0:00:20 > 0:00:22When I was 21,
0:00:22 > 0:00:25I had just finished the final exams of my history degree,
0:00:25 > 0:00:28and I went to the library one day,
0:00:28 > 0:00:30and accidentally picked up this book.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33It's brilliant. I remember reading it in one afternoon.
0:00:33 > 0:00:38And it's called Robert Smythson And The Elizabethan Country House.
0:00:42 > 0:00:47The book rediscovers the work of Smythson and his son, who were mason-designers -
0:00:47 > 0:00:51this is before the professional architect arrives.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54They were shadowy, forgotten figures,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58but they were responsible for the greatest houses of the Elizabethan age.
0:00:59 > 0:01:06The book builds up slowly to a huge climax which is set on a windy hilltop in Derbyshire.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10The last chapter is all about this place, Bolsover Castle.
0:01:13 > 0:01:19It was designed by the Smythsons in 1612 for the Cavendish family,
0:01:19 > 0:01:23one of the great aristocratic dynasties in the north of England.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26The castle makes an incredibly dramatic sight
0:01:26 > 0:01:31in its rather incongruous spot above the town of Bolsover,
0:01:31 > 0:01:35the place where the miners' strike started in the 1980s.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39It's a completely unexpected place to find a fairytale castle,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43which, for me, makes it all the more magical.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47I stumbled upon this place by picking up a random library book,
0:01:47 > 0:01:51but it became very important to me.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54Not only as an architectural masterpiece,
0:01:54 > 0:01:59but as the perfect example of a building that captures the spirit of its times.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02By the 1630s,
0:02:02 > 0:02:09the castle had become the pleasure palace of a playboy cavalier, William Cavendish.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12His very distinctive personality comes across
0:02:12 > 0:02:16in every quirky detail of the masonry and decoration.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21It's William's story that I want to tell,
0:02:21 > 0:02:24and to show how his very eccentric castle
0:02:24 > 0:02:27captured some of the tensions in 17th-century England
0:02:27 > 0:02:31that would eventually lead the nation to bloody civil war.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46The book that made such a deep impression upon me
0:02:46 > 0:02:48was by Mark Girouard.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52He's an architectural historian who pioneered the idea
0:02:52 > 0:02:57that the inhabitants of a building are just as important as its designers.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01He taught us how buildings can tell stories about the past.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Here's Mark Girouard casting his spell.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09"By an unlikely miracle,
0:03:09 > 0:03:11"the keep at Bolsover has survived
0:03:11 > 0:03:14"as an almost untouched expression in stone
0:03:14 > 0:03:18"of the lost world of Elizabethan chivalry and romances."
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Well, by another unlikely miracle,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24I managed to get a job here in my twenties,
0:03:24 > 0:03:25working for English Heritage.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28I spent six years of my life here, which I loved,
0:03:28 > 0:03:33and I got sucked into the crazy world of the man who built Bolsover Castle.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle,
0:03:36 > 0:03:41he was the ultimate cavalier at the court of Charles I.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46The castle William built is full of secrets and hidden meanings.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49You can read it in all sorts of different ways.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51I'm going to draw out one story,
0:03:51 > 0:03:56because I believe William built this castle as a gamble,
0:03:56 > 0:04:00as a roll of the dice, as an attempt to impress the king.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06But we need to go back further.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11It was actually William's father, Sir Charles Cavendish,
0:04:11 > 0:04:17who first began building the castle on this site in 1612.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20Sir Charles came from an eminent northern family,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24his mother was the most important person in Elizabethan Derbyshire.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30She was Bess of Hardwick, builder of Hardwick Hall -
0:04:30 > 0:04:34the amazing building just there - you can see it on a sunny day.
0:04:34 > 0:04:40Bess had climbed the ladder to power and riches by getting married four times.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45As the poem goes, "Four times the bridal bed she warmed,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47"and each time so well performed,
0:04:47 > 0:04:51"that when death spoiled each husband's billing,
0:04:51 > 0:04:54"he left a widow every shilling."
