The Story Of The Real Downtown Abbey | High Stakes At Highclere | Timeline

before now across at 200,000 22222 for at 300,000 and against you in front at 300 thousand Guineas paid for now at anymore on top or below a trick 320 Highclere Castle in Hampshire family seat of the Earl's of Carnarvon for more than 300 years pterosaurs auctions Newmarket a tense Lord Carnarvon is hoping for a top price for his prized fillies 400,000 pounds but a drop in the ocean to a man who needs to find a million pounds a year to run his house in the present market I think that's a good price know what happens are well pterosaurs in due course will send me some money and they'll go right the overdraft off thank you very much for coming down nobody with their own castle a 6,000 acre estate a loyal staff of 85 and a string of thoroughbred race horses could gracefully complain of want but in the 1990s those whose ancestors despised trade must learn the jargon of the marketplace assets must be managed profits maximized the men in suits not the Coronets call the shots Highclere an impressive Victorian Gothic pile is at the heart of Lord Carnarvon problems the castle was was built in 1840 it was the the third Earl who was over there with the castle painted behind him who was the Earl that commissioned Charles berry to design the castle at the time it was called Highclere house it was very beautiful Georgian house and Along Came the Victorians as only the Victorians could do and wanted something bigger and grander and they didn't want to call it high Clair house it had to be Highclere Castle which when you had to castellated so huge big central tower and and Charles Barry REE faced the entire Georgian house with bath stone and as he was also responsible for designing the house of parliament you can you can see the similarities as you drive up to the castle over time the bath stone crumbled so did the Family Fortunes in 1923 the estate passed into the hands of Hera's grandfather he should never been painted like this he looks frankly Stern doesn't he and he's painted in his army uniform but his was an amazing life as he described himself as the last of the Mohicans and he was then Edwardian era that they just lived life to the full life is one long party wine women and song and there were people and Highclere all the time and I think that generation just didn't really think about the future not all the money went on high living before that the fifth Earl bankrolled the search for Tutankhamun's treasure perhaps the fabled curse of the Egyptian King was visited on the family as the years rolled on a hammer horror atmosphere of neglect and ruin descended on the castle when the 6th Earl died the present Lord Carnarvon was left with huge debts and a castle much in need of repair when my grandfather in the last few years of his life as he began to get more and more aged than say the house died with him and the last few years would ghastly it was appalling and and you thought gosh I didn't really care what happens to the castle and then as soon as my parents took it over and put the love and the effort and the enthusiasm back into the house and so you know it began to come alive again [Music] Highclere has up to now been able to steer clear of the well-trodden path from ancestral home to heritage theme park the castle is open to the public only in the summer months hey what do you think this foe wish they were all said and not every visitor to the estate is expected to pay their five pounds and buy a souvenir pencil the Queen is a frequent visitor to the Highclere stables Lord Carnarvon is her Racing manager ride a Toro alongside a three year old never wait this is mr. Muir ma'am when she's got a very nice three-year-old with Chapel hi I'm long Sheikh Mohammed there's a good Walker this it's a cozy chummy world of privilege and class the sovereign have faithful Lord and several stout pairs of wellies tradition bonds the conovan family and their staff to as benevolent masters and loyal retainers rather than employers and employees but the castle is losing money on a grand scale and there's a feeling that this must change state quite jealously very well he he does in one respect I mean he's he's very protective of not just a family I think but but you know everyone who who works on the estate and he's always been like that and he's fiercely protective of the estate may be protective is better than possessive it's it's a worry about what will happen in the future that everyone who lives here on the estate as I say not just a family you know all of so many people's livelihoods are affected by by this place and there's a an incredible love of the place from from all of us [Music] Maureen Cummins has been with the family for 27 years she knows and has cleaned every nook and cranny of the castle the american-born wife of the present Lord Carnarvon came to hike here 40 years ago hers is a never-ending struggle against escalating the family's great hope for the coming flood season is Lake Coniston a four year old Colt bought for twenty thousand pounds and jointly owned by Lord Carnarvon and a syndicate headed by Harry look at this Jeff yeah you feel that action if the horse does well he'll win a few thousands in prize money but more importantly by the end of the season they may be able to sell him for perhaps as much as a hundred times their original outlay two million pounds then other resources a castle a park a loyal staff title tradition dignity and enthusiasm but in the Britain of the 90s can the connivance combine all these elements into a profit-making package and keep the flag flying [Music] Harry's wife chica runs a private catering business Highclere catering title opens doors team Prince Charles's old prep school is celebrating its 300th birthday with a dinner for more than 600 people chica and Harry with their friend Tim Howland a pitching for the catering contract the contract will be made far more lucrative if they can negotiate to supply wine as well as food after dinner do you want her to have I mean if the school are definite you're providing the wine are you yes definitely an aristocratic background means a