0:00:02 > 0:00:06In an idyllic landscape, created by master gardener Capability Brown,
0:00:06 > 0:00:09sits one of Britain's finest stately homes -
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Petworth House.
0:00:13 > 0:00:18Thanks to the National Trust, it's now open to us all.
0:00:18 > 0:00:19Except during winter
0:00:19 > 0:00:23when, like most of the Trust's homes, Petworth shuts the public out.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29When the house is closed, however, it's far from quiet.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32HUMMING OF LOTS OF DIFFERENT MACHINERY
0:00:32 > 0:00:35Normally, nobody gets to see what happens here
0:00:35 > 0:00:37during the winter months. But this year,
0:00:37 > 0:00:39I've been given unique, privileged access
0:00:39 > 0:00:41to see what really goes on behind the scenes.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47When the public has gone, the National Trust's expert conservation teams
0:00:47 > 0:00:51get the chance to do some housekeeping on an epic scale.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54We get to see things up close people don't see.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57It's amazing. Who else gets to do it?
0:00:57 > 0:00:59I had no idea until I took on this task
0:00:59 > 0:01:02quite how filthy the visitors were.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08'And this winter, Petworth's got a new cleaner.'
0:01:08 > 0:01:11- I can see I've made a difference. - Have you waxed it?- No.- No.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15'It's a rare chance to get hands on with history...'
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Oh, It's heavy!
0:01:17 > 0:01:21'..and glimpse the secret life of a great country house.'
0:01:23 > 0:01:26On this visit, we're conserving Petworth's servant life -
0:01:26 > 0:01:28scrubbing in the kitchens,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31going very deep below stairs
0:01:31 > 0:01:34and helping a stopped clock to strike again.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41I'm joining perhaps the biggest spring clean in the world,
0:01:41 > 0:01:45which all takes place during the freezing months of winter.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04As winter draws on, ever more of Petworth's grand state rooms
0:02:04 > 0:02:08have been methodically inspected, cleaned and covered up.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16This week, the conservation team faces a rather different challenge.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20They're leaving the main house behind and heading to the place
0:02:20 > 0:02:23where their predecessors would have worked and lived -
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Petworth's purpose-built servants' block.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30Upstairs were sleeping quarters, downstairs the kitchens.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33They're preserved now as they would have looked when last in use,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36just before the Second World War,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39although some of the equipment here dates back much further.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43The ironwork on this roasting range is 17th century
0:02:43 > 0:02:45and the brickwork probably Tudor.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48So in the 19th century, this sort of wonderful
0:02:48 > 0:02:53- cog and wheel, Heath Robinson thing would have turned it? - Yes.- But in the 17th century?
0:02:53 > 0:02:57- In the 17th century, it would have been a boy.- A boy? Oh, poor boy!
0:02:57 > 0:02:59- Poor boy.- Not the best job in the kitchen.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Through here we have the Glow-Worm,
0:03:01 > 0:03:05it's like an Aga, and that's from about the late 1930s, early 1940s.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08And then we have the gas range, which is from the 1920s.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11So it's like slices of the house's history in the kitchen as well.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Yeah, you can read the progress of cooking technology.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16- It's amazing.- It is. And here we have the bain-marie
0:03:16 > 0:03:20which is from 1872. Basically, it was filled with water
0:03:20 > 0:03:22so the cooking sauces would be kept warm,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25- but wouldn't continue to cook and spoil.- How fantastic.
0:03:28 > 0:03:33The kitchens are big enough to serve a grand hotel.
0:03:33 > 0:03:3535 people would once have worked in these rooms,
0:03:35 > 0:03:40producing an average of 100 meals a day and, when guests came, up to four times that.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43So the conservation team split up to tackle
0:03:43 > 0:03:47different sections of this domestic production line.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53The still room was where bottling and preserving took place,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56and where staff made breakfast and beverages.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00- Is this a coffee grinder, Jacky? - Yes, it is.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04Oh, yeah, It's got a little drawer.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08I'd be the size of a house
0:04:08 > 0:04:11if I had a kitchen like this. I wouldn't stop baking.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16Sue's working in Petworth's specialist pastry room.
