Shortly after that the first fire service was formed,
0:40:51 > 0:40:56so what we have here is one of the world's very first fire engines,
0:40:56 > 0:41:01designed by Londoner Richard Newsham in 1718.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04And the idea was, this hand-pulled cart
0:41:04 > 0:41:08would literally be pulled to where the fire was, to the action.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11It would have been filled full of water in this chamber here,
0:41:11 > 0:41:15dragged up. These hoses would have been attached
0:41:15 > 0:41:18to this end here, and then pointed at the flames,
0:41:18 > 0:41:21then you'd have had four chaps, burly strong chaps,
0:41:21 > 0:41:24two a side, holding on to these bars
0:41:24 > 0:41:27and pumping like crazy
0:41:27 > 0:41:30to jettison the water out in that direction.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33And when the chambers were running low,
0:41:33 > 0:41:36they would have been refilled by members of the staff
0:41:36 > 0:41:39forming a line down to the pond or the lake,
0:41:39 > 0:41:43each with a leather bucket, passing it to the other one,
0:41:43 > 0:41:46to refill these chambers. I've just noticed, actually,
0:41:46 > 0:41:49I'm pleased the current duke is also still concerned
0:41:49 > 0:41:53about fire issues. Look at that. We have a fire extinguisher there.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00It's hardly surprising that successive dukes
0:42:00 > 0:42:03have wanted to protect this incredible building,
0:42:03 > 0:42:06which is as impressive as it is huge -
0:42:06 > 0:42:10wing after wing, constructed of local Weldon stone,
0:42:10 > 0:42:13with nearly two acres of Collyweston slate
0:42:13 > 0:42:16covering the French-style mansard roofs.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26Boughton is a wonderful fusion of French and English architecture,
0:42:26 > 0:42:30and there's one part of the building that gives a unique insight
0:42:30 > 0:42:33into how the place would have been constructed...
0:42:35 > 0:42:38..an unfinished wing, where the builders downed tools
0:42:38 > 0:42:42over 300 years ago, leaving us a 3D blueprint
0:42:42 > 0:42:44of a 17th-century stately home.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51- Gosh, look at that! - Fantastic, isn't it?
0:42:51 > 0:42:55Oh, it's just wonderful, absolutely wonderful.
0:42:55 > 0:43:00The bare fabric of the walls, the history these walls contained!
0:43:00 > 0:43:03Wow! Why was this never finished off?
0:43:03 > 0:43:06Well, it's quite an interesting story, actually.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09It should have been the duchess's quarters,
0:43:09 > 0:43:13but she never actually lived here. She lived in a different house.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15This was never needed, so it got to this point
0:43:15 > 0:43:19and was completely stopped, so it's paused in history and time.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22- And there's another floor above there.- Exactly, yes.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25There should have been a floor above us, and above there
0:43:25 > 0:43:28were completed rooms, servants' rooms, storerooms, etc.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31So all that was needed, whereas this part wasn't needed at all.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34I hope that door's firmly bolted from the other side.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37Oh, firmly locked. It leads into the state apartments,
0:43:37 > 0:43:40but it's kept very firmly locked.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43And there's a good example of the lead work,
0:43:43 > 0:43:45the drainpipes on the inside, built in.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48That's right, otherwise you spoil the outside lines,
0:43:48 > 0:43:51and it's important to have this architectural feature of the outside,
0:43:51 > 0:43:54- so hide them away. - We don't do that nowadays.
0:43:54 > 0:43:58- Well, they're all brilliant until, of course, they leak.- Well, yes. Yes!