foot in the door but makes the Arthur daily hard sell inappropriate softly softly champagne maybe coming with the wine I've arrived also still got some games you could mention that in your yes Harry and chica failed to clinch the champagne deal [Music] looks like the labors of Hercules on and off 20mm e 27th yeah I've done a good 25 years actually in the castle and I had a coupla years break when the Lord was rather seen on the 6 though then I came back again to work in the castle Robert Taylor the old Butler asked me to come back and help mrs. Reid the housekeeper so I was quite pleased because I missed the castle for a couple of years so oh yes it was entirely different what it is now I mean it was all more of an upstairs and downstairs type of thing it's it's the place is much more alive and used to what it should be and its capability to have widened to take full advantage of these capabilities Harry and chica are hosting their first medieval banquet with serving wenches minstrels and court jester it's to be an office outing 450 computer sales people from Basingstoke not an undertaking for the squeamish or inexperienced I wish there was a lot more days like this it certainly but these these are the days that really make a big difference for the castle and yeah that's what we've got to try and try and achieve hopefully over the next year or so getting more for more days which are as much turnover [Music] well many years ago used to be the I think but um he wouldn't have this wouldn't have been his for him at all no hi Claire was a was a family home and only for his friends and he loved entertaining gosh only if he probably knew if he'd known that you could have a banquet here that looked like this he probably would have had them all the time it's doubtful whether the sixth Earl knew many people from Basingstoke the firm is celebrating last year's turnover of sixty million pounds in the only way possible [Applause] [Music] [Music] they normally this noisy this is something I've never experienced a point where just isn't no it was something completely different yeah they do yeah I suppose that's what it was all about isn't it [Applause] [Applause] you just hear that's just me pretty sure this charity oh no I don't want to go back out there I already died what well there's rather a lot of food on the floor rather laugh which is squash grapes squash banana squash everything I'm kind of out to do the cleaning feel very rowdy as you can yeah I've had many offers tinnitus but what I'm doing my own now think if they weren't so drunk I might tell you we'll see you from afar [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] they're less much damage no just that little wine spillage and that's it problems I hope you think this might be a regular occurrence I don't know really it's not really suitable for this kind of place not this kind of effort knees must when the devil drives thrown something what is it but they say it looks like the bank had brought in a mere five thousand pounds and left everyone feeling there must be more dignified ways of paying for new curtains new market the opening day of the flat racing season when he bought lay Coniston Harry was risking other people's money on a hunch today like honest uns first outing he'll find out whether he has a winning thoroughbred or a pig in a poke the 12,000 pound prize is mayor oats and vets money lay Coniston must show well throughout the season if Harry's hunch is to be turned into the hoped-for Millions all nervous everybody a lot of anticipation first run of the year that's great but it's very infectious you know the nerves the travel runs all that all the owners always in the first race you just gotta hate what he's you know he's feels really tighten well and you know we think he is always a favorite whose favorite radio for he's favorite and he should be favorite on his form and and if things go well one likes to think this he should win but racing doesn't work like that [Music] have been bigger as they run down pathway that still be Machine Kills the right place for the far side of the club active double room at the inside well as business in the center party on out another group is people doing running out [Music] [Applause] boy [Applause] despite success on the racecourse it was clear that radical changes had to be made at Highclere a stately home country park and midieval banquet by is no place for amateurs however enthusiastic the connivance are bringing in a professional manager a man in a suit there will be Victor's and victims just wait and see how the land lies and hopefully we'll have him trained within a few months it's just one of these things you've just got to go with the flow basically I'm very adaptable it's just if I feel that he's doing anything major to affect things from the workings in the castle just put him right basically a clay pigeon shooting and the French is being held at the castle and the guns are out and for the staff the word is the new manager has just arrived and is going to be sweeping changes Adrien Wiley's first port of call is the castles guides I personally welcome everyone who manages to get to Highclere but literally we were told being consistent and where we open and how we open and I think that anybody who actually arrives on an open day must be congratulated things are going to change if I pretended to change for the better we're obviously looking towards based on last year's performance 25,000 I would be very disappointed if we can't make that 35 to 40,000 in the first year we have been a hundred and forty two hundred and sixty thousand this is a year at which 50 thousand of those are going to be doing around the house and that is my personal objective and an objective that you need to be aware of I think that I have a daughter married to a Frenchman I can't believe it I can't speak a word of the language for morning the housekeeper this is the first time she's had to take direct orders from anyone outside the conovan family what I want to do is remove anything that makes people's vision focus on the wrong things and therefore if there's something that's carpet that's worn or a