0:04:16 > 0:04:21You can even still see the residues of cooking left on these moulds.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25It's a real part of this very utilitarian object's history
0:04:25 > 0:04:28which makes this just as interesting as some of the fine art in the house.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35Practical antiques like these call for a different
0:04:35 > 0:04:37kind of conservation technique.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41This is clearly not a job for cotton buds.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45It's the filthiest task of the winter clean.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47Is this one of your favourite jobs, or...
0:04:47 > 0:04:52- I love this job!- You're like Cinderella in a boiler suit.
0:04:56 > 0:04:57'I'm worried these overalls
0:04:57 > 0:04:59'will make me look more like an ugly sister.'
0:04:59 > 0:05:00Oh, help!
0:05:02 > 0:05:03Ooh! Oh, my God.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05That is seriously tight!
0:05:06 > 0:05:11'But I need the protection to carry out my first task of the day -
0:05:11 > 0:05:13'black leading.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15'The first stage is to get the surface rust off.'
0:05:15 > 0:05:17So if you just use this brush here.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21There's some rust on the dog's bum. We'll start with that, shall we?
0:05:22 > 0:05:25- How come there's rust on this? - Well, it's a cast-iron object
0:05:25 > 0:05:30and kitchens are quite damp cos over here it's a much colder environment.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32'With any flecks of rust removed,
0:05:32 > 0:05:36'now we need to take the roasting range back to black.'
0:05:36 > 0:05:40- So am I going to use this stuff? - Er, no.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43This is the traditional black lead, the original they used to use.
0:05:43 > 0:05:44Oh, I like that.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48- So what am I going to use? - You're going to use some of this one.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51- It's a modern equivalent.- "Black grate and barbecue polish."
0:05:51 > 0:05:54I suppose this is a kind of 17th-century barbecue.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57And the idea is you want to mainly cover the rust bits.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59It creates a protective layer
0:05:59 > 0:06:03and it stops the oxygen from rusting the surface of the cast iron.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06The thing about this house, Anna, don't you feel spoilt?
0:06:06 > 0:06:09In the sense that there's just art everywhere.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11I've got a kind of little bas-relief here.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13There's a dog under someone's arm,
0:06:13 > 0:06:15a bloke going, "Eurgh!" and a little boy screaming.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20Maybe that's the little boy who used to have to turn the spit.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24Oh, he wouldn't have dared cry, Andrew. He'd have lost his job.
0:06:24 > 0:06:25OK, next you need to buff it off.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29- Is it going to end up shiny? - It does have a bit of a shine to it.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31- Like a dull shine.- Dull, yeah.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Cos the whole effect here is of a kitchen that's, as it were, in use.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37We don't clean the soot off the chimney back, do we?
0:06:37 > 0:06:40We leave it because it's part of the history of the kitchen.
0:06:40 > 0:06:41Yes, yeah.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44- So I'm getting it? - You are, you're getting it.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52'The servants' quarters seem to have
0:06:52 > 0:06:55'almost as many rooms as the main house.'
0:06:55 > 0:06:59I actually managed to get lost. Where am I now?
0:06:59 > 0:07:03- Well, you're in the chef's sitting room.- At the end of a hard day,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07toiling over his sort of industrial-scale hot stove,
0:07:07 > 0:07:10he sits down. It feels very domestic, this space.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13It makes me feel as if the people who once filled that kitchen,
0:07:13 > 0:07:17- it's as if they just got up and left.- That's right.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20- It's a very human sort of space. - How much do we know about them?
0:07:20 > 0:07:24We know a fair bit. In fact, here, we've got a few photographs
0:07:24 > 0:07:28of some of the male members of staff, particularly, from Petworth.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31- Including one of the chefs. - That's wonderful.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35That reminds me of that famous line, "Never trust a thin chef!"
0:07:35 > 0:07:37Were they from this part of Sussex?
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Well, apparently, they were often French
0:07:40 > 0:07:43because French chefs were considered to be the best.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45And it was, you know, a sign of great prestige
0:07:45 > 0:07:47to employ a French chef.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51- Do they get paid loads of money as well?- They do. No-one was paid more than the chef.- Really?
0:07:51 > 0:07:54I wouldn't like to get on the wrong side of him.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57- Are these also portraits of those who worked here?- Yes, indeed.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02His name was Joseph Pattinson and he was the house steward in about 1890.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05God, that facial hair! I mean, goodness me!
0:08:05 > 0:08:09- He was as bald as a coot under that hat.- Was he?- Yes.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12He ran everything. He did the accounts,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15all the ordering. So he was in charge, basically, of what was
0:08:15 > 0:08:17quite a reasonable-sized business.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19Gosh. And who's this?
0:08:19 > 0:08:21Well, that's the housekeeper, Mrs Rawlinson,
0:08:21 > 0:08:25who was the most senior of the female staff. She earned far less,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28less than half the amount that Mr Pattinson earned.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31Mrs Rawlinson. She looks very Victorian.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34She doesn't look as if she'd be easily amused, does she?
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Well, the housekeeper had to keep quite strict discipline.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42Who are these fine, upstanding gentlemen? Who are they?
0:08:42 > 0:08:46They're the footmen. They would wait at table and run errands round town
0:08:46 > 0:08:49and they would be the visible face of Petworth House
0:08:49 > 0:08:51around the town and the community.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Were they actually specifically selected
0:08:54 > 0:08:57because they were rather dashing and slim?
0:08:57 > 0:08:59Footmen were supposed to be very tall
0:08:59 > 0:09:03and to have rather fine calves, so they looked good in the uniform.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05So where would you be in this hierarchy?
0:09:05 > 0:09:06I'd probably be a housemaid.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Housemaid!
0:09:11 > 0:09:16The closed season is the ideal time for specialist conservators
0:09:16 > 0:09:18to visit National Trust houses
0:09:18 > 0:09:21to inspect the subjects of their expertise.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Horologist Jonathan Betts has come to check the condition
0:09:25 > 0:09:28of Petworth's clocks.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30They should be pretty good time keepers, these.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36Though the kitchen clock still works well after 220 years,
0:09:36 > 0:09:40another in the main house is more of a worry.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44So this is the boulle clock that we've been having some problems with.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46We've had problems turning the key. It's very stiff.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50If in doubt, it's always better, under those circumstances,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53to leave it stopped and call a conservator to have a look.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02This clock has been ticking since 1710. Its boullework case
0:10:02 > 0:10:06is fashioned from tortoiseshell with bronze inlays.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12It was made in France, as a plate inside reveals.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15The next thing to do, really, is to get the clock out.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20The cause of the problem must be within the mechanism, known to horologists as "the movement".
0:10:24 > 0:10:27To allow a good look inside, the curtains have been raised.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30a rare privilege in winter.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34- Now, I think you said that it was very stiff to wind.- Yes.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37So we'll see what's going on with the main springs.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40The clock needs to be wound at two points.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43The right-hand side controls the time keeping.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46There is some wind in the going side.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50The other side controls striking the bell, which remains in the case.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53- This is actually wound right up tight.- Might be why the key is bent.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56That's probably why the key is bent
0:10:56 > 0:10:59and that is definitely a sign that somebody's going too far.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03- It wasn't me, it wasn't me!- No, I'm sure it was done a long time ago,
0:11:03 > 0:11:05clearly there's been a long-term problem with this clock.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09The striking is certainly in trouble.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Don't quite know why that is at the moment.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16Ah! Yes, I do, yes, I do. I can see what the problem is.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Just noticed something.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22The main spring is trying to escape from the barrel,
0:11:22 > 0:11:26horror of horrors. That means we're going to have to take it all apart.
0:11:28 > 0:11:33Jonathan needs to get beneath the dial of the clock.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37Experts like him never call it the face.
0:11:37 > 0:11:43Now, an absolute golden rule with all spring-driven clockwork
0:11:43 > 0:11:48is before you go any further, you must always let the power down.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52If this clock were taken apart without releasing the energy in the springs,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55there would be a very, very loud bang.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Clocks have been known to hurt people.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01In fact, when I was a boy I lost the top of my thumb
0:12:01 > 0:12:06for a short while, after having let a clock down inexpertly.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Eventually, Jonathan digs out the spring which has caused the problem.
0:12:24 > 0:12:29You're not supposed to see that. That's supposed to have a cap over it,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32which is here lying loose.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37If you're vigorous at your winding, it's possible then for the spring
0:12:37 > 0:12:40to push the cap off again, and it does look as though
0:12:40 > 0:12:42this spring has tried jolly hard to do that.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46So it's necessary to get the spring back down, And the way you do that
0:12:46 > 0:12:48might sound rather brutal.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51We would call it, you know, applying appropriate force.
0:12:53 > 0:12:54That should do it.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Next, he adds a synthetic lubricant to the spring,
0:12:59 > 0:13:01which had dried out while its cover was off.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05We tend to think of high-performance oils
0:13:05 > 0:13:08as being oils used in car engines, but actually,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11they're the sissies of the oils, really.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Horological oils are much more demanding.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18That small quantity has to last for perhaps 10 or 15 years.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21It mustn't evaporate. It mustn't turn acid,
0:13:21 > 0:13:25otherwise it will corrode the metals it's trying to lubricate.
0:13:25 > 0:13:2820th-century oils are, of course, a great deal better
0:13:28 > 0:13:32than 18th and 19th-century equivalents.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34They used to be animal fats.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38That's it.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42OK. That's the main problem sorted.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50All Jonathan has to do now is put the clock back together again.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52I think I'll put that one in later.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54Which, not surprisingly,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57is rather more complicated than pulling it apart.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05Meanwhile, Anna's dusting the case,
0:14:05 > 0:14:09itself a miracle of craftsmanship from the period of Louis Quatorze.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17The Sun King's cabinet-maker, Andre Charles Boulle,
0:14:17 > 0:14:19was such a master of elaborate marquetry
0:14:19 > 0:14:22that any work in this style now bears his name.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27The sculpted details are moulded from gilt bronze,
0:14:27 > 0:14:31or ormolu as it's been known since the 18th century.
0:14:31 > 0:14:36And the winged figure on the top is none other than Fame.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43After an hour's painstaking engineering,
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Jonathan finally has the clock back in one piece.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48It's tremendously satisfying.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52You feel as though you've given it new life, you know.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54It is a very rewarding exercise.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56When the public return in March,
0:14:56 > 0:15:00they'll hear the timepiece strike once again. And yet, surprisingly,
0:15:00 > 0:15:04what visitors like to hear isn't what's best for the clock.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09There are very few objects in historic houses
0:15:09 > 0:15:12which are still expected, to this very day,
0:15:12 > 0:15:14to perform their original function.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17And it's a big ask. All these functional objects
0:15:17 > 0:15:20are slowly wearing themselves out.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22But with clocks stopped throughout the houses,
0:15:22 > 0:15:25the houses would have a very dead feeling.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27There's something very emotive about a stopped clock
0:15:27 > 0:15:30and as long as the mechanisms are regularly inspected,
0:15:30 > 0:15:33we can reduce that deterioration
0:15:33 > 0:15:34to an absolute minimum.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37That's what conservation is all about. It's a compromise, basically.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Back in the kitchens,
0:15:43 > 0:15:46it's time to start work on the 1000-piece batterie de cuisine,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49some of which was in use when Victoria came to the throne.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53To own this much copper cookware was a sign of great prestige.
0:15:53 > 0:16:00Looking after it was highly labour-intensive, and it still is.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03So the pans are being moved to somewhere with enough space
0:16:03 > 0:16:06for a whole team of voluntary polishers.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08'These ladies are all members
0:16:08 > 0:16:14'of the National Association Of Decorative And Fine Arts Societies.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17'And today, they have a new recruit.'
0:16:20 > 0:16:22Hello.
0:16:22 > 0:16:23You tell me what to do.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27- You're the bosses.- Put an apron on. - Put an apron on.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29Right, now,
0:16:29 > 0:16:33you start with one or other of those brushes
0:16:33 > 0:16:36and you dust it off inside and out.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39'Dust must be banished, otherwise it could scratch the metal
0:16:39 > 0:16:41'when we rub the polish in.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46'We're using the least abrasive type possible, which is car polish.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50'Being soft enough for use on chrome, it's also ideal for copper,
0:16:50 > 0:16:53'as well as the inner lining material, tin.'
0:16:53 > 0:16:58You ladies cleaned all of these pieces of copper last year.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00Is that right?
0:17:00 > 0:17:03You didn't do a very good job because it's still...
0:17:03 > 0:17:04- Oh, thank you(!)- Charming(!)
0:17:04 > 0:17:08'Of course, what we're taking off isn't dirt.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11'The tarnish is part of the metal itself,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14'the unavoidable result of its surface reacting with oxygen.'
0:17:14 > 0:17:19I am actually just taking off a tiny little layer of the object's skin.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23Everything gets thinner with polishing, exactly.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26- So, what do you think? - I'm impressed. What is that?
0:17:26 > 0:17:29- Think of a raised game pie. - Ah, isn't that great?
0:17:29 > 0:17:32So the pastry would have come out
0:17:32 > 0:17:34- with these gorgeous markings round it.- Beautiful.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37I think, well, what do you think? I see I've made a difference.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40- Have you waxed it?- No.- No.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43- Well, that's the next process. - I've got to wax it as well?
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Wipe it round inside. You don't want it thick. That's enough.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48Just swish it over the whole thing.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51That now gives it a surface
0:17:51 > 0:17:52that protects it.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57'The wax does the same job for copper that black lead does for iron -
0:17:57 > 0:18:01'it slows down the oxidisation of the metal.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05'Each object is monogrammed with an L for Leconfield -
0:18:05 > 0:18:09'the family title at the time, and either P for Petworth
0:18:09 > 0:18:12'or another L, indicating their London residence.'
0:18:12 > 0:18:16- Marks out of ten? - Oh, definitely eight, I would say.
0:18:18 > 0:18:24That was a very precise half compliment that you paid me there.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31- Your next one.- I feel like I've been promoted.- Of course.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35Wow. What I love about this stuff is it sort of projects you
0:18:35 > 0:18:38back to a time when sort of food was sculptural.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40You know, the food was for display.
0:18:40 > 0:18:45Every jelly is a castle, every pie is fortified. So, OK.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47- I think the hog hair. - You think the hog?
0:18:47 > 0:18:49- No this one's mine, that one's yours.- Sorry.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52'The more complex the cookware,
0:18:52 > 0:18:54'the longer the cleaning takes.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57'My mould calls for cotton buds.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00'No wonder the volunteers will have to come in once a week
0:19:00 > 0:19:03'for the next two months.'
0:19:03 > 0:19:06Your houses must be very super, super clean.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10No, because we're too busy doing things like this.
0:19:10 > 0:19:11ANDREW LAUGHS
0:19:11 > 0:19:13That's... That's what I call sacrifice.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Polishing the fitted copper is a task left to Petworth's
0:19:21 > 0:19:23conservation professionals.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25Jacky's working in the scullery,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27where all the copper would have been cleaned.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32Though she's not using the same polish as her historical forebears.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36They used some horrendous things. There is a recipe,
0:19:36 > 0:19:39used in this scullery, with sand, salt and vinegar.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Jacky knows all this because when Petworth's open to the public,
0:19:43 > 0:19:47she sometimes demonstrates historic housekeeping techniques.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49We've got some fantastic polishes.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52This is the stuff they used in the old days?
0:19:52 > 0:19:55Yeah, these are from Mrs Beeton's books and other books that you get
0:19:55 > 0:19:58on household management. Have a smell of that one.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Oh, actually, it's not bad.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03- What's in it?- Beeswax, white wax,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06curd soap, turpentine and water.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10- Do you just like mix it all up or do you have to cook it up?- You boil it.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12You boil everything except the turpentine.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17- I suppose my question would be, you know, does it actually work?- Yes.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19- It might be all very nice... - Yes, it does work.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22I actually use that on my oak table at home in the dining room.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25I know what goes in it and most of it's natural.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Most of the spray cleaners that you can get have got silicone in them,
0:20:28 > 0:20:30which isn't good for the wood.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34So would you say that all of the cleaning recipes and remedies of the past
0:20:34 > 0:20:36are superior to what we use now?
0:20:36 > 0:20:37No, definitely not.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Things like this, which was a marble cleaner,
0:20:39 > 0:20:41it's got pumice,
0:20:41 > 0:20:43soda and chalk in it.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46It's far too abrasive.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50We can look round some of our marble busts and statues and say
0:20:50 > 0:20:54one of the reasons why the surfaces have gone is they used this sort of cleaner.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01When Petworth is closed to the public,
0:21:01 > 0:21:03the heating is switched off,
0:21:03 > 0:21:04which in the depths of winter,
0:21:04 > 0:21:09means that we workers really look forward to our tea breaks.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Upstairs from the kitchens were bedrooms for the staff.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17Men at one end, women at the other, kept strictly apart at all times.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21Actually, Andrew, you do realise if you'd been caught on these stairs
0:21:21 > 0:21:24you'd be instantly dismissed, because these are the female stairs.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27- You're joking! - Yes, female staff only.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32These days, the housemaids' bedrooms
0:21:32 > 0:21:35are meeting rooms and offices for the National Trust.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39As well as their cleaning schedule, the conservation team follow a strict baking rota.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42Today's it's Judy's turn.
0:21:42 > 0:21:43They're delicious!
0:21:44 > 0:21:49Mmm. Is that lemon curd I taste? It's homemade lemon curd.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52I like lemon curd. I'm glad to see that as well as preserving
0:21:52 > 0:21:55so much else, you're preserving the tradition of the tea break.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58I think we need it. It's so cold down there.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02You need regular tea breaks to keep warm and the sugar to keep going.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06'Daily cake is clearly an important perk of working here,
0:22:06 > 0:22:09'but an even bigger one is the sheer satisfaction.'
0:22:09 > 0:22:11- You enjoy the job?- We do.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13You don't go to work thinking...?
0:22:13 > 0:22:17No, not at all. Passionate is a word that's overused these days,
0:22:17 > 0:22:19but it is a word that applies to the job we do.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24I don't think any of us could do this job if we weren't passionate about history
0:22:24 > 0:22:27- and the things we do. - This house spoils you
0:22:27 > 0:22:32because of the standard of our collection. The paintings are fantastic, furniture's amazing,
0:22:32 > 0:22:33the story is incredible.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37- Except it's too bloody cold. - That goes with the territory, Andrew.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41- That's my one complaint.- It means we can guilt-free eat lots of cake.
0:22:41 > 0:22:42THEY LAUGH
0:22:47 > 0:22:52Over the centuries, Petworth has twice been struck by major fires.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55One of them started in the kitchens.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58It's a major reason why the servants' activities
0:22:58 > 0:23:01have been set apart from the main house since the 1750s.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05This arrangement also had certain other advantages.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08Now, the aristocracy didn't actually want to see their servants.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11They didn't want to witness such vulgar activities
0:23:11 > 0:23:14as the carrying of food or laundry.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18So although this is the most direct route from the servants' block
0:23:18 > 0:23:22to the main house, it's not one the servants themselves would ever have taken.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26They were kept hidden in a tunnel directly beneath my feet.
0:23:28 > 0:23:33Though staff are now allowed to be seen, Sue's heading underground,
0:23:33 > 0:23:37along with consultant ecologist Daniel Whitby.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40The tunnel's out of bounds most of the time,
0:23:40 > 0:23:45at least to people, because these days it's home to some protected species.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50The National Trust's mission is to conserve
0:23:50 > 0:23:53British wildlife as well as British heritage.