0:04:54 > 0:04:56Her third son, Charles,
0:04:56 > 0:05:00wanted to compete with Bess on the housing front.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03So, he acquired the ruins of a Norman keep, just here.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Bolsover isn't grand like Hardwick,
0:05:06 > 0:05:10it's quirky and eccentric and a bit offbeat,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13and to my mind, all the better for it.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22William's father, Sir Charles Cavendish,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25was a truly talented amateur architect.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29This is a very exciting moment in history of architecture
0:05:29 > 0:05:33because it's going from being a mechanical art,
0:05:33 > 0:05:37as learnt by the medieval master mason on the job,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40to being a liberal art - something you can learn about by reading books.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42Something fit for gentlemen.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47And Charles Cavendish is one of the very first gentleman architects.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Bolsover Castle is a close collaboration
0:05:50 > 0:05:54between Sir Charles and his masons, Robert and John Smythson,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56the subjects of Girouard's book.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58I see it as a team effort,
0:05:58 > 0:06:03the builders themselves played an important creative role.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07But Charles Cavendish was quite conservative in his tastes.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10The new classical buildings were starting to appear in Britain,
0:06:10 > 0:06:14but what he's gone for here is a Gothic, chivalric,
0:06:14 > 0:06:19romantic re-creation of the Norman keep that had been on the site.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24However, poor old Charles died before the castle was complete.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27At 23 years old, his son William inherited it,
0:06:27 > 0:06:32and brought about a very clear change in the direction of the project.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44So, in 1617, our young hero, William,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47took over the building project,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51and very quickly put his own stamp on the castle his father had begun.
0:06:53 > 0:06:58At the same time as we get the development of this new profession of architecture,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00we get the arrival of Classicism.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03We can see the tension between the old and the new,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07the chivalric and the classical in this building.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Essentially, it's medieval in character.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13This is Sir Charles Cavendish's vision of the past,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16with the battlements and the turrets
0:07:16 > 0:07:19and the outsized crossbow slits,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22not really very practical for defence,
0:07:22 > 0:07:24but this is a castle for chivalry.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28But if you look at the shell of the building that William inherited,
0:07:28 > 0:07:32he started to add the new classical detail onto it.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34That's why over the entrance there,
0:07:34 > 0:07:38we've got that classical pedimented doorway
0:07:38 > 0:07:42and immediately over the entrance, the classical figure of Hercules -
0:07:42 > 0:07:46who is essential to the whole of the hidden meaning in this building.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50But more on him and his significance later.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55Now, when William Cavendish takes over the completion of the castle
0:07:55 > 0:07:57with all of this classical detail,
0:07:57 > 0:08:02I think it's fair to say that the local craftsmen don't get it right first time.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Here's an example of proper Classicism.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10It's a garden gateway designed by Inigo Jones,
0:08:10 > 0:08:13top architect of the period, and built in London.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18Now, Inigo Jones understands the secret of Classicism.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23It's the mathematical relationship between the horizontal and vertical.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25It's sometimes called "The Golden Section".
0:08:25 > 0:08:27It's the harmony of parts,
0:08:27 > 0:08:31everything has to be carefully measured and in proportion.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34You can see that here in Jones's design.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38William Cavendish decided that he wanted a gateway just like this
0:08:38 > 0:08:40and he sent his surveyor, John Smythson,
0:08:40 > 0:08:42to go and make a drawing of it.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Unfortunately, though, Smythson didn't realise he had to measure.
0:08:47 > 0:08:53What he's produced is a rather crude, naive copy of Jones's elegant design,
0:08:53 > 0:08:55lacking proper classical proportions.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00The result is that when the gateway appeared on the building at Bolsover,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03it was a slightly bodgey version of the original.
0:09:08 > 0:09:13Bolsover Castle then was a place for architectural experimentation.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22It's important to realise that it wasn't the main family home
0:09:22 > 0:09:24of this branch of the Cavendishes.