book that's tatty and this is a particular book that has a relevance if we could actually remove that something that book is certainly something which right detracts from the overall experience I look there's views on the absolutely stunning absolutely stunning now I have learned morning that the temple up there is called heaven spin yes it's a following right okay there's baskets unless there's a struggle significance relevance which if one's doing a guided tour even I would have differently saying oh look is it ugly bathroom but that room you can see the Queen use door or whatever basic good ideas to come into practice well then we should have all benefit he's supposed to be putting me into a role of house manager well that'll work a lot I don't really know this video should change of tide like of which [Music] the sales side of life actually has been taking on a very sort of passive role everything is being done through the elbow network rather than a competent marketing strategy when they haven't had anybody who's single-handedly has just set his objectives have gone for it so it's the difference between employing the family to have a go at something that Gates actually can having someone who's totally accountable and responsible who quite clearly if he doesn't achieve when he sets out to achieve then you didn't hack him off which you actually can't do that cause Harry will be messed up save one sit right Harry whenever say that I'm cutting you off from the family because you haven't succeeded whereas quite clearly I'm in there my next in the news and if I don't produce the goods then they just merely boot me out and I think it's as simple as that talk to the guys about revising the guided I want to actually talk through with you the implications off that could you give us a bit of information on what I am now convinced that this is in fact the correct way forward and what I'd like to recommend therefore as we reverse the root so the arrivals story will be guests arriving in castle peace in the normal way and they will all travel off down to the back door which in fact would be in the visitor arrival area and then welcome to - into the downstairs area where they would of course the first thing they hit them is that wonderful smell of cooking and the team we would then go upstairs on a tour that would take perhaps three or four of the rooms out of commission the games yes they then go downstairs and then the products each step the visitors tape becomes better and better and better whereas before it was arriving to the front door stage with the tradesmen store and they're very rarely that each step becomes more and more that sounds very very interesting and well my idea for the press day focus is very much on on as you know press need motivating and the most wonderful opportunity I felt was available to us which would be if my lord you'd be agreeable to presenting yourself on a horse I just I think I think that a bit better be going beyond that be such a wonderful photo opportunity obviously apparently to just drop it in your lap usually but if it's if you felt it was quite a question that I'd work on something ladies day at will ask it [Applause] having one on its last two outings Harry's Horse Lake Coniston is going for his third win in a row at a top prize of 33,000 pounds I saw the classic races I think fun to win racism or Alaska is the is the ultimate hunting horse I think it's the biggest thrill of all but it's very nervous he's odds-on favorite today and I think in patent there's no such thing as a racing certainty we're all a bit nervous hopefully in your country whatever happens we pray it comes through the race in one piece the ground is a bit fast we went news that's an excuse yet I'd like to do the purpose of this meeting is to go through all the various events of actually comment back at Highclere there's only a month before the castle opens for the summer season adrian has assembled his newly created management team for the first time there are problems of communication and this then will become a ritual last year every month Matt's got me to bring everyone and especially it couldn't be better the last Wednesday because you're not open on Tuesday I think it's probably worth it because I think it'd be quite a useful opportunity Wednesday was so they're coming in specially the resort that we have anything to open up and go I take your point to something it's up to you well the only comment I have on the Wednesday is I've got to like a change ready for you unless you have any somewhere else keep it keep it with the cheese day it was a very clean that we use to communicate with each other the radio into into a system so that each of us can relate to each other very very quickly those lights together that I gather we have got a radio communication systems remember we have so the system that you have this is what I understood the speaking Lord Carnarvon that it was that it would provide the source of radio communication system that that did exist but this we can buy or acquire yes the moment it's not as I thought it was our property possibly require here the moment that's not out and it's not available to us and that in that particular circumstance right but one way or the other whether we buy this mystery piece of equipment or whether we don't buy this mystery piece of equipment there will be a radio communication system because although this year the game would need to be reasonably enough in terms of numbers in the future there will always be communications between the two because of in future all the events that we do put on we will be taking care for example at the car parking [Applause] I just feel fees and things I don't know it's very very close it's very very close it's just tonight on the line number seven so definitely it's a minor setback because it's too hot they won't be the problem but if it's cool they will leave one room Lord Carnarvon is up early from today the castle will be open to the public for three months and the crucial test of Adriane Wiley's new reforms professional yes I think he's done he's looked after Harwood and he's been in charge for a big