BBC One - Songs of Praise, Burghley House (01/09/2019)

this week I've come to discover the part faith place in what many regard as the finest Elizabethan home in all of England welcome to Burley house near Stanford in Lincolnshire and welcome to songs appraised [Music] coming up in today's program I discover how Christianity is woven through the history of burly house the nearer you got to the Royal chamber the more important you were Jose were to heaven exactly I meet writer Lord Julian Fellowes to discuss film and faith ahead of the Downton Abbey movie what is it the king and queen are coming to stay here we go and in North Lincolnshire 45 years on from the flicks for a chemical plant explosion Sean Fletcher meets a survivor who came to faith following the disaster I got a presence which I know was the presence of Jesus [Music] much of our music today comes from here Sint Maartens Church in Stamford which is about a mile and a half away from Burleigh house and the two have maintained close connections for centuries as I'll be finding out but we begin with a great hymn of praise and thanksgiving [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] in the north Chapel of st. Martin's Church is the tomb of the man who built Burleigh House William Cecil was born in Lincolnshire nearly 500 years ago and amassed great wealth and land as chief advisor to Queen Elizabeth the first he began to build Burleigh house in 1555 and today more than 16 generations later it remains the Cecil family home curator John culvahouse is here to show me around every room you go into just takes your breath away paintings paintings everywhere that's Burley you're not kidding how many do you know over 600 in the collection but thousands of other objects of course wonderful pieces of furniture and silver and porcelain you name it it's here tell me a bit about the man who has a vision this house was the Builder William Cecil was I think probably the greatest statesman Britain's ever known here an England for over 40 years for Queen Elizabeth the first this was his house really for the dynasty the family that he knew he was founding was he a man of faith at all he was a defence sitter right when he needed to be Catholic when Queen Mary came to the throne he was a quiet Catholic the moment Elizabeth came from the throne whoa I'm a Protestant after all anything to survive it exactly exactly his head stayed on his shoulders and this Chapel how is it being used over the ages it's always been a busy chapel I mean Queen Victoria and Prince Albert came here in 1844 and Prince Albert stood as sponsor to lady Victoria Cecil who was christened when they were staying here and there are wonderful stories of the christening of the bishop obviously had too much sherry before he started we've forgot the child's name and had to start again so it's been used as a family chapel very much since that's it and still today is used for family events it's very much a living Chapel art is everywhere in Burleigh house not just in picture frames Lucy Jones root takes me to one of the most spectacular features of this incredible building it's this staircase for real I've never seen anything like it I think this is how its hell at it extreme you see the Grim Reaper in the center and literally you would never ever want to come to hell this was painted by Antonia very oh he was a fiery Italian and he fell out with so many people he left here in 1697 the Earl had had enough of a very oh but he had this amazing gift why did they want to put hell on it on a staircase originally this was the main entrance to the staterooms so I suppose everyone visiting would be so intimidated and then they would go through to the next room which is heaven of course it is follow me this was his masterpiece and it took about 18 months to paint and it's all Greek mythology we're seeing Vulcan here he's discovered his wife Venus with Mars and of course all the gods and goddesses just up in arms it's just basically a story about this passionate affair that they have it shouldn't they be in hell they should be involved but actually well while all this is going on we've got an actual self portrait of Vario painting the scene which is really unusual the heaven room leads to a suite reserved exclusively for when royal visitors came to Burleigh so the nearer you got so they're all chamber the more important you were so say where to heaven exactly exactly our next hymn speaks of the hope of one day joining the choir of heaven in praise it was written by Charles Wesley and it's sang to the hymn to Stanford [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] in less than two weeks time what might well be the nation's favorite fictional country house comes to the big screen as Downton Abbey the movie is released I went to Brompton Oratory a beautiful Catholic Church in London to meet Downton's creator and writer Lord Julian Fellowes the orator has been part of my life since I was a child I mean this is actually the little oratory I used to be brought to mass at the oratory by my parents when I was a little boy and play trains with my rosary in order to keep me quiet and so I do feel that it's fabric has kind of embedded in me and you still go to church I still go to church and my son has been brought up a gothic I would like to believe more firmly than I do I always envied people like my wife or my stepmother who have that absolutely unfettered unbounded childlike faith I love that in people I never argue with it because I am bit what do you say that your faith informs your writing my belief that we are part of something larger than we are does at times inform my writing in Downton I hope we will see you know all our favorite characters tussling with their own a future and you know they have doubts but I think a lot of them are essentially good people trying to do their best you here for dinner my mind's a buffet well I'm not changed you just need to take off your hat you talk as if that were easy it's been exciting to make I mean you're looking in a film much more than in a series for some central event that will include everyone what is it the king and queen are coming to stay what welcome to Downton Abbey anyway I'd have to see the film of course I will can't wait now I've been told that one of your favorite hymns is I vow to thee my country I vow to thee my country it was written by a man called Cecil spring rice who was the British ambassador to Washington during the First World War he was overcome by the horror of the First World War and the terrible sacrifice and loss of life and at the same time he sort of addressed it by facing it and saying all we can do is our best and I think that remains a very potent instruction really you know all we can do is our best [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] among the many notable characters who have lived here in Burleigh house one who really stands out is the sixths Marquess of Exeter David Cecil known as Lord Burleigh in his younger days Lord Burleigh won a gold medal in the hurdles in the 1928 Olympic Games he was also the inspiration for the character played by Nigel Havers in the film Chariots of Fire well here now is Nigel to read a Bible passage that featured in the film he gives power to the weak to those who have no might he increases strength even the youth shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings like eagles they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint and now a modern worship song inspired by that berry passage [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Burleigh house sits right on the southern border of Lincolnshire but 45 years ago the north of the county witnessed one of the worst industrial accidents of recent decades when an enormous factory explosion killed 28 people the police believe that even this far from the scene of the explosion may no longer be safe Sean Fletcher has been to the village of Flik spre where it all happened there's nothing to see now of the large chemical plant that once stood here but the memory of what happened on the 1st of June 1974 can never be erased Jeremy jolly is a member of All Saints Church in flix pura where there's a small memorial to the people who died in the disaster the explosion was the largest in British peacetime history it affected buildings up to 20 miles away windows were broken that far away many of her relatives of the people who were injured and died come here to this church to look at the memorial and to sit here for a while [Music] John Irvin was a 22 year old technician working at the chemical plant that day the explosion left him permanently blind I don't know how to describe it the it was like the sky blow up and there was a huge tsunami of flame coming towards the building yeah I thought I've been injured on the top of my head and the blood was running down my forehead and over my eyes and when I rub my eyes like so I've got the sharp sensation and I realized that my eyes had actually been damaged totally blind John crawled across the site until he was too exhausted to go any further I sat down but really I felt I would die at that stage and then miraculously someone touched me and it was two men and they used the door off a building that had been blown off to carry me to the to the Riverside so did you have faith at the time of the accident no I'd always said I was an atheist but I would say why did God do that I hate God for doing that why did God save me and not my friends who died which of course is totally contradictory how can you be an atheist and yet blame God for all kinds of things so my faith came over quite a long period of does God have some kind of a purpose those are the presents one day I was writing a document on children with disabilities when I got a presence which I know or I believe was the presence of Jesus that was really overwhelming but it happened a few days later I went to church for the first time in quite a while so that was the trigger moment and of course whilst my own belief is rocked at times and I do still say when I hear things on the news where are you God you know why is this happening my belief in God is is firm [Music] oh don't be afraid I love you I'll save you [Music] good [Music] my god [Music] my shield and protect to the dog [Music] I will remember how you change [Music] so good [Music] [Applause] [Music] my god an angel from [Music] back at birley house i'm meeting tour guide and christian Robshaw if you look at the painting you can see there are birds who after nearly 30 years is still incredibly passionate about working in this stunning stately home I remember when I attended the very first Christmas party I was walking up this very Drive and the house was on the hill floodlit and as I walked towards it I thought well how on earth did I get this job and the other thought was Disney eat your heart out it's for real but when Rob and his family first moved to the area life was far from a fairy tale he arrived having dropped out of training for the Baptist ministry coming up here there was a tremendous sense of personal failure and shame and I thought you know you're virtually unemployable and then to get a job there I mean it's just extraordinary your looks say it all Wow I mean I just can't believe it took about a Rob shap job it was just wonderful and it only has to be him I know that you're a man of faith now but it wasn't always Lee oh is the way was it no it most certainly wasn't I mean I was brought up to go to church but in the end I became convinced that the grown-ups were pretending they can't have been a God and so when my mother said you don't have to come to church anymore I was so relieved and I didn't go for some years so what brought you back to faith in well I fell in love with the girl who was a practicing Christian she just so happened to be by headmasters daughter he was not overly impressed with that but it was pretty clear that although I was potty about her there was no way that our relationship could in any way develop unless I began to take seriously her own faith and so reluctantly I went along to her church not imagining that actually in the end I would ever become a Christian and in the end two years down the line I did come to faith and Rob married that girl and he and Sally are about to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary but eight years ago their lives were rocked when Rob was diagnosed with cancer it took a long period of intense treatments before he could return to Burleigh the thing is it's scary when you know that you have life threatening cancer and the thing about the Christian faith is that it says yes we all have to die but on the other hand beyond this world there is another world life in this world wonderful though it was for me is not all that there is and in all sorts of ways over the two-year period that I was actually suffering from cancer and receiving medical treatment the Christian faith and by the way the Christian community and the community here were a terrific support is there a hymn that resonates most with you I think particularly as I think back over my life certainly the wonderful hymn oh love that will not let me go I had some tough times in my life but the hymn writer said I traced the rainbow through the rain and feel the promise is not vain that Lorne shall tearless be an oak cross that lifted up my head I dare not ask to fly from thee [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] next week Katherine Jenkins visits the majestic some Paul's Cathedral to learn about heavenly designs and Josie Darby meets Christian artists expressing their faith in creative ways and if you love singing there's still time to join us for our recording of the UK's favorite hymns as voted for by you it's in Leicester on the 11th of September and to buy tickets please call zero one one six two double three three triple one or visit our website for more details [Music] what a view from the rooftop of Burleigh house you know it's been wonderful to explore this spectacular home and also to meet those preserving its treasures and stories for future generations we're going to end in Stanford with a hymn that reminds us that all Earth's proud empires shall one day pass away that God's kingdom will remain until next time bye-bye [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Choirs on TV

Views: 66,468

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Id: Oj-peLrD_-g

Length: 34min 30sec (2070 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 08 2019