0:43:58 > 0:44:02Even the sash windows, they've been put in,
0:44:02 > 0:44:05and they've been held in place with wedges - literally just wedges,
0:44:05 > 0:44:09no other fastenings, because this would be panelled and plastered
0:44:09 > 0:44:12to hold it from the inside. But no-one's ever got round to doing it.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15No. It's a wonderful thing for architects
0:44:15 > 0:44:17and architectural historians to come and look at,
0:44:17 > 0:44:20- and see how the building is constructed.- Yeah.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23It's a wonderful lesson. It really is a wonderful lesson.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36Now, off to explore her own personal heritage passion
0:44:36 > 0:44:38is Ann Widdecombe in the Midlands,
0:44:38 > 0:44:42to find out more about the plight of Charles II
0:44:42 > 0:44:45during the last days of the English Civil War.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56'Today I'm following in the footsteps of one of my heroes -
0:44:56 > 0:45:00'a king of England who lost a battle, lost his crown
0:45:00 > 0:45:03'and fled his country.'
0:45:03 > 0:45:08I'm going on a 400-year-old royal road trip.
0:45:08 > 0:45:13A young king, an implacable republican foe,
0:45:13 > 0:45:15a race against time -
0:45:15 > 0:45:18British history doesn't get more exciting.
0:45:18 > 0:45:23I'm tracing the very first days of Charles II's epic escape,
0:45:23 > 0:45:26a journey that would turn him from defeated monarch
0:45:26 > 0:45:30at the Battle of Worcester, to a man cowering beneath the floorboards
0:45:30 > 0:45:35of an unfamiliar house, in a tiny hidden chamber
0:45:35 > 0:45:39that stopped Britain from becoming a republic forever.
0:45:40 > 0:45:43But before I visit this historic hidey-hole,
0:45:43 > 0:45:48I want to find out more about how Charles arrived there.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51'His escape begins with him fleeing the battle
0:45:51 > 0:45:53'and making his way to the crumbling walls
0:45:53 > 0:45:56'of a ruined priory called White Ladies.'
0:45:58 > 0:46:03It was September 1651, and Cromwell ran England.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06His comprehensive defeat of the Royalist forces at Worcester
0:46:06 > 0:46:09marked the end of the English Civil War.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16Think of it - chaos, confusion everywhere.
0:46:16 > 0:46:20Cavaliers roaming the countryside trying to get away,
0:46:20 > 0:46:23Cromwell's forces trying to hunt them down,
0:46:23 > 0:46:26and by now, those same forces had realised
0:46:26 > 0:46:28the king had got away,
0:46:28 > 0:46:32and the hunt for the big one was really on.
0:46:33 > 0:46:38'The ruins at White Ladies Priory have changed little since the 1600s.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42'It's difficult to imagine the king of England hiding here
0:46:42 > 0:46:45'within these very walls.
0:46:45 > 0:46:47'What on earth could have been going through his mind?'
0:46:47 > 0:46:52But it was here that Charles realised that perhaps all wasn't lost.
0:46:52 > 0:46:56He chanced upon a band of brothers by the name of Pendrill.
0:46:56 > 0:47:01'They were farm-workers and woodsmen, but they were loyal to the monarchy,
0:47:01 > 0:47:03'and they were willing to help.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06'And their first step was to disguise the king,
0:47:06 > 0:47:09'cutting off his long hair and removing all traces
0:47:09 > 0:47:12'of any regal finery. And how do we know this is true?
0:47:12 > 0:47:15'Well, we have it in his own words,
0:47:15 > 0:47:20'dictated by Charles to the famous diarist, Samuel Pepys.'
0:47:20 > 0:47:25"This made me take the resolution of putting myself into a disguise,
0:47:25 > 0:47:27and endeavouring to get a-foot to London,
0:47:27 > 0:47:32in a country-fellow's habit, with a pair of ordinary gray-cloth breeches,
0:47:32 > 0:47:35a leathern doublet and a green jerkin,
0:47:35 > 0:47:39which I took in the house of White Ladys."
0:47:43 > 0:47:47So the king was on the run, loose in this countryside,
0:47:47 > 0:47:49and at first he thought he was going to London.
0:47:49 > 0:47:52Then he thought he'd go across the Severn
0:47:52 > 0:47:55and entrust himself to the honest men of Wales.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57Unfortunately Cromwell had thought of that too,
0:47:57 > 0:48:00and he put guards on all the bridges,
0:48:00 > 0:48:02so Charles couldn't get across the Severn.