Hospital and he's been in charge of a big hotel and his ideas are well worth trying and sure the signing is much better than it was before and we're going to hopefully people might leave their television get a bit of fresh air today and miss Wimbledon now one of the one of the things that we were going to do here yesterday again the last preparations was more than anything to create a bit of color in the courtyard because I think that is important and I was thinking more in terms of traditional hanging baskets which his lordship felt was really quite unacceptable that the apartment of faculty he hates hanging baskets that I was to be aware of that so within moments he disappeared would summon the van Leslie and the troops and we'd come back with his creation and my exams of course is the fact that it's here and the fact that we're going to leave it out here on the basis that absolutely nobody will dream of pinching anything so from my point of view looking at the bottom line it's the turnover that matters not the fact that one's gone through half the stock half of it which being nicked Leslie's failed me he's given me a long list of excuses he said the home office have given him strict instructions they're not appreciative given to anyone although quite clearly in the past we have used it for house opening he's fraught it with with with reasons why I can't be available for police radio links and so on and so forth so what were actually have agreed this is he's going to get rid of his radios and I'm gonna get a new set and that's where we are at the present but he's failed to give me the actual telephone number so that I can actually speak to the so-called people that he has he was issued with these radios but like everything else I took counsel from Albert who informs me that the radios really no good at all that they're about 100 years old and quite frankly fit for the dustbin so we shall then return the compliment by when he wants to use them for the shooting season if I say no I'm sorry these have been allocated on a strictly controlled basis [Music] yes they have the same motto and it's old Norman French a surfer dick means one only will I serve [Music] ageism 7 dresser [Music] [Applause] a serf that means one only will I serve now when the present he'll ask his father what does it mean he said so the servants know who's the bloody Bob [Music] yeah it's gone already all this has been left behind by people who've gone to do something else go and have tea around the garden they saw them when they arrived and they didn't want someone else to happen before they come back so they buy them first and leave them here in the cool yeah I mean for our first day we're very very pleased I suppose looking at what we've done today at various areas have sparkles but what we've got to do is get in place a system whereby if you looked at say for example the tea rooms today for all intensive purposes if you said to an and what do you think of the day great has been wonderful we've been working at capacity we've taken 520 pounds isn't that brilliant quite frankly no it isn't brilliant because it's taken a seven-star to do it it's taken us almost a capacity of working flat out figures that I have today are punitive and what we've got a gear ourself up for is next year in the future where quite frankly this will represent a tenth of the visitors that we are expecting to do the system therefore is not in place the team is therefore not in place and we're going to get a situation whereby you know another hundred people on today's performance quite frankly and it'd all be Keeling over and the entire staff will go off and sick leave will start developing back pains and and and and we will be back to back to square one [Music] besides looking after his estate the Earl of Carnarvon regularly sits in the House of Lords with over 600 other hereditary peers a 34 the three-and-a-half miles between tot hill and Newbridge is the only single carriageway between the south of Spain and Scott he has a long-standing commitment to transport and planning issues and is a supporter of the proposed extension of the a34 Newberry bypass which will run near Highclere not everyone approves I think one of the advantages that Lord Carnarvon has is that obviously his loyal and devoted staff will summons and he would have gamekeepers and literally villages with their pitchforks ready to do battle if necessary I don't a business that that will happen I think it is just an unnecessary anxiety but there are so many the lunatic fringe is more and more obvious now Friends of the earth have planned a protest against the road on the same afternoon as Adrian's first celebrity wedding he's taken extra precautions by closing the castle early and doubling security his next plan of action is to infiltrate the enemy right headed off for these stunts and it's just five minutes walk out that way well it's the swamp we're all forming a giant circle as a no entry sign with red card and we're going to get a visual and picture of that from a helicopter who are you with Carlton great hi we get the full know it [Music] [Applause] think about this afternoon there's been two of us here representing our delight and pleasure at the thought of the a34 the other general I don't know who where he's done but he seemed to me to be a very brave man the last words he said to me was come on then let's go and start making our protests and not bloody likely [Applause] [Music] milk under jailing routine a month into the season but all is not well and Collins and her tea room staffer unhappy Adrienne has cut their overtime it's completely different now whereas before I could go away and I could talk to she could put something to her I would think about it we discussed now you feel as though it's very difficult to make a decision for yourself you know you've got to go to Adrienne you know you've got to go in and sort things that although he's saying to me you are the manager and you are to do this you are to do that you are to get it to how it how you want it but you know there's always that feeling that he's fair [Music] now Adrienne wants to cut staff and is threatening to introduce self-service in place of the waitresses analysis which quite clearly has shown us that the amount of drinks we're selling is is absolutely marginal and what we're actually charging for drinks is a complete nutter nonsense again no system is in place so a pint of beer anywhere else in the Empire is costing one pound eighty to two pounds up at the north of course a lot full of pigeons we're only paying 150 but here we are highclere castle pints of bitter a pound what an excellent what an excellent opportunity that is fortunately we've done nothing to promote that we have a full licence and therefore very few people have actually taken up our our drink license one of the best outfits in the air you need on film you need people like that to say this is the best in the area this is what we've got is is unique which is wonderful the customers love it and they wants to take it all away from me which I find very very sad the family are also unhappy they're having second thoughts about the back door we are very worried about not editing the front of the house to the public when they arrive this seems to be a problem for us we don't like the idea of of the public not coming through the front door I mean hesitated canal and I feel strongly that we must go back to going through the front doors this is something unattractive about the house with the front door shut when people arrive when you have come to the castle you want to welcome I've been welcomed and there's no welcoming systems it doesn't it doesn't work obviously the welcome news system at the back door obviously I would I would like to persuade you otherwise if it is your wish then obviously that's something we will do but if I can in my defense there has been the occasional problem created simply by the fact that there are key odd members of staff who are still not supportive of the new system and they're just about to be weeded out the last must been a nightmare as much that what I'm supposed to be doing I haven't been able to do because of the recognition that I've come to recognizes that the staff given an instruction for example I've asked Albert to make sure that there is a man on visit reception until 6:00 of course it's a six he actually closes up visit reception and moves down to close the gate in the garden so that the deer don't ravage Lord Carnarvon beautiful secret garden in reality after a week of this I discover that oh and of course Colin likes to get home have his mint julep or what have you it's been a very taxing day for him and Albert sort of stepped in oh dear boy I'll do I'll do that for you leave it to me I'll close the gates and you know you buzz off as usual in many ways it's very charming but how the hell are you supposed to be created an effective efficient management team if in reality they do exactly what they want to do because they've always done it this way new market would you like up a hundred thousand pounds to the winner a flake Coniston triumphs the twenty thousand pound investment in him could be worth millions [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] what I wanted to do perhaps at this is to really have one final look at what we've actually achieved in terms of the tea rooms this year and I think that quite clearly you have at times been at capacity and we therefore need to be looking at what we're going to be doing that we can accommodate the 70,000 visitors that we're going to be having next year now from my point of view I don't think we can continue with the system that we are doing on the basis that we're having and your fault quite clearly share that the number of staff that there are on staff he's he's staff consuming I agree with that you do have to have the staff to be able to maintain a standard and not actually knowing how many people you are going to get in like if you've got a coach coming in you can actually staff or you've got three coaches coming in you can staff up to that but sometimes it's hit and miss whether you've got the right amount I think the point that I'm saying is you can't employ nine staff my opinion to do something that is unique that is that it is so different but again it's it's there is always an alternative that will work and be as equally as impressive to the visitors and at the end of the day that's the decision that we've we've we've had to sort of make and I think that these figures quite clearly showed the system at the present just simply apart from being very costly would just literally not work at all Highclere is closed for the season like Coniston has been sold for over 2 million pounds the next time the tearoom opens there will be self-service as family and castle a nudge towards profit in the next century it remains to be seen how many of the staff and how much of their loyalty will be going with them I think we have a staff here that are so wonderfully loyal to my my Mara my power and and I hope that the change is not going to be so dramatic that they're going to affect and too many people on the who are evolved with the castle I think that if Adrian can show in the next six months to a to a year can really show some dramatic changes as I'm sure he will then it will give them the the enthusiasm and the confidence to go on and to hopefully see in a couple of years time the castle having turned the corner and making a profit [Music] the most important thing and what will happen at Highclere Castle is it will become successful will be financially profitable and I think that's and everybody's interested in see anybody who doesn't have that philosophy wishing to be part of it and if it doesn't become successful I should probably go down to the lake and throw myself in you

Channel: Timeline - World History Documentaries

Views: 893,103

Keywords: Documentary Movies - Topic, Full Documentary, real, stories, Full length Documentaries, Channel 4 documentary, 2017 documentary, downton abbey, TV Shows - Topic, Documentary, history documentary, History, Documentaries, BBC documentary, Highclere Castle, documentary history

Id: GfbUJmY1baA

Length: 49min 47sec (2987 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 02 2017