0:09:24 > 0:09:29That was seven miles away at Welbeck Abbey in Sherwood Forest.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33This former monastery was the economic centre of their estate,
0:09:33 > 0:09:35it's where their business got done.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Bolsover, on the other hand, was a holiday house,
0:09:38 > 0:09:40a pleasure palace, if you like.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45It was described in a poem as being like a pearl, like a pendant in the ear.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49It was a place where the more exotic side
0:09:49 > 0:09:52of William Cavendish's character would reveal itself.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58William was a typical cavalier.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02He was a charming, witty and handsome figure.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04A writer of bawdy poetry,
0:10:04 > 0:10:07with a passion for the finer things in life.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10He was obsessed with pleasure of all kinds,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13but that wasn't quite enough for him.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18William longed to be taken more seriously at court,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21but he had a bit of an image problem.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24People said he spent too much of his time dabbling
0:10:24 > 0:10:28with the art of architecture, or with his lady friends.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32But William was ambitious, he wanted to be made Master of the Horse,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35an important post in the royal household.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37And he was uniquely equipped for this.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39He was the best horseman in the country.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45The Master of the Horse was in charge of the royal stables
0:10:45 > 0:10:48and of all the transport arrangements for the court.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51It was a politically important position, close to the king
0:10:51 > 0:10:53and commanding power and respect.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08With typical exuberance, William built a grand riding house,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12and a range of a buildings dedicated entirely to horses.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18If I were to say the words to you, "the cavaliers",
0:11:18 > 0:11:21you'd probably think of gentlemen with long, curly hair,
0:11:21 > 0:11:25and lacy collars and a kind of arrogant attitude.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29But actually, they take their name from the very technical art of horsemanship,
0:11:29 > 0:11:31the art of the caballero.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40This isn't just riding horses for hunting or for the battlefield,
0:11:40 > 0:11:42it's teaching horses how to dance,
0:11:42 > 0:11:46how to perform these astonishing moves of an aerial ballet,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49the "airs above the ground" they are called.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51Here's William Cavendish performing the "capriole",
0:11:51 > 0:11:55when the horse literally leaps up into the air.
0:11:55 > 0:12:00They need immense strength to do this and daily training.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03If you were an expert horseman like William Cavendish,
0:12:03 > 0:12:05you would have done it every single day.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07If it was raining outside,
0:12:07 > 0:12:10then you would have constructed for yourself one of these buildings.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13It's a lost building type - the riding house.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Noblemen had them in the 1630s, up and down the country.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20This is the only substantial survivor here at Bolsover Castle.
0:12:26 > 0:12:31The features are the soft, sandy floor for the horses' hooves,
0:12:31 > 0:12:33the windows that are high up,
0:12:33 > 0:12:36so the horse can't look outside and get distracted.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40You need a big door to the outside, and ideally a viewing gallery,
0:12:40 > 0:12:45because you invite all of your friends to come and see the daily training.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47William Cavendish here at Bolsover
0:12:47 > 0:12:50would've been in the riding house every day,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54doing this kind of thing, taking the horses through their exercises,
0:12:54 > 0:12:58round and round these tall posts placed in the middle there.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08William Cavendish learnt how to ride at the Royal Mews.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12He shared his riding lessons with King Charles I himself.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14The King was really good at this.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16It's important, actually,
0:13:16 > 0:13:20for a prince or king to be able to do this because it's symbolic.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23The rider in control of the horse
0:13:23 > 0:13:26is like a person in control of their passions.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28Somebody who's in charge,
0:13:28 > 0:13:32somebody who is able to present a dignified face to the world.
0:13:32 > 0:13:37So, being good at riding is, in fact, a really important part of being a good king.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41William did have a reputation as a dilettante.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43Somebody who was very frivolous.
0:13:43 > 0:13:48He wasn't serious, but actually, when he was in the riding house, he was deadly serious.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57William's talent as a horseman was undisputed,
0:13:57 > 0:13:59but he needed to sway King Charles I.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03He'd make his bid in the best way he knew how.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07The castle would provide the stage for a masque,
0:14:07 > 0:14:09a scripted theatrical party.