0:48:02 > 0:48:07The Pendrills decided that doubling back to Boscobel House
0:48:07 > 0:48:10in Staffordshire, only a mile from White Ladies
0:48:10 > 0:48:14where they started, was the safest course of action.
0:48:14 > 0:48:16Boscobel House was a hunting lodge
0:48:16 > 0:48:20that often served as a secret shelter for Catholics in times of need,
0:48:20 > 0:48:24and it's here that I'm going to meet a direct descendant
0:48:24 > 0:48:28of Charles II's most loyal supporters, the Pendrills.
0:48:30 > 0:48:34Up to this point, the king had been moving about the countryside,
0:48:34 > 0:48:37really quite exposed. Cromwell's forces were chasing them.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41This is the king we're talking about. This isn't any old Cavalier.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44This is the king. And he comes in here,
0:48:44 > 0:48:47and a bit of stability begins, doesn't it?
0:48:47 > 0:48:50Yeah. We've got to admit, this is a very romantic tale,
0:48:50 > 0:48:54but we've got to remember, he was in fear of his life.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57If Cromwell had caught him, he would've been beheaded.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00If any of the helpers, any of the Pendrills,
0:49:00 > 0:49:03anyone involved in the escape had been captured,
0:49:03 > 0:49:07they would've been hung, drawn and quartered. There's no doubt about that.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10As it happened, also in the house was one Major Careless.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13Now, this was good because he was known to the king.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15Major Careless decided it would be a good idea
0:49:15 > 0:49:18to hide the king in an oak tree deep in the forest.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21Well, Richard Pendrill, being a woodman, knew just the tree.
0:49:26 > 0:49:31'So, imagine - the king of England reduced to hiding in a tree,
0:49:31 > 0:49:36'concealed from Cromwell's men beating through the bushes below.'
0:49:37 > 0:49:39"The Royal Oak,
0:49:39 > 0:49:42one of fifty great British trees,
0:49:42 > 0:49:47in recognition of its place in the national heritage."
0:49:47 > 0:49:51Every time I pass a pub now called the Royal Oak,
0:49:51 > 0:49:56I think of the king, and a very resourceful Cavalier,
0:49:56 > 0:49:58up that tree.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02But this is not the hiding place I've come to see.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05For that, I need to follow the next part
0:50:05 > 0:50:07of Charles's flight to freedom.
0:50:09 > 0:50:10'Once the coast was clear,
0:50:10 > 0:50:14'Charles and his companions decided to brave the nine miles
0:50:14 > 0:50:17'through the rain and narrow woodland paths
0:50:17 > 0:50:21'to Moseley Old Hall, a house they'd heard would provide safe refuge.'
0:50:22 > 0:50:25The king had just spent a night up a tree.
0:50:25 > 0:50:31He was tired, hungry, exhausted, and, of course, afraid.
0:50:31 > 0:50:34They travelled by night to minimise the possibility
0:50:34 > 0:50:37of being seen, and they got to Moseley.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41'And it's there that I shall find the highlight of my journey -
0:50:41 > 0:50:45'the secret chamber that saved Charles's life.'
0:50:47 > 0:50:50- Hello, Ann. Good afternoon. - Am I arriving in the right century?
0:50:50 > 0:50:53Oh, yes. These are just my normal work clothes.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57All right? And as he comes through,
0:50:57 > 0:51:01the king is greeted by the room's occupant, Father John Huddleston.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04- Father Huddleston? - And Father Huddleston greeted him,
0:51:04 > 0:51:07brought him in. He gives the king a meal
0:51:07 > 0:51:11and a change of clothing, and also bathes the king's feet.
0:51:11 > 0:51:13So, he goes to bed, and then what happens?
0:51:13 > 0:51:16Well, the troops arrive. Next thing he knows,
0:51:16 > 0:51:19he's being woken up. He has to get up off the bed.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22He hasn't had enough sleep. Come through this door.
0:51:22 > 0:51:25- He's running through here. - He has to squeeze down
0:51:25 > 0:51:29through that small trapdoor, and you've got to remember,
0:51:29 > 0:51:32- Huddleston is here as well. - So the trapdoor was closed.
0:51:32 > 0:51:35- Yes.- Huddleston was up here.- Yes.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38So if they'd come in, they would've found Huddleston,
0:51:38 > 0:51:41- assumed he was the fugitive... - Indeed.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44..and the king, down here, with any luck,
0:51:44 > 0:51:47wouldn't have been found.
0:51:47 > 0:51:52I think, when he came out, he must've been very, very glad.
0:51:54 > 0:51:58When Charles was eventually restored to the throne,
0:51:58 > 0:52:01he rewarded Huddleston by making him a chaplain to his court.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04And it was also the trusted Huddleston
0:52:04 > 0:52:08who took the king's confession and gave him communion on his deathbed
0:52:08 > 0:52:10some 34 years later.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15'I've only tracked the first few days of Charles's six-week escape
0:52:15 > 0:52:18'to safety in France. Each step of that way
0:52:18 > 0:52:21'was fraught with its own danger. But it was here,
0:52:21 > 0:52:24'at Moseley Old Hall, he perhaps came closest
0:52:24 > 0:52:27'to capture and execution.'
0:52:27 > 0:52:30It's extraordinary how such an inconsequential hiding place
0:52:30 > 0:52:33changed the course of British history.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36There were many more miles to go,
0:52:36 > 0:52:39many more perils to be encountered,
0:52:39 > 0:52:42many more heart-stopping moments of fear,
0:52:42 > 0:52:47before the king finally did escape to France.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49But it began here,
0:52:49 > 0:52:54in this little corner of Britain's hidden heritage.
0:53:00 > 0:53:04Ann Widdecombe there with a story about King Charles II,
0:53:04 > 0:53:07without whom this house would not have existed.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11And that's because the first Duke of Montagu, who built Boughton House,
0:53:11 > 0:53:13was appointed ambassador to the French court
0:53:13 > 0:53:15by none other than Charles II.
0:53:22 > 0:53:24'As my time at Boughton draws to a close,
0:53:24 > 0:53:27'I feel like I've barely scratched the surface
0:53:27 > 0:53:29'of the wealth of history this house contains.'
0:53:32 > 0:53:36And I have perhaps left the most important treasure till last -
0:53:36 > 0:53:39the music archive.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43In the 18th and early 19th centuries,
0:53:43 > 0:53:46Lady Elizabeth Montagu was an obsessive collector
0:53:46 > 0:53:50of music scores. Most of it has been boxed up
0:53:50 > 0:53:52and not seen for centuries.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56Music historian Paul Boucher is one of the team
0:53:56 > 0:54:00that has the enormous task of archiving the collection,
0:54:00 > 0:54:04and has already unearthed some extraordinary musical finds.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06- Hello.- Hi!
0:54:06 > 0:54:10- Sorry to disturb your peace. - You're very welcome.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12THEY LAUGH
0:54:12 > 0:54:15I'm just looking at this very ancient instruction book
0:54:15 > 0:54:18- on how to play the lute.- Lovely! What does this date to, this book?
0:54:18 > 0:54:21- 1596.- Gosh!
0:54:21 > 0:54:23Did the dukes all play and entertain people,
0:54:23 > 0:54:25and give recitals in the Great Hall?
0:54:25 > 0:54:28Well, we're finding that out.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32We're piecing the history together with a lot of careful research,
0:54:32 > 0:54:36but yeah, they were a very, very musical family,
0:54:36 > 0:54:40and the first duke had been ambassador to Louis XIV
0:54:40 > 0:54:43- at Versailles. - So he was open to all the operas...
0:54:43 > 0:54:46Absolutely, and the dance, and the whole French culture,
0:54:46 > 0:54:50and he imported that back with him.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52What's the biggest treasure you've come across here
0:54:52 > 0:54:54amongst the manuscript?
0:54:54 > 0:54:58I think probably historically the most important
0:54:58 > 0:55:01is this, er... this innocent little volume,
0:55:01 > 0:55:05and it's in fact the first piece of music ever to be printed
0:55:05 > 0:55:07in this country.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10- What does this date back to?- 1570.
0:55:10 > 0:55:14This is written for four voices, to be sung without any accompaniment...
0:55:14 > 0:55:19- Oh, right!- ..by Lassus, and it's unique in the world,
0:55:19 > 0:55:23the only surviving copy of it. It has been used.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26- You can see, it's been written on. - Where did you find this?
0:55:26 > 0:55:30This was on a shelf in what's called the north passage...
0:55:30 > 0:55:33- PAUL CHUCKLES ..so...- That's remarkable.
0:55:33 > 0:55:37- That's absolutely remarkable. - It's a huge treasure.
0:55:37 > 0:55:39I hardly dare touch it. So that, I think,
0:55:39 > 0:55:42is possibly the greatest treasure.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50But of course, studying the sheet music is one thing.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53Listening to it is a whole different experience,
0:55:53 > 0:55:56and whenever Paul feels an importance piece has come to light,
0:55:56 > 0:55:59he arranges for it to be played.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01Today, local harpsichordist Alex
0:56:01 > 0:56:05is going to play an arrangement of a very important piece of music
0:56:05 > 0:56:08that has not been heard for over 200 years.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13HE PLAYS STATELY, ELEGANT MELODY
0:56:28 > 0:56:31I don't know what he's playing. Let's go and find out.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38What's this piece called?
0:56:38 > 0:56:41- Well, this is the Fireworks Music. - By Handel?- By Handel,
0:56:41 > 0:56:44and there is this wonderful association, of course,
0:56:44 > 0:56:48with the second duke, who commissioned the Fireworks Music,
0:56:48 > 0:56:52and acted as go-between between Handel, the composer,
0:56:52 > 0:56:58and the king, who was very keen on having a lot of military instruments,
0:56:58 > 0:57:03- and Handel was much more interested in having something much more... - Refined.- ..refined,
0:57:03 > 0:57:07and something which also could live on as a piece afterwards.
0:57:09 > 0:57:12It's wonderful to think that this is how Handel would have played this.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15Yeah. Well, it's as near as we can probably get.
0:57:15 > 0:57:19The sound is perfect. It's bringing those manuscripts to life,
0:57:19 > 0:57:22- and that's the important thing. - Yes, exactly.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26That's the whole point of it, otherwise they're just dots on pages.
0:57:26 > 0:57:28STATELY MUSIC CONTINUES
0:57:32 > 0:57:36Lovely! Absolutely lovely. What's it like, playing Handel's music
0:57:36 > 0:57:38- on this harpsichord? - It's very beautiful,
0:57:38 > 0:57:41and it's very lovely to play, and especially the privilege
0:57:41 > 0:57:44of being here to play from this score,
0:57:44 > 0:57:47which has lain hidden for I don't know how long,
0:57:47 > 0:57:51just to be able to open this and see the sorts of trends
0:57:51 > 0:57:55that were prevalent at the time in terms of home entertainment,
0:57:55 > 0:57:58- I suppose. - STATELY MUSIC PLAYS
0:58:01 > 0:58:04It seems only appropriate to leave Boughton
0:58:04 > 0:58:08to the sound of music echoing around this extraordinary house,
0:58:08 > 0:58:11as it would have done over 250 years ago.
0:58:11 > 0:58:14If you'd like to find out how to visit Boughton,
0:58:14 > 0:58:19or more about today's programme, then, log on to our website at...
0:58:23 > 0:58:25This country has a wealth of heritage.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28It is all around us, and more often than not,
0:58:28 > 0:58:31the deeper you dig, the more rewarding the treasure is.
0:58:31 > 0:58:35And with thousands of years of history under our belts,
0:58:35 > 0:58:39there's no end to the surprises that await us. See you soon.
0:58:43 > 0:58:47Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:47 > 0:58:51E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk
0:58:51 > 0:58:51.