Burghley Royal Upstairs Downstairs

'What do you have to do when a Queen decides to pop in to see you? And not just any old Queen - Victoria!

'Like a pair of obsessed Victoria groupies,

'we're pursuing her around the country to the posh pads she visited.

'We'll be delving into her personal diaries to reveal what happened behind closed doors.'

Welcome to Lincolnshire.

Our journey today in the footsteps of Queen Victoria has brought us to the magnificent Burghley House.

'And as someone who has spent a lifetime getting excited by antiques,

'I'll be upstairs exploring what would have excited the Queen on her visit here.'

On Victoria's bed is a pair of doves billing and cooing and we all know where that leads!

'I'll be downstairs leafing through some extraordinary mementos of her stay.'

-And there is Victoria's signature.

-How magnificent!

'As a chef passionate about food...' I love the smell.

'..I'll be in the kitchen rediscovering a 19th century recipe made in honour of Victoria's stay.

'And teasing Tim's sweet tooth!'

-Can I have quite a big bit?

-No.

-You're such a meanie!

Burghley House was built in 1555,

not in Victoria's era, but during the reign of an earlier Queen.

Queen Rosemary... Sorry, Queen Elizabeth I.

Ah, yes. But we're interested

in what happened here in 1844 when Victoria came to stay.

Victoria and Albert stayed here for four days,

travelling by train from London to Weedon near Northampton

before a five-hour coach journey to Burghley.

They were here by invitation of the host, the Marquess of Exeter, for a very special purpose.

The purpose being the christening of the Marquess and Marchioness's daughter.

-And in return, they called the daughter Victoria. Isn't that a lovely story?

-How nice!

Albert was to be the godfather of baby Victoria,

so this was a very personal and private occasion for the families.

But that didn't stop the Marquess bankrolling exuberant celebrations in the local town of Stamford

and on approach to the gates of Burghley,

he had even arranged for 700 horsemen, mainly his tenants,

to ride behind the royal procession.

He didn't do things by halves, did the old chap. No, no.

Did you know, Rozza,

it was decided that the townsfolk of Stamford would be given a whole half day off,

so that they'd be able to turn out in force to welcome their Majesty's arrival? How about that?

Well, they might have got a day off,

but the staff at Burghley, their work was only just beginning.

-I'm heading off downstairs to see how they did it.

-I'm heading off upstairs.

Burghley was an outrageous display of design and architecture.

With its turrets and towers, domes and steeples,

it was described as more of a small city than a single building.

Even though Victoria had visited here when she was 18,

her first sight of Burghley, nine years later, was no less impressive.

She wrote in her diary, "I remembered its beautiful exterior

"and splendid situation, but I was even more struck when I arrived this time."

This is the entrance that Victoria used.

We also know that she arrived at about 5pm

and that the weather had been rough and miserable.

I suspect Victoria might have been a bit rough herself

because she'd just given birth to her fourth child

and had a month in convalescence in the Highlands.

So you can imagine the amount of correspondence that was happening

between the 2nd Marquess's household and her household

to make quite sure that the timing of this visit was convenient all round.

So keen were the hosts on capturing this momentous occasion

that they gave a VIP pass to The Illustrated London News,

the world's first illustrated weekly publication,

the Hello magazine of its day.

They commissioned an artist by the name of Ziegler to produce sketches to accompany the story.

This is the North Entrance Hall

where Victoria would have entered

and today it forms part of the private piece of Burghley occupied by the Cecil family,

so I feel rather privileged to be allowed to walk literally in Victoria's footsteps.

This is a marvellous piece of memorabilia relating to her visit.

It's a poster produced by the Mayor of Stamford, look.

"F Jelley, Mayor."

What a lovely name that is!

And amongst other things, it records the resolutions

that "businesses be suspended and the shops closed at one o'clock

"for the remainder of the day," the day the Queen visited,

and also that "subscriptions would be raised for the purpose of erecting triumphal arches

"and making any other demonstrations of loyalty they may think proper."

Well, what could be more proper than that?

'While Victoria was being ushered through the hallway,

'her servants would have been making their way to the staff quarters

'where one room in particular would have been full of hustle and bustle - this wonderful kitchen.

'Today, I'm going to be recreating some Victorian treats cooked in honour of the Queen

-'with food historian Ivan Day.'

-This was really aimed at children.

'The treats were sold to local well-wishers in celebration.'

-It's going to be very sticky.

-Bung it all in.

'On today's menu, Victorian gingerbread.

'I can't wait to cook in this incredible, evocative kitchen

'which, remarkably, is exactly the same as it was during Victoria's visit.'

It's an Elizabethan kitchen. It goes right back to the reign of Elizabeth I.

What you see there is the lantern which is a place where you can get an extra bit of light coming in,

but it's mainly for venting all of the fumes and the smoke.

It would have been very different in the 16th century. It's been much modified since.

'We know the Queen was given a tour of this amazing kitchen

'because it was featured in The Illustrated London News,

'together with this sketch.

'Here we can see the servants standing to attention

'as Victoria and Albert marvel at a large painting at the far end of the room,

'which is still here today.'

-But what do you think of this fellow here?

-Oh!

Well, knowing they ate turtle soup, is it a turtle soup tureen?

-It is, exactly.

-Really?

-Yes. Well done.

There is some archaeological evidence in this kitchen

that turtles were served up at Burghley

because if you look up above the dresser, you can see this macabre display. They're turtle skulls.

-What a bit of history in the kitchen!

-Every one is a turtle dinner.

-Every one is a turtle dinner.

'Turtle soup would be frowned upon today, but back then, it was quite trendy.

'Sophia Cecil, the sister-in-law of the Marquess, noted in her diary

'that the Queen was served soup during her stay.

'If it was turtle soup, I'm hoping it came without the bones.

'While the kitchen was throwing together the most delectable royal delicacies,

'on the evening Victoria arrived,

'the Queen would have been about to witness another unique part of the house upstairs.'

This is one of the most spectacular sights at Burghley

or indeed in any British stately home.

It's called quite simply The Hell Staircase.

This is the route that Victoria and Albert would have taken

to get to their apartments upstairs.

But when you think of the religious significance of their visit,

after all, Albert was here to become a godparent...

..this ceiling is enough to put the fear of God in anyone.

Frankly, it gives me the willies.

In matters of religion, Victoria was devout, yet broad-minded.

And you'd need to be, confronted by these scary scenes of Hell by Italian painter Antonio Verrio.

You've got this cat-like creature with its gob wide open,

consuming naughty people.

Death itself is represented by the Grim Reaper

with its scythe, the scythe that could cut you down at any time.

This is something straight out of Harry Potter.

'As Victoria was having the wits scared out of her on Hell Staircase,

'downstairs, the kitchen staff would have been battling with their own fire and furnaces

'as, nerves jangling, they prepared the royal dinner.

'We know, at the same time, the local bakers made gingerbread to sell for a penny,

'so that's what we'll do today...' Fantastic!

'..using these original Victorian moulds,

'except today, Tim will scoff the lot and I rather doubt I'll get a penny for it.'

-What I've got here is a pound of plain white flour.

-Fine.

And I'm going to ask you if you can rub that butter into it.

While you're doing that, I'm going to continue turning this candied orange and lemon peel

into almost a puree.

'To the flour and butter, add the brown sugar and ginger, followed by nutmeg, cinnamon and mace.'

I love the smell! 'They liked their gingerbread spicy, the Victorians.'

But I think that's really the smell of England in the past.

-It's got such a wonderful, evocative smell.

-It's fabulous.

-It's time now to give it a kind of marmalade touch.

-This is your peel.

This is pureed peel. Taste it and tell me what you think. It's a mixture of Seville and lemon.

-That's delicious.

-Rub that in really thoroughly.

The final touch which is going to turn that into a pliable paste is going to be very sticky for you.

Oh, no, no. Bung it all in.

-Try and get it into a lump. It will be very short.

-No, it'll be fine.

-That looks really good. Perfect.

-Is that good?

'Next, we halve the dough to make two penny gingerbreads

'and then press it firmly on to our moulds.'

The technique is this. We just let it drop off of its own weight on to the board and there it is.

Oh, fantastic!

-There's just one other thing we have to do before it goes into the oven.

-Mm-hm.

-We need to dock it, which is prick it with a fork all over.

-Dock it? That's a new word.

-It's a very old word.

-Biscuits often had these little holes in them.

-Yes.

They were made with a thing called a biscuit docker.

That will ensure it doesn't puff up and spoil the design.

I can just imagine the salesman saying, "Penny for a gingerbread! Come and get it!"

'The gingerbreads go into the pastry oven where they'll bake at around 160 degrees Celsius

'for 40 minutes.

'In Victorian times, there were no temperature gauges,

'so the instructions would have been to cook it in a cool oven.

'Meanwhile, upstairs, Victoria and Albert were being shown to the lavish royal apartments.'

Having survived the hellish ascent of the stairs,

the royal party would have been ushered into this room,

the first of the private apartments set aside for their use during the visit.

It's called, appropriately enough, the Heaven Room. And look at that!

The royal party might have been reassured by this.

They have got some salvation after all.

'The royal apartments at Burghley are amongst the finest

'the Queen found on her travels, oozing opulence.

'Victoria and Albert had the run of six bespoke rooms,

'decked out with luxurious gilded furniture, exquisite ceramics

'and original works of art by the old masters.

'The Marquess really splashed the cash

'to make sure there was no shortage of servants to look after Victoria.

'Incredibly, curator Jon Culverhouse has the original accounts book from the visit

'and it makes fascinating reading.'

It was an incredibly expensive visit.

Lord Exeter, as host, was responsible for everything.

He put up people all over Stamford. He entertained people royally. It was well-planned.

-Yes.

-He'd been planning for four or five years as he'd been carrying out improvements to the house

to make it even more grand and comfortable for Her Majesty.

-Surely, he didn't have to go to the extent that he went to?

-I think he did.

He was a courtier. He was known to the Royal Family very well

and this was his big chance to show off at home quite how grand he was.

It was really the quintessential point in his career, having Her Majesty and Prince Albert to stay.

It was a very good marketing ploy for him.

'But this isn't the only treasure.

'There's also the original diary,

'written by Sophia Cecil, the sister-in-law of Victoria's host.'

-"The Queen and Prince...

-'In which she reveals the Queen's rather cheeky sense of humour.'

"In passing through the Blue Dressing Room occupied by the Duke of Rutland,

"Her Majesty appeared to be much amused at something

'which turned out to be His Grace's wig and whiskers on a block."

'But the piece de resistance is this wonderful guestbook from the visit.'

-Isn't that pretty?

-1844.

'The Marquess had planned this visit for four years.'

-The crest of Lord Exeter.

-'No wonder he wanted the royal autographs!'

That of the Queen and there is Victoria's signature.

-How beautiful!

-As is always when the Royal Family come, it's a signature to a page.

-Yes.

-And so Prince Albert's crest and Prince Albert...

Oh, it's very special.

-It is indeed.

-Well, Jon, I can't believe this. It's beautiful to hold.

It's a great treasure.

Victoria had stayed here nine years earlier with her mother, the Duchess of Kent,

but there was one room up here that she wouldn't have stayed in before.

The ultimate destination in the suite of rooms is not unnaturally the bedroom.

And what a delicious room it is,

hung on three sides with tapestries, but the centre piece of the room has to be the bed.

At the time of Victoria's visit, this bed was thought to have been a lot taller.

And I guess that was because, at the time,

it was quite commonplace to have not one mattress like today, but about six of them.

The problem with these high beds is how to get into them.

The answer, quite simple, a pair of bed steps.

Victoria and Albert would have gone to bed by stepping up these steps,

rather like going up a diving board, either side of the bed,

then both jumped in.

Lovely.

But these steps have an additional function.

I can remove that tread to reveal a pull-out commode, look.

Now, history doesn't record whether Queen Victoria actually used this commode,

so I think I'll just shut it up and let it be our little secret.

Victoria was a big fan of this bed.

Her diary says how all morning she admired "its extreme splendours

"with beautiful embroideries".

It seems to me that Victoria and Albert spent an extraordinary length of time in this bedroom.

Now, Sophia Cecil records that on the third day,

"At breakfast, we saw the Queen and the Prince walking out together in the garden."

Indeed, the Queen records that she skipped breakfast one day.

And I reckon that she and Albert were spending most of their time in this bed.

Therefore, it's perhaps appropriate that the cresting on the bed

is in the form of a pair of doves amorously billing and cooing.

And we all know where that leads!

In the 1820s, they went in for a bit of modernisation in these state rooms.

They simply hatcheted a hole through the wall to give access behind to the...

-Ah! Look at this! How are you?

-Hello, darling.

-I was just walking up the corridor.

-What are you doing scurrying down the servants' passageways?

I wanted to see where they led. And I'm in this room. Look at this.

-How magnificent is this!

-This is wonderful. I never get to see upstairs.

You never come upstairs. I never go downstairs. It's lovely to see you.

-It's great to be here, but I've got to get back downstairs. I can't stay with you.

-Can't you?

-No, I can't.

-What are you and Ivan up to?

-It's something that's going to take the biscuit.

-Is that a hint?

-I'm not going to tell you. Find out later.

They're terribly coy, these servants. I've had trouble...

-I've got a programme to make. You head off...

-I'll see you later. We've got work to do.

I've got a programme to make.

What a treat!

I love being able to sneak around upstairs like this.

Whilst the servants' corridor was brand-new for Burghley at the time of the visit,

one addition really was last-minute.

This portrait of Prince Albert was hung just the day before the royals arrived.

A touch of flattery perhaps?

Or given that they were here for a christening, maybe it was just a fitting tribute to the man

who was about to become godfather to a member of the Cecil family.

What more prestigious or appropriate place to hang your portrait

of an esteemed guest than this, the Great Hall?

I mean, just look at this place!

Victoria was certainly impressed, describing the Great Hall as "beautiful"

and it was here where the royal banquet took place at 8pm on the first evening.

The guest list read like a who's who of Victorian politics,

not surprising, given the Marquess was a politician himself.

The Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel was there, as was the Foreign Secretary, Lord Aberdeen.

In total, 40 of the country's great and good attended the grand dinner.

This is the scene immaculately recorded

by the artist HB Ziegler.

We've got the same light fittings, look.

The gallery filled with musicians - what they call the fiddlers' gallery.

There is Victoria herself with her back to the fireplace,

wearing her sash.

And, of course, we've got droves of these footmen,

wearing the Cecil family blue livery.

'The footmen were the reserve of only the grandest households and really looked the part.

'I've banished Tim from the Great Hall,

'so Ivan and I can find out more about the most sought after servants who waited on Victoria.

'And some modern-day equivalents are waiting on us.'

We've got some wonderful-looking footmen here.

And they're wearing 19th century livery of Burghley House.

The footmen aren't from that period, but the livery actually is, so these are absolutely authentic.

How wonderful! And what did the footmen do? What was their actual job?

They had a whole range of tasks to undertake during the day -

polishing boots and brass or working in the lamp room cleaning the glass.

When they really came into their own was, for instance, like Queen Victoria's visit.

At the great meal when Victoria was entertained here, the drinks were superintended by the footmen.

They could never talk to the guests, could they?

They were like ghosts. When you needed one, one always appeared.

Sometimes, just thinking about needing a drink, one would magically appear from behind you.

A well-trained one knew exactly what the guests wanted. Gentlemen, would you show us what you wore outside?

That's wonderful.

So would people have recognised the various liveries?

Instantaneously. When Victoria came here with her retinue from the London palaces,

she had her own footmen in royal livery and everybody knew who they were.

Without question.

The morning after Victoria arrived,

she noted in her diary, "It was pouring wet and the rain continued all day."

So that put paid to exploring the grounds.

She had to wait until the following day to do that

when she enjoyed a romantic walk with Albert

and later that afternoon, she was invited by the Marquess to plant an oak tree.

And here it is, the very one, planted more than 160 years ago

by Victoria's dainty spadework and still standing proud.

Of course, we can't leave without taking a glimpse

at the place that is the reason for the visit

and this is the Cecil family's private chapel on the first floor.

When not doing a bit of horizontal PT upstairs with Albert,

this is where Victoria attended morning prayers.

Indeed, the local newspaper, The Stamford Mercury,

even reports that "Victoria adopted the same spot

"on the left side nearest the altar that had been used by Elizabeth I

"when she visited Burghley three centuries earlier."

Wow!

The christening service took place on the second day and was taken by the Bishop of Peterborough.

For once, Albert was the centre of attention.

Now, if you believe the mother of the child Lady Sophia's account,

Albert is said to have sat at a table in the centre of the chapel.

If you believe Victoria's account, then her husband stood alongside her.

Who would dare argue with the Queen's version of events?

Lady Sophia also noted that the holy ceremony wasn't without the odd blunder.

"The Bishop of Peterborough seemed lost without his spectacles

"and began the service before the baby was brought in,

"so he had to stop short and begin it all over again.

"The Bishop did not ask the name of the child."

So even though "the Bish" wasn't on top form,

our diarist, Sophia Cecil, did not miss a trick.

Both the Victorias, Queen and baby, were dressed in white

and it's said that Albert gave his godchild a gold cup.

The Queen herself continues, "We then returned to our rooms

"from the windows of which we saw some very pretty fireworks

"and there we played on the piano till dinner."

'After the ceremony, I expect there would have been some refreshments

'and that's what I've been promised by Rosemary who is serving up some Victorian party food.' Ah, Rosemary!

'She hinted earlier something about biscuits.'

Stay in the ante-chapel. Servants aren't allowed in there.

You mean there are two Gods? One for the toffs and one for the servants? I don't approve of that one.

It's always been thus! What are these two brown jobs here?

This is gingerbread, not gingerbread as you know it today.

It is "penny a gingerbread". That would cost you one penny and it's street food.

-Would you like a piece?

-I'd love a piece.

My olfactory passage is telling me that there's quite an odour from this. Can I have quite a big bit?

-No.

-What do you mean, "no"?

-Start off with that.

-You're such a meanie.

-No, seriously, it smells very, very intensely.

-Lots of ginger in there.

But also it's quite cakey.

-Hmm!

-Hmm!

Orange comes through.

-I think it's rather fun.

-I'm surprised they don't make such things today.

-I think you should go into business making these things. It's delicious.

-Absolutely lovely.

You've done terribly well with this. It's fantastic. Your biscuits won't last for ever.

But you have a look at this thing that I found upstairs that has lasted from 1844.

-So what do you make about that?

-It's a child's spade for digging into sand.

-Bucket and spade stuff.

-Bucket and spade stuff, yes.

-Queen Victoria planted those great oak trees in 1844.

-Beautiful.

She was given a solid silver spade to do it with.

It was too heavy for her, so they gave her this little child's toy spade

which is made of beech.

At the top, there's some very indistinct pen-and-ink writing on to the wood

that says this is the spade used by Victoria. The family have kept it and here it is.

-Isn't that a treasure?

-But it's really super that something as insignificant and valueless as this

has been treasured and survived since 1844.

We've had a wonderful day, haven't we?

Do you know what? It couldn't have been better.

'So Victoria and Albert came to Burghley for a christening, but there were many more to come.

'You're not wrong there. In her lifetime, Victoria had 50 godchildren

'and just to help her remember them, they were nearly all named Victor or Victoria.'

'Next time on Royal Upstairs Downstairs, we're at Hatfield House

'where Prince Albert gets handy with a gun.'

Double the bag of anybody else, he was machine-gunning them down.

'I encounter the most enormous record book.'

This is the biggest account book I have ever seen.

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2011

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