0:14:09 > 0:14:15It would form the climax to a sumptuous weekend of feasting, music and dancing.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21William commissioned the celebrated playwright Ben Jonson
0:14:21 > 0:14:25to write the masque that would be dedicated to the king and queen.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28His plan was to charm his royal guests to giving him
0:14:28 > 0:14:31the prized position of Master of the Horse.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37While this may have seemed like a great idea,
0:14:37 > 0:14:39it was also a tremendous gamble.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45Politically, this was a time of growing puritanical zeal,
0:14:45 > 0:14:50building up against the decadence and indulgence of the ruling classes,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53sowing the seeds for the coming civil war.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56On a more practical and personal level,
0:14:56 > 0:15:00it would cost William a small fortune to put it on.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03He couldn't afford for anything to go wrong.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10So imagine the scene, it's the 30th of July 1634,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13that must've been the most exciting day
0:15:13 > 0:15:16in the whole history of Bolsover Castle -
0:15:16 > 0:15:19the day that the king and queen came to visit.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Here would've been William Cavendish to welcome them.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26Now, I think that he brought the whole castle
0:15:26 > 0:15:30and gardens and paintings and everything to perfection for this day,
0:15:30 > 0:15:34to make a particular point to the king and queen.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36This is the house of Hercules.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39There he is, positioned right over the entrance.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43In mythology, Hercules did something very, very bad,
0:15:43 > 0:15:47he accidentally killed his wife and children.
0:15:47 > 0:15:52But then, he performed his nine heroic labours in order to redeem himself,
0:15:52 > 0:15:55to get himself back to the straight and narrow.
0:15:55 > 0:16:00He was able to do this because he had the special qualities and abilities of a hero.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06In mythology, you often see Hercules resting in the garden of pleasure,
0:16:06 > 0:16:12because he doesn't need to keep plugging away up the difficult hill of virtue,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15because he has these special characteristics.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18You can see the relevance to William Cavendish.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20By saying, "I live in the house of Hercules",
0:16:20 > 0:16:24he's saying, "I am Hercules, I'm entitled to enjoy myself,
0:16:24 > 0:16:28"to indulge myself in pleasure, because I also have inner virtue."
0:16:28 > 0:16:30So that's the sort of scenario
0:16:30 > 0:16:33which I think he's presenting to the king and queen
0:16:33 > 0:16:36as he welcomes them and takes them into his castle.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44The furniture has long since disappeared,
0:16:44 > 0:16:49but the revealing paintings decorating the walls remain.
0:16:58 > 0:17:03You can see how this concept of William Cavendish as Hercules might begin to work
0:17:03 > 0:17:07if you imagine him bringing the king and queen on a tour.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11They've entered underneath that statue of Hercules over the entrance,
0:17:11 > 0:17:15performing one of his nine heroic labours.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20He'd temporarily taken over Atlas's job of holding up the globe,
0:17:20 > 0:17:22and here, in the great hall,
0:17:22 > 0:17:26Hercules is performing a whole lot more of his labours,
0:17:26 > 0:17:31which mainly involve killing or subduing violent, wild animals.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41My favourite picture is that one,
0:17:41 > 0:17:46where he's dealing with a man-eating mare, he's about to club it.
0:17:46 > 0:17:51This is most appropriate for a horseman like William Cavendish was.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00This room is called the Pillar Parlour, for obvious reasons.
0:18:00 > 0:18:06It is one of the masterpieces of Bolsover Castle, there's so much going on in here.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11The ceiling bosses have got winged horses - more love of equestrianism.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16And also, we've got that clash between the cosmopolitan and the local.
0:18:16 > 0:18:22The design of the panelling is copied from one of the royal palaces, the palace of Tibald,
0:18:22 > 0:18:26and yet the black paint comes from local black coal dust.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30Even in the 17th century, mining was going on in this area.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38The paintings in here describe the five senses.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40We've got sight...
0:18:43 > 0:18:46..and smell...
0:18:46 > 0:18:50and taste,
0:18:50 > 0:18:52and sound
0:18:52 > 0:18:56and touch. All of these came into their own
0:18:56 > 0:18:59during the masque on the royal visit.