0:23:55 > 0:24:01- Some droppings on the door here. And a few urine stains.- Lovely.
0:24:01 > 0:24:06Droppings are a definitive sign that bats are definitely presently using the building.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10The droppings aren't fresh, because in winter bats aren't feeding,
0:24:10 > 0:24:12they're hibernating.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18Dan visits a number of times each winter
0:24:18 > 0:24:22to conduct a survey for the Trust on just how many bats are sleeping here.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24But they're not always easy to spot.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27Most people have the impression, looking for bats,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30you walk into a building and they'll be hanging there.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34And out of the 16 UK species, there's only two of them that do.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36All the rest of them are really crevice-roosting bats
0:24:36 > 0:24:41so you have to look into all the cracks and crevices in the tunnel if you want to find them.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48- There's one there.- Oh, really?
0:24:48 > 0:24:51Yeah, just in that hole above the pipe.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55That's a natterer's bat.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59And it's hidden right up in that crack in the brickwork there.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Natterer's are probably the most common species we find in hibernation
0:25:02 > 0:25:04in this tunnel here.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07You're only going to see them with a bit of luck.
0:25:09 > 0:25:10At just five foot wide,
0:25:10 > 0:25:14the tunnel must have sometimes been congested with footmen
0:25:14 > 0:25:18and housemaids, especially if they were carrying trays of food.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22Also housed down here was a well house.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26That too is now sometimes home to bats.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32The well itself is over 120 feet deep.
0:25:32 > 0:25:37Originally, there would have been a donkey who would have walked
0:25:37 > 0:25:40round and round, and he would have provided the power to bring the water up.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43And a small boy's job was to sit in the corner and whip the donkey
0:25:43 > 0:25:48if he ever stopped. But as technology improved, they then put in this generator.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56On this visit, they can't see any bats out of WELL.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58So the search carries on.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04From this end of the tunnel, servants would emerge with food
0:26:04 > 0:26:07and scurry to the dining room.
0:26:07 > 0:26:12But Dan and Sue's mission isn't over because the tunnel network on this estate
0:26:12 > 0:26:13was labyrinthine.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20The laundry was located half a mile away in Petworth town,
0:26:20 > 0:26:22and that had its own subway.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25They wanted to have this kind of private access to it
0:26:25 > 0:26:29so they could bring the carts of dirty laundry through their garden
0:26:29 > 0:26:33rather than running them through town and everybody seeing their dirty smalls.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Second World War bombing caused the tunnel to collapse,
0:26:37 > 0:26:39as well as destroying the laundry.
0:26:39 > 0:26:45But what remains is the perfect winter hideaway for bats.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58This time, it's a brown long-eared.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02We want to have a quick look at the bat. We don't want to spend too long in there.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05The longer we spend, the more disturbance we're creating
0:27:05 > 0:27:09and increases the chances that it might decide to come out of hibernation.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Dan's regular surveys have discovered that Petworth is home
0:27:13 > 0:27:18to an incredible 14 species, out of the 16 present in the whole UK.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21The variety of places they can winter here
0:27:21 > 0:27:26is an undreamed-of legacy of domestic service at its grandest.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33While Sue's been hunting bats,
0:27:33 > 0:27:37work in the servants' quarters has been finished for another year.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42I think what struck me most about the experience
0:27:42 > 0:27:45of working in the servants' quarters here at Petworth
0:27:45 > 0:27:51has been the sheer fund of knowledge once possessed by those who lived and worked here.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54A tremendous range of knowledge about how to run a house,
0:27:54 > 0:27:59how to keep a house clean, whether that might be preparing exactly the right kind of solution
0:27:59 > 0:28:05to clean a particular type of floor, or knowing exactly how to polish every last piece of copper.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07Now let's face it, most of us nowadays
0:28:07 > 0:28:11just don't have time for that degree of perfectionism.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14But if anyone really is keeping that tradition,
0:28:14 > 0:28:18that fund of knowledge alive, it's the modern day housekeeping team
0:28:18 > 0:28:21here at Petworth, and they're doing it with a real passion.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:46 > 0:28:48E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk