The Stately Homes of Norfolk - Blickling Hall

[Music] whether you're looking for stunning gardens a family day out or dig into history or a lovely walk with a cup of tea afterwards this estate offers something for everyone blick Ling Hall certainly is one of the stately homes of Norfolk [Music] your first sight of this distinctly turreted red brick Jacobean mansion with its cherished you hedges either side of the expansive driveway is one you probably never forget with its beautiful gardens serene lake and 4,700 acre parkland blick Ling Hall is the jewel in the National Trust crown in Norfolk its family history is indeed varied with tales of Kings mistresses political intrigue and social ambition for four centuries the estate has been at the heart of this North Norfolk community from the Berlin family to the Royal Air Force in the Second World War and today I can discover the spirit of blick Ling and walk in the footsteps of lords and ladies of cooks butler's footmen and scullery maids all of whom have left their mark this is the first point that the visitors come to a blink it is this is the entrance hall to what would have been the Great Hall at one time when the house was built in the 17th century it's had some changes which probably will talk about later but this is the splendid area where everyone walks in and goes all my goodness what a lot to see in here one of the other things I'm really noticing it here is this magnificence it's an absolute jewel isn't it and predates the building itself it came in very early about 1802 and it was put into the house and as you can see it's absolutely magnificent does it tell a story obviously it's religious it's Nativity we've got the slaughter of the innocents the Annunciation we've got it's quite a story if it doesn't tell a story in itself the panels are individual but there are very very important pieces of works of art in the 18th century there was some development by the second oh that's right you've done your homework Chris and he basically redesigned the way the staircase welcomed everyone day well yes I mean the staircase wasn't here originally it was in the room actually behind the next wall over there it was a modest single staircase so the second dáil thought this isn't what I want for my visitors to see it's going to be an entrance hall of splendor we're going to have a double staircase more carving and say a more sort of enticing room for your visitors to come in and think my goodness this must be a wealthy man and here we have the gentleman that did the modifications the second Oh John Hobart looking towards his wonderful staircase and did he live here yes he did yes this was an important power base for John and his well he had two wives his second wife Caroline and we're going to look at probably more of his work upstairs later [Music] so jam what strikes you when you first come into the library is this more nade ceiling there's obviously a lot of history and pattern to it do tell me more absolutely it's based on Henry Peacham Minerva Brianna and it's full of emblems and devices and got a coat of arms and it's an incredible piece of work it's quite finely detailed and the the first part of it as you can see this doctrina and lady of learning a book on her lap with holding up her lamp which fits nicely as this is our this is our library yes and over on this side we've got Hercules yes Harry blindfolded and carrying the world two pillars there and you go along and you'd be talking with your guests your friends as you paraded through the long gallery of 123 feet and you discuss all these wonderful things on the ceiling the coat-of-arms there again it's got the bull in them that that is actually yes I've often seen here yes there are about 28 illustrations throughout the house either over a door case or on a ceiling it's the Hobart's achievements it's in there and it's it's really probably derived from the Berlin's who had the manor house previously and they probably kept it on but it's definitely a part of their their achievements now and their coats of arms it's absolutely everywhere also depicted in the ceiling we've got the five senses and we taste smell sight and so forth absolutely as you can see as you go along there's a lady with a glass there's someone with a flower you have to look quite quite closely at it but yes it's a wonderful story to tell as you walk along yes what struck me most if we could just wander over is this yes as you'd expect no well it isn't and it's actually I suppose it was a temporary fix by the 11th Marcus who was looking for a new fireplace after the removal of the John Hungerford pollen hooded stone fireplace it was huge so we've got this what is an artificial fireplace it looks like marble doesn't it yeah it isn't it's a wooden fireplace with very clever painting decorative scheme on it and the other thing I notice here is these two impressive fire dogs yes they're absolutely glorious aren't they John hung furred pollen again created the whole scheme in the fireplace with the lothian arms they're in the Sun and I just think they just stand so well here in this room I mean there's so many elements of John Hungerford yeah from the frieze yes the frieze is interested it is Crafts movement it is akin to William Morris and he was friends of the Lothians of the 8th Marquess and his wife and he came along at certain times of the end and did these decorative schemes incorporating as I say the work we have on the stained glass to try and pull the room together [Music] well it Chris so you know we were talking downstairs about the second URLs changes to his rooms well this is a complete change and a whole design to his own making and what a wonderful room it is isn't it completely different from the Jacobean ceilings what a glorious ceiling up here by William Wilkins - William I of his designs taking inspiration I think from Herculaneum and Pompeii lovely pink apricot the eye is immediately yes it's extraordinary chemistry yes peter the great on his horse at the Battle of petrova it's an immense tapestry I think it's about 21 foot of tapestry and it was a gift from Catherine the Great to the second Earl John Hobart after his two years of British ambassador and when you come back with a prize like that what do you do but make a room to fit it and here it is this was actually two or three small rooms and to fit that in he had to take the ceiling up completely and to knock through this was what we call a stately makeover and of course then to have the walls covered in silk and the the Hepplewhite chairs this is a statement room this is I have arrived the carpet the Axminster carpet was made for this room and what you're seeing now today is the arrangement that would have been kept at that time complete with portraits of absolutely him and her above the fireplace yes his wife Caroline Connolly his second wife and George second on his horse and as you say it is a statement room I have arrived yes this is who I am this is my wealth of my power my my position if this is this it the Hobart dynasty has started by Henry and certainly continued by John here [Music] it is very clear that there is much more to this beautiful estate than its famous Jacobi and house the estate covers almost 4,800 acres and visitors are encouraged to use the parkland there are several walks a couple of them under two miles amongst landscape that has little changed over the years with its red brick buildings narrow hedges and tree-lined lanes it's quintessentially Norfolk as you go wandering around the blick Lee estate and there are some fabulous walks that you can take you'll probably come across this lovely Victorian Orangery it's of course where they used to grow a lot of the citrus fruit and available now should you wish to hire it for your event or a wedding The Orangery developed as a building in the grounds of fashionable residences from the 17th to the 19th centuries the name reflecting the original use of the building as a place where citrus trees were often wintered every lord of the manor had one not only to show off their wealth and prosperity but also to show off their gardeners skills very much for around the gun yes yeah we're still in in autumn but we still got a bit of color in there we've got the Rebekah's and Helene iums and the dahlias as well still still some color left in the borders yes and this is I suppose its work that evolves over a 12-month period isn't it yes it's a continuous got all the preparation work in the winter time and then the planting out in the spring yes we've got a team of five full-time gardeners and a seasonal but we've also got a fantastic team of volunteers both garden guides and volunteers who work in the garden and we couldn't manage without them I mean we've got about 55 acres of gardens so there's a lot to do [Music] the parterre garden is the highlight of likley the herbaceous plants are quite spectacular throughout the summer it was designed by Nora Lindsay in the 1930s and she designed new gardens for old country houses and it really does blend in well with over 400 years of history of likly the whole team really care about the garden and as well as the parterre garden we've got the double borders which are in the style of Nora Lindsay and we plant out nearly 2,000 annuals and they recreate all the different color themes so you've got cool colors warm colors hot a white border and and a black garden so it really does all come together a painter's palette of color so whether you're looking for a stunning garden a family day out or dig into history or a lovely walk with a cup of tea at the end this estate is bursting with ways for everyone to enjoy themselves there's no doubt the blick link is one of the stately homes of Norfolk [Music]

Channel: Chris Bailey Presents

Views: 52,430

Rating: 4.9356437 out of 5

Keywords: Norfolk, National trust, Blickling, Aylsham, Boleyn

Id: yPv-gc5wwXY

Length: 12min 10sec (730 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 30 2019