0:18:59 > 0:19:05The king and queen, in this room, were invited to take part in a banquet of the senses.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07A song was sung about the five senses,
0:19:07 > 0:19:10and they were given a banquet to eat.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13And by "a banquet", I don't mean a meat feast,
0:19:13 > 0:19:16I mean a special pudding course,
0:19:16 > 0:19:20with special wines and sweetmeats and desserts.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24During this, perfume was burnt, so they could smell a lovely smell,
0:19:24 > 0:19:28and they could touch a velvety carpet on the table.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31The whole thing, for the king and queen, was a banquet of the senses.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Downstairs, we experienced bodily pleasures,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45but up here we are in the elevated world of the heavens,
0:19:45 > 0:19:47with the stars on the ceiling.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50In here, we have religious symbolism.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53We've got saints on the wall and figures from the Bible.
0:19:58 > 0:20:03The fireplace in here is particularly miraculous with the beautiful marbles
0:20:03 > 0:20:08and it also shows that clash between the old and the new.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13This fireplace combines the Gothic, pointed arch in the middle here,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16with the new, classical columns holding the whole thing up.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23Once again, William is personified in his castle.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27Here he is in the corner of the room, alongside his brother,
0:20:27 > 0:20:31amongst all the saints, aligning himself with their virtue.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34Another hint to the king that he would be a good man to have around.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41And finally, we come into the bedchamber.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45You might think it's a bit odd to invite the king and queen into your bedroom,
0:20:45 > 0:20:47But the point of the day is this - the house is theirs.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52Of course they should have access to all parts of it.
0:20:52 > 0:20:57This room forms the climax of the tour and here Hercules's choice
0:20:57 > 0:21:02between virtue and pleasure is laid out in architectural terms.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07I believe that here, the king and queen were invited to turn left or right
0:21:07 > 0:21:11into one or the other of these two little closets,
0:21:11 > 0:21:15these private rooms for solitude and contemplation.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17This one represents virtue.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23This first closet is the closet called "Heaven".
0:21:23 > 0:21:24It represents virtue.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28It's incredibly richly decorated with these gold,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31Chinese, oriental-type scenes.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34And the walls are set with cupboards
0:21:34 > 0:21:37so you could store your musical instruments or your books in here.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41But the main thing is the ceiling. Look at it, it's incredible!
0:21:41 > 0:21:44This is a ceiling all about religion and virtue.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47There are the symbols of the Passion,
0:21:47 > 0:21:51the baby angels are all crying because Jesus has just been crucified.
0:21:51 > 0:21:56But right up on the ceiling, there he is going off to heaven.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59It's quite an unusual depiction of Jesus.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02There's a William Cavendish twist going on here.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05Jesus is shown enjoying himself. He's dancing.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16The other closet was about the Christian version of the afterlife,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19this one is a complete contrast.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23Here we've got the classical version of the same thing.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28The gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus and they're enjoying themselves.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30Basically, they're having an orgy.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41This closet is always known as "Elysium".
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Here's a footnote, in the 19th century,
0:22:44 > 0:22:47the castle became used as the local vicarage.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49When the vicar was taking guided tours around,
0:22:49 > 0:22:53he didn't call this the Elysium closet, he referred to it as "Hell".
0:22:56 > 0:23:01The king and queen would have been invited to choose between virtue and pleasure.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05But I think I know which was William Cavendish's favourite.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08This closet seems a lot more personal to me.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12This is where Hercules himself has ended up, sitting in the corner.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17And over the window, there is a very intimate little motto.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20It says, "All is but vanity".
0:23:20 > 0:23:22As if William Cavendish is saying,
0:23:22 > 0:23:27"I may be a duke, I may be the owner of this fabulous castle,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31"but in this little private room, I'm just a human being."
0:23:31 > 0:23:35The other reason I think this is the more important closet,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38that pleasure is more important than virtue,
0:23:38 > 0:23:40is that this is a closet with the view.
0:23:40 > 0:23:45And it looks right down on the Goddess of Love in that garden of pleasure below.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03It's a fountain that's all about love of different kinds.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06On top is the Goddess of Love, Venus.
0:24:06 > 0:24:11She's surrounded by her little naked, urinating boys, protecting her.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13But around the outside she's being attacked
0:24:13 > 0:24:19by these leering, lascivious men in white in the niches,
0:24:19 > 0:24:23and also by the so-called "priapic beasts" of Bolsover,
0:24:23 > 0:24:25and they are pretty X-rated.
0:24:29 > 0:24:35The Venus statue was based on a slender, elegantly turning classical figure,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39although here, like the gateway, we get the Derbyshire version.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44She's been transformed into a more solid local lass.
0:24:44 > 0:24:49And if she were to stand upright, we'd see that one leg is longer than the other.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53But rather than sneer at the dumpy Bolsover Venus,
0:24:53 > 0:24:58I think we should celebrate her as an example of British classicism.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02She's bold and characterful and she makes us smile.
0:25:02 > 0:25:07This is a fountain for a man who definitely places pleasure over virtue.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16After the tour was over, the castle proved the perfect
0:25:16 > 0:25:21setting for putting on Ben Jonson's theatrical event, Loves Welcome,
0:25:21 > 0:25:24to amuse and impress King Charles I.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28Different historians have their own interpretations
0:25:28 > 0:25:31about where the masque might actually have been performed.
0:25:31 > 0:25:36But it does contain the stage direction "in a garden" like this.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39So, I think we can imagine all the courtiers up there
0:25:39 > 0:25:41around the top of the wall walk,
0:25:41 > 0:25:45with the actors and the scenery and the musicians down here.
0:25:47 > 0:25:53This painting shows the king and queen at a masque dressed as Apollo and Diana.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57They are seated on a mechanical floating cloud
0:25:57 > 0:26:00and the Bolsover production had one too.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02It was also a little bit risque.
0:26:02 > 0:26:07Jonson's script poked fun at short people, a bold move
0:26:07 > 0:26:11when both the king and William himself were not terribly tall.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15So, what did the king and queen make of all of this?
0:26:15 > 0:26:20They must have had some sort of discussion about the relative merits of pleasure and virtue.
0:26:20 > 0:26:25Did King Charles say, "Well, William Cavendish, you are a cheeky chappie,
0:26:25 > 0:26:26"but I like the cut of your jib!"
0:26:26 > 0:26:31Or did he find all this kind of excess rather distasteful?
0:26:31 > 0:26:34Was he going to give William Cavendish the job?
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Was the whole thing going to work?
0:26:46 > 0:26:49Well, no, it didn't.
0:26:49 > 0:26:54And, in many ways, William's masque was a massive miscalculation.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57The choice of Ben Jonson as author was poor,
0:26:57 > 0:27:00Jonson was out of favour at court.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04William had misjudged the character of the king as well.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Charles was a cold and cerebral man.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10He wasn't interested in debauchery.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Finally, times were a-changing.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16The Puritan party was growing in strength.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20The luxury of the court was becoming increasingly unpopular.
0:27:20 > 0:27:27The last word on William's great party would be that of the judgemental Earl of Clarendon.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31He said, "Yes, it was a stupendous entertainment.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35"But God be thanked, no man ever imitated it."
0:27:35 > 0:27:40And William would never get the job of Master of the Horse.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47He was left severely out of pocket
0:27:47 > 0:27:49and with his reputation tainted,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52the party was definitely over.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59William Cavendish would've wanted us to remember him
0:27:59 > 0:28:02as a great poet and a great courtier.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04We don't.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07But I don't think that his life was wasted.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11Because we can still enjoy the incredibly evocative ruins of his house.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20It's an outrageous, idiosyncratic castle that captures
0:28:20 > 0:28:23the cavalier spirit of its creator.
0:28:23 > 0:28:28And for me, this will always be the place where I found my vocation,
0:28:28 > 0:28:32through an accidental encounter with a book when I was just 21.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd