0:00:02 > 0:00:03500 years ago, in Tudor England,
0:00:03 > 0:00:07one man started what would have been one of England's greatest private houses.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11This is Layer Marney, welcome to the palace that never was.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15This is Climbing Great Buildings. Throughout this series,
0:00:15 > 0:00:20I'll be scaling our most iconic structures, from the Normans to the present day.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24I'll be revealing the buildings' secrets
0:00:24 > 0:00:30and telling the story of how British architecture and construction developed over a thousand years.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42The next step on my voyage through British architecture
0:00:42 > 0:00:46brings me here to Layer Marney near Colchester in Essex.
0:00:46 > 0:00:52Built around 1520 by Henry, 1st Lord Marney, who was a member of King Henry VIII's Privy Council,
0:00:52 > 0:00:58this Tudor skyscraper has earned its place on my architectural journey as one of the finest examples
0:00:58 > 0:01:02of innovative brickwork and terracotta design.
0:01:04 > 0:01:09Little did Lord Marney know that the crafts and techniques pioneered in this beautiful house
0:01:09 > 0:01:12would survive for the next 500 years.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18To be one of Henry VIII's select right hand men was
0:01:18 > 0:01:21to stand very close to the top of the Tudor social pyramid.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24Lord Marney needed a house that reflected that position,
0:01:24 > 0:01:27so I'll be scaling this beautiful building
0:01:27 > 0:01:30to understand how the Tudors pioneered architectural innovation
0:01:30 > 0:01:34and reflected themselves in spectacular ostentation.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39In order to reveal the secrets of this wonderful mansion,
0:01:39 > 0:01:45I've been given unprecedented access to get a perspective of the building never seen before.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50I'll be climbing 70ft up the tallest Tudor gatehouse in England.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52- Hey!- Get you!
0:01:52 > 0:01:54You learn something every day.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56Thank you, madam.
0:01:57 > 0:02:02Balancing precariously in mid-air to get a unique view of a 500-year-old timber roof.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10You are handling this like bread. And even having a go at making my own Tudor brick.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13Not too hard. Just let it drop gently into the mould. Lovely.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15But I won't be going it alone.
0:02:15 > 0:02:20I'll be joined by one of Britain's top climbers, Lucy Creamer, and a team of riggers.
0:02:20 > 0:02:26Along with intrepid cameraman, Ian Burton, who will be helping me on my Tudor quest.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42My first climb is going to take me inside this magnificent Tudor
0:02:42 > 0:02:45building, which these days is known as the Long Gallery.
0:02:45 > 0:02:51And like the rest of Layer Marney, it's built out of fine East Anglian brick.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56In the time of Henry and John Marney, this brick block used to be the stables.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00It could hold about 30 horses on the ground floor and, above them,
0:03:00 > 0:03:07was a floor providing an extra storey for bedrooms, may be stable boys and possibly even guests.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11It remained in use as a barn until 1910.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15Even today, there's a fine Tudor roof inside.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21As I enter the building, I can tell straight away this is no mock Tudor roof.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25This is the real thing, made by master craftsman of the 16th century.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30What's instantly recognisable is its size and traditional Tudor construction.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Up here we see these large, curved timber beams meeting at an apex
0:03:34 > 0:03:37to transfer the weight of the roof down to the walls.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41These individual frames are known as trusses.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43- I like it. - It's not that high, but it actually
0:03:43 > 0:03:48looks like you're going to get an unusual view of a historic roof.
0:03:48 > 0:03:49This is going to fun.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53Right, see you up there.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56By this time, developed traditions of structural timber work in a
0:03:56 > 0:04:01well-wooded England made master carpenters as essential as masons.
0:04:01 > 0:04:06But in order to see how these trusses were fitted, I need to get up high and have a good look.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08I love timber roofs, Luce.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10Yeah, I think I do as well.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13I love these curved bits in the roof, whatever they are.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15- Braces.- Oh, right, yeah.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17Are you a tree hugger?
0:04:17 > 0:04:20- Oh yeah.- Yeah, I'm a beam hugger.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25All the joints of the frame were expertly cut so they fitted to perfection.
0:04:25 > 0:04:31The Tudor carpenters were so precise they didn't have to join the wood together using nails.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33Instead they used wooden pegs.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38When you set these things out on the ground, you have to imagine this lying horizontally,
0:04:38 > 0:04:44the carpenters having cut them, fitted them together, checked it, measured it on the ground and said,
0:04:44 > 0:04:47"OK, right, that'll work. Now you can hoist it up."
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Imagine thinking, "Oh, actually, it doesn't fit.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53"Can you take this down again and trim it, Neville?"
0:04:53 > 0:04:57To make sure the pieces did fit correctly, the carpenters put marks on the beams.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01It was a bit like putting together Tudor flat pack furniture.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04- See just there?- Yeah.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07See, it's V and three Is - eight.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09And you should see the same number.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13- There's a three there.- Oh yeah.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16So the whole thing's labelled. It's like a kit.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20I want to get in amongst the rest of the beans and braces and have an
0:05:20 > 0:05:23even closer look, so the riggers have made a slack line for me.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27And it's definitely the wobbliest thing I've been on yet.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29Try and bend your knees a bit more and
0:05:29 > 0:05:33let all the kind of wobble go through your knees rather than your hips.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35- Yeah.- Yeah?
0:05:35 > 0:05:37I'm feeling a million dollars.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40- Feeling really balanced?- Yeah.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43Where I'm wobbling along now is where the extra floor would have been.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48It's incredible to think that, 500 years ago, after serving the Royal Court their feast, this is where the
0:05:48 > 0:05:54king's servants may have had their own fun and merriment before bedding down for the night.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59In Tudor times, a solid piece of timber like this was worth a considerable amount of money.
0:05:59 > 0:06:05And, like any good building material, it would be recycled and re-used again and again.
0:06:05 > 0:06:11As I take a closer look, I can see that history has literally been written on the beams.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15These bits of re-used wood, you can see there are notches
0:06:15 > 0:06:18where it's been used for a different thing in a previous life.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21- It could have been re-used two or three times.- Yeah.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24It could be going back to the Norman conquest or something.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27I love to see that. I love to see previous lives.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30It's almost like a genetic code of building that stretches way back.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33- Lovely.- Yeah, it is.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Check this out, these little dark marks.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42They show this has been taken from the inside of the house.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45- And the reason is because those dark marks...- Scorch marks.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50Scorch marks where people have lit torches so they can see what they're doing.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54And there's a little relic there of domestic history from the Middle Ages.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56That's really cool.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02As much as I'd like to stay up here and see living history on the beams,
0:07:02 > 0:07:06it's time to get on with exploring the rest of the house.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08Oh gosh!
0:07:10 > 0:07:17- Ready?- Yeah. And by the time I reach the bottom, I'm heartily relieved to be back on solid ground.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20I love you, floor.
0:07:20 > 0:07:21Lying.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Beautiful.
0:07:29 > 0:07:35I enjoyed that because wood always seems to bear the scars of its history.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39And actually, the more history it's had, the more interesting and rich it is.
0:07:39 > 0:07:46A rare chance to stand on that strap line and just have a look at the marks and the little scorches
0:07:46 > 0:07:48and figure out how,
0:07:48 > 0:07:53over 500 years ago, these what were once oak trees growing like
0:07:53 > 0:07:58weeds in East Anglia came to create something of real, lasting beauty.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05It's fantastic to see durable, solid timber in such good condition.
0:08:05 > 0:08:10But the main reason I've come to Layer Marney is to see what makes this house really special.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Today, brick is the commonest house-building material.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23We take it quite for granted.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27But in the early Tudor rage, fired clay was all the rage.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30To build a brick house was something quite special.
0:08:30 > 0:08:36100 miles away from here, the opulent palace at Hampton Court was being built with brick.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41The owner was Cardinal Wolsey, the all-powerful right hand man to Henry VIII.
0:08:41 > 0:08:46As a close member of the court, Lord Marney couldn't be seen to be behind the times.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49He also wanted to display his position and wealth,
0:08:49 > 0:08:55so he followed Wolsey's lead and constructed his very own statement house out of stylish brick.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03For my next climb, I want to get a closer look
0:09:03 > 0:09:08at a part of Layer Marney that best shows its marvellous brickwork.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10It's the eastern gable of the east range.
0:09:10 > 0:09:16It's part of what was the stable courtyard, and so it has things like bake houses and storage rooms in it.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18Practical, but no less lovely.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21The brickwork is lovely quality and you can just see from this angle
0:09:21 > 0:09:25crow step gables and moulded chimneys.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27I want to get up close to those and have a good look.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Let's do it, madam.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Of course, this wasn't the first time brick had ever been used.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40Originally, the Romans had built in brick, but the tradition had died out along with their empire.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44It wasn't used again in Britain in earnest for almost a thousand years.
0:09:44 > 0:09:52Until, that is, about 1440 when King Henry VI used brick for building places like Eton College.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Well, with a royal seal of approval, it could only become more fashionable.
0:09:56 > 0:10:02And by the time we arrive in the early years of the 16th century, especially in eastern England,
0:10:02 > 0:10:09an area devoid of good building stone, then you find a veritable industry of brick building.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12That in turn led to master bricklayers
0:10:12 > 0:10:17becoming established as rivals to master carpenters and master masons.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19The age of brick and truly arrived.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28Brilliant. Well done, Jonathan.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Very good.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33- I'm good.- OK.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39- Any one?- Yep. One will do.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Layer Marney's covered in this typical Tudor diaper work, these
0:10:45 > 0:10:52diagonal courses of darkened, glazed bricks which make fabulous patterns - zigzags, chevrons, just stripes.
0:10:52 > 0:10:58It's marvellous. There's real fizziness and variety everywhere.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01But the name's interesting because diaper comes from diamond.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04And you may think of American nappies being called diapers.
0:11:04 > 0:11:10That's the same word, too, because that absorbent, thick cloth was also woven in a diamond pattern.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22These delicate creatures are called crow steps.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26They seem to be an Netherland-ish inspiration.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29And I love the name, the idea that crows don't need to fly anywhere,
0:11:29 > 0:11:32they can just take it easy and hop from one section to the next.
0:11:32 > 0:11:37But it's a very decorative way to dress a gable end like this.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41But of course it also sheds water rather neatly.
0:11:41 > 0:11:46Just a few more steps and we've reached what I think is the most stunning part of the eastern gable,
0:11:46 > 0:11:50these glorious, spiral chimney stacks.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53To build these journeys was very expensive, so those that could
0:11:53 > 0:11:57afford them, like Lord Marney, wanted to draw attention to them.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02These fantastic spirals and embellishments are purely decorative,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05and so designed to display one's wealth to the neighbours.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16These bricks are very nicely made.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20I mean, you wonder what shape the mould must be to turn them out.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24These chimneys herald the luxury within a house of this size.
0:12:27 > 0:12:34But over the last 500 years, these exposed bricks have needed repair and replacement.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Amazingly, today we still use the techniques
0:12:36 > 0:12:41pioneered by Tudor craftsmen to maintain houses like Layer Marney.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43- Here we are.- Nicely done, sir.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46- Love to have a go if I can. - You're welcome.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51- OK, do I need sand on my hands?- Yes.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54- And then I pick this up. - Roll the mould, that's it.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Shake it all around so every surface is covered.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59- And then I pick up a chunk?- Yeah.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03Oh, that's like butter cream. It's delicious.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07Right, now, I cover this in... I knead it, essentially.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Yeah, just roll gently in the sand.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12Right, so I'm handling this like bread.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14So I whack it, do I?
0:13:14 > 0:13:19Not too hard. Just let it drop gently into the mould. Lovely.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22A bit of fall-out there. I'm going to use this stick, which is called a...
0:13:22 > 0:13:25- A strike.- A strike.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28- I cut it in the middle? - Yeah, and then just push it away.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33And now pull the rest back towards you and just catch the remaining bits with your hand.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37A little bit of sand on top just to stop the board sticking.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39OK.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42- Trepidation, Tony.- That's it.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46And you'll gradually see that release.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51That's lovely. So, then a little bit of sand on top and it won't stick to the board.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Now, if you get a board from your left there.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Place it on the top.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59And you just turn it right over.
0:14:00 > 0:14:07OK. And then opposite corners and it should come out.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Look at that, it's coming.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13- Oh, there we are.- Oh! - Yeah, that's OK.- Well...
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Not bad. Better than my one.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18Bit of a rough edge, but you know, happy with that.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20It'll do.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22How many of those could you turn out in a day?
0:14:22 > 0:14:28A good maker would probably produce 250 a day of this type of brick.
0:14:28 > 0:14:34One of the problems we have is that the better the maker gets, the more precise the brick comes.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36And there are a couple of year that,
0:14:36 > 0:14:39- are a little bit more precise. - They're beautiful.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43- That actually looks wrong when you see it on a Tudor chimney.- Oh, I see.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46- So my rough edges, actually, are much better.- Much better.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Lord Marney was intent on building a palatial residence fit not only for
0:14:55 > 0:14:59himself but also for King Henry VIII when he came to visit.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03The key feature of Layer Marney is the
0:15:03 > 0:15:07grand gate house, the entrance at which the king would have arrived.
0:15:07 > 0:15:13It's the tallest Tudor Gate house in England and, for my final climb, I want to get right to the top.
0:15:13 > 0:15:18- It's big, isn't it?- Yeah, it's good. - It's built like a brick gatehouse.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21But delicate with it. You see all these brick bits.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23- You can see that's about to fall off.- I know.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27So super light touch on this one. Look at you.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30- I'm going to try and steer clear. - You're tiny.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33And you've got soft footwear on. It's me with my clod hoppers.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36I've got to negotiate this with great aplomb.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38Yes. Shall we go?
0:15:42 > 0:15:46When Layer Marney was under construction in the 1520s, England was a relatively peaceful country.
0:15:46 > 0:15:52Noblemen no longer needed to build stone castles to protect themselves from attack.
0:15:52 > 0:15:57Now members of the Royal Court, like Lord Marney, wanted to build themselves luxurious
0:15:57 > 0:16:04homes yet maintain the appearance of grand castles, as that conveyed a message of strength and status.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08This huge gate house says several things about the Marneys who built it.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10It looks a bit like a castle gate house.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13It's got big turrets across the top.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19But if you're going to invade, all you need to do is knock
0:16:19 > 0:16:21a hole in the window and you're in.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25So, it's got something about the Tudor age which uses
0:16:25 > 0:16:31the language of where you've been but then hints to the future, because this is a novelty.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35Glass is something which is shown off in the Tudor age because it's expensive to produce.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37It's the new technology.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40You're saying goodbye to the Middle Ages and hello to the modern age.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43And it wants the best of both worlds.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57Lord Marney was intent on conveying grandeur and self-importance in the palace.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00His Tudor craftsmen used tricks of the building trade
0:17:00 > 0:17:03to make the house appear even more expensive than it was.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07Here's an interesting little spot on the second window up.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12There's this white crusty layer all the way round it, and it's plaster.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16You can see that there's the Tudor bricks and there are scrape marks where they have been cut.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19And then around those is this plaster work.
0:17:19 > 0:17:28And this is the way that some Tudor builders in stone-poor areas managed to disguise their brickwork
0:17:28 > 0:17:33and pretend that finely moulded things like windows were actually made from cut stone.
0:17:33 > 0:17:39I guess if people thought that you'd imported the stone, which is much more expensive,
0:17:39 > 0:17:44then you were really showing off.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46This should be a straightforward ascent,
0:17:46 > 0:17:50but every now and again I'm reminded that I'm still an amateur climber.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52Let's just stay off the building.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59LAUGHS: Are you getting this?
0:18:06 > 0:18:08Henry Marney used all the latest innovations
0:18:08 > 0:18:12when building his palace, even down to the Tudor arches.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Now, Luce, these windows...
0:18:18 > 0:18:23- Remember in the earlier Middle Ages we've been to, windows are pretty much like that, aren't they?- Yeah.
0:18:23 > 0:18:24The point is
0:18:24 > 0:18:26fairly consistent curve.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31Here you see they're sharper curves around the corner then they shallow out towards the top.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34- And so they're broader.- Yeah.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36And I want to just sketch out how they did that.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39So they worked out a way of doing it, did they?
0:18:39 > 0:18:42Yeah. Mein book, please.
0:18:42 > 0:18:43Your book.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50- There you go.- Now, by the time we get to the Tudor age, the
0:18:50 > 0:18:54arches that they inherited from the Middle Ages were called gothic arch.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56You go like that,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59and you go like that.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04And, hey ho, you've got a gothic arch.
0:19:04 > 0:19:11But the thing is this area here creates quite a height in itself.
0:19:11 > 0:19:18And so, to bring that down some way, you need to be able to have a smooth arch that goes lower.
0:19:18 > 0:19:23Is that just because they wanted to design something that looked different?
0:19:23 > 0:19:25Well, it's a good point. If you think about...
0:19:25 > 0:19:30Let's say, if you're looking at a consistent type of design that runs through windows, through fireplaces,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33through carriageways, you don't need the steepness.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38So you just need a bit of clearance with a structure that's strong enough to take the weight.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41So let's draw the sides of that arch in.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43You know, and if you've got a gatehouse like Layer Marney,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45perfectly big enough.
0:19:45 > 0:19:51If you start putting very tall, pointy arches on, then you compromise putting a storey in.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58By making the arches and windows flatter and broader, Lord Marney's builders
0:19:58 > 0:20:03were able to include so much glazing that it added a gloriously majestic
0:20:03 > 0:20:07appearance to the building, up to eight storeys high.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15I'm about halfway up the tower and want to take a look inside
0:20:15 > 0:20:18to find out a little bit about the interior of the gate house.
0:20:25 > 0:20:32And there's no better person to go to than the owner and resident of Layer Marney, Nick Charrington.
0:20:32 > 0:20:38This room is comfortably furnished now, but it was once the carriageway in the middle of the gate house.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40Exactly that. The carriageway at the bottom of the gate house.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43You'd have driven up to here.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47And, in fact, if you have a look here, we've got, just poking through
0:20:47 > 0:20:51the panelling, do you see, one, two, three enormous great hinges?
0:20:51 > 0:20:56And some of the older prints actually show it with great big oak doors.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01They would have been opened, the carriage would have come through and then, about here,
0:21:01 > 0:21:06there was a big arch that sprang up halfway through the deer's head and then came down about there.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08And then the same on the other side.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11So you'd have had fireplaces behind that.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Servants would have been there at the ready, so, as you turned up,
0:21:14 > 0:21:17they'd take your bags from you and the weekend began.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20I love the way you've been able to uncover hidden structure.
0:21:20 > 0:21:26To my mind, a gate house like this is a place where Tudor guests were typically lodged in some style.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30- Can I have a look?- Come on. Lead the way. we'll go up the tower and have a look.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43This is an original Tudor staircase and has all the typical features of
0:21:43 > 0:21:47its time - curving oak steps, cleverly pegged together,
0:21:47 > 0:21:54winding around a timber newel post, all encased in an octagonal turret of rich Tudor brick.
0:21:54 > 0:22:00It's tantalising to think that Lord Marney and his guests, including Henry VIII, would have climbed them.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Oh, a wonderfully large room this one, Nick.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09Yeah, this is sort of the top of the main apartments above the gate house.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13So you've got the principal window looking down to the south.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20So you've got the double-height space, you've got these lovely windows, big fireplace, I note.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23So do you think the Marneys might have lived here?
0:22:23 > 0:22:29I think so. I don't know whether Lord Marney was on the floor above Lady Marney, or vice versa.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33And then I imagine that, if they had more important guests to stay, such as, in 1522, you had
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Henry VIII himself actually came for a couple of nights.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40So they'd probably decamp from these main rooms off to the wing.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44It's wonderful to imagine these rooms being used by Lord and Lady
0:22:44 > 0:22:48Marney to entertain Henry VIII and his Royal Court.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52The king expected feasts and often danced well into the early hours of the morning.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00And now it's back to the climb. Given this building is almost
0:23:00 > 0:23:04500 years old, I've got to be careful not to damage the surface.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08So Lucy's going to teach me how to climb it carefully.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11So I'm standing on my jammer.
0:23:11 > 0:23:18- I'm going to push my jammer up and, as I stand up, I get the weight underneath my bum.- I like your style.
0:23:18 > 0:23:23- Stand up and then I just pull up, pull it through.- The ease!
0:23:23 > 0:23:25Watch this, now the torment.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Right. So, me foot's under me bum.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30- Yep.- There's my jammer.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32Weight goes on your foot.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34Hey! Get you!
0:23:34 > 0:23:37You learn something every day.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39Thank you, madam.
0:23:45 > 0:23:51When Layer Marney was being built, England was buzzing with new ideas of artistic innovation and style.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54The country's young and fashionable King was behind the
0:23:54 > 0:23:58arrival of exciting new influences from other countries such as Italy.
0:23:58 > 0:24:04His courtiers would both encourage and follow their stylish monarch.
0:24:04 > 0:24:11When Henry VIII, a young man aged 18, came to the throne in 1509, Henry became best friends for
0:24:11 > 0:24:14a while with the Pope, because they had a common enemy in the French.
0:24:14 > 0:24:20And so the Pope sent Henry gifts of gold and even Parmesan cheese.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23And Italian craftsmen arrived in England.
0:24:23 > 0:24:28Now, with them they brought a whole new raft of skills, Papally-approved things and, of course, they caught
0:24:28 > 0:24:35on like wildfire, especially under Cardinal Wolsey, the man who would be the Pope's mouthpiece in England.
0:24:35 > 0:24:41And so Hampton Court Palace by the banks of the Thames was covered in terracotta ornament.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45In the early 1500s, when Layer Marney was being built,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48northern Italy was remodelling itself in classical style.
0:24:48 > 0:24:54And these Renaissance builders were using terracotta, which is a refined clay, to decorate their work.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59Italian craftsmen brought magnificent terracotta, meaning "baked earth", to England.
0:24:59 > 0:25:04And it soon became the newest and most stylish material for great house building.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07Today we may only associate terracotta with flowerpots,
0:25:07 > 0:25:12but back in the 16th century, it made up some of the most beautiful designs of its time.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15It's used throughout Layer Marney and some of the most interesting
0:25:15 > 0:25:20examples are right up here on the gate house.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25This is fascinating. I'm looking at the terracotta of these giant windows.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30This is a very rare example of how the actual frame of
0:25:30 > 0:25:35the window, the terracotta work, is also expensively made.
0:25:35 > 0:25:43Your eye travels over these exquisite little mouldings that look like three-dimensional designs.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45Up you go to the top.
0:25:45 > 0:25:51Delightful, classical capital and then there's little putti with wings over the top of the whole thing.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55And if you imagine that this is the outside effect - brilliant shiny
0:25:55 > 0:25:59glass, beautiful terracotta, signs of the connoisseurship,
0:25:59 > 0:26:04the knowledge of classical Renaissance culture on the outside - what must be inside be like?
0:26:04 > 0:26:06What must you be expecting?
0:26:26 > 0:26:30After ascending almost 70ft, I'm approaching the end of my journey,
0:26:30 > 0:26:35and have reached the crowning example of terracotta work at the summit of the gate house.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41At the top, it feels like we're above the clouds.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47We can at last see the building in all of its fine detail.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50And this is really the climax, this parapet.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52You're met by eight slightly mad-looking dolphins.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55But of course, all of this is part of this
0:26:55 > 0:26:58adoption of Italian Renaissance ideas.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00It's a very English-looking gate house.
0:27:00 > 0:27:05It harks back to the Middle Ages and you can see there that band of English trefoil decoration.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09But the parts that matter really are these big scallop shell motifs.
0:27:09 > 0:27:14The dolphins going back to back with fruit and garlands.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17And then these classical strips of decoration.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20This is called an egg and dart. You'd find this in ancient Greece.
0:27:20 > 0:27:25And the guilloche moulding there, almost like overlapped esses, or circles with dots in the centre.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27They are beautifully cut.
0:27:27 > 0:27:32And the culmination of the whole thing is a box which has a knotted rope on it.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35But it's a marriage not and it shows an M and a C.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38It's Lord Marney and his wife, their initials, back to back.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41You can't see it, of course, from the ground level. It's too small.
0:27:41 > 0:27:46But maybe it's enough for them to know that their initials would grace
0:27:46 > 0:27:49the very top of this fabulous building of theirs.
0:27:55 > 0:28:01Tragically, in 1523, Lord Marney died before his grand house could ever be finished.
0:28:01 > 0:28:07Even so, this palatial jewel used ground-breaking innovations in architecture which helped to
0:28:07 > 0:28:12establish the tradition of brick building in our houses over the coming centuries.
0:28:12 > 0:28:18This itself is a lasting testament to Lord Marney and his great palace that never was.
0:28:23 > 0:28:27Next time, England's finest example of an Elizabethan house.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30The miracle in stone that is Burghley in Lincolnshire.