The Victorian Aristocrat Who Was Exiled For His Sexuality | Historic Britain | Absolute History

this channel is part of the history hits Network [Music] pin picturesque Dorset lies one seriously elegant and eye-catching property a glorious country mansion that's seen more than its fair share of excess Scandal and adventure this is Kingston Lacy it was home to the royalist Banks family who built it after their nearby Home korf Castle was besieged and brutally destroyed in the English Civil War the family lived here for over 300 years after Sir John Banks acquired the estate in the 17th century but it was only when his great great great grandson William John Banks inherited the house in 1834 that things really started to get interesting William LED life of a well-to-do Dandy he adored travel and he loved to shop but the house was always his greatest passion no expense was spared as he decorated it in his own flamboyant style and filled it with weird and wonderful artifacts that he found on his adventures his extravagance was abruptly brought to a halt when a scandal engulfed him and he had to flee Britain to escape the death penalty but rumor has it used to sneak back to visit his beloved Kingston Lacy [Music] by exploring his grand house this is elaborate in the extreme laying bare the fascinating story of his adventures he went into Egypt and then into the Holy Land up into Greece back into Egypt he was all over the people yes absolutely discovering ancient Secrets hidden in plain sight we're looking at something that's approximately 2 000 years old Goodness Me shedding light on the Scandal that led to his banishment he was caught in Green Park in flagrante and uncovering clues in letters written on the Run nothing can be more unfortunate than the manner in which the saloon dado doors have been painted don't you love it I'll discover an incredible character who left an astounding imprint on the house he loved he was irrepressible wasn't he also tonight Oz Clarks at Corf Castle on the trail of William Banks battle-hardened ancestors how did she know how to defend her castle Alison Hammond gets Hands-On with Kingston Lacy's oldest residence enjoying it it wouldn't still be standing there if he wasn't and in an artistic scoop Joan Bakewell follows a Kingston Lacy painting that could just be a masterpiece it all begins to point towards Titian and his Studio closer and closer we're getting William John Banks inherited Kingston Lacy in 1834 an eccentric and creative man he spent much of his life traveling collecting art and mixing in High Society but he adored his ground house and was determined to make his Mark by transforming it to reflect his own extravagant tastes The National Trust Bernie King is letting me in on the secret inspiration behind his Grand Design the only the first thing that strikes you when you come in is this glorious fireplace he clearly wanted to make an impression on the visitor absolutely he moved the entrance hall from the side he dug down eight feet and created This Magnificent entrance out of what were the sellers he had visited Italy in the footsteps of his university friend Byron exactly and he fell in love with the place and he wanted to transform his family home into an italianate Palazzo I'm looking at these with Holly on the top absolutely intricately carved and molded he had a fine eye for detail and he knew what he wanted and above the fireplace a massive great coat of arms so it was about family too absolutely the first thing that you see when you came through the front door would be the Banks family coat of arms but if we go up up here I can show you something even better Williams relatives built Kingston Lacy in the 1660s their original Dorset bolt hole was Corf Castle but when royalists and parliamentarians went head-to-head during the English Civil War the banks is loyalty to the king left their old home in Ruins William devoted one quiet corner of the house to a celebration of this heroic chapter of his family's history oh my goodness look at that so this is William's welcome to my house and my family yeah what's he trying to say here well he was very proud of his ancestry so his ancestor Sir John Banks was the son of a Keswick Merchant is that him that's him there he was the Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and the attorney general not bad for a lad from Keswick history hit is like Netflix just for history fans with exclusive history documentaries covering some of the most famous people and events in history just for you whether you're looking to dive into life and crime in Victorian London or the Forgotten history that deserves to be heard history hit has a documentary for you just a click away we're committed to Bringing history fans award-winning documentaries and podcasts that you can't find anywhere else sign up now for a free trial and absolute history fans get 50 off their first three months just be sure to use the code absolute history at checkout in any other Clan John Banks his incredible rise would be the family's proudest achievement but he's always been overshadowed by The Fearless defender of their home korf Castle they were clearly royalists this family hence Charles the First on his throne above Goff castle that's correct yes so we've got a bit of History going on here this is presumably the storming of Koff Castle it is it's the siege of course castle and this is Sir John's wife Brave day Mary why brave because while Sir John was serving with the king in Oxford during the English Civil War she was bravely defending the family home at Corf Castle is that her that's her over there why is she got a key in her a very significant fact was that after the castle was taken they looted it but they allowed her to leave alive because she'd been so brave carrying the keys of Corf Castle but nothing in it nothing in it no she's got the keys but not the doors the keys survived to this day and are kept in the library here at Kingston Lacy and the ruins of the old home korf Castle have remained as a monument to the heroism of day Mary Oz Clark has traveled south of Kingston Lacey to What's Left of the castle to unlock the little-known story of its demise [Music] please come in have a look it's fabulous from the moment you arrive at Corf you immediately sense the mystery in these ruins historian Pam white is taking me back to the 17th century when what we see today was the Fortified country home of Sir John and Lady Mary Banks how did they come to a choir a castle like this lady Banks inherited some huge amounts of money and one of the places they'd obviously had their eye on for quite a while was called Castle as a country home but Mary's inheritance hadn't bought the mini old house this was a full bells and whistles medieval castle with all the fortifications a 17th century Aristocrat could wish for so if you weren't invited for dinner don't think you'd get in you would absolutely not no that wasn't here um this is our room quite luxurious there's a fireplace and down here you've got a cruciform loop for the crossbows but also if you have a look you've got a fantastic view of the action baby it's a medieval CCTV camera you can see 180 degrees out there yeah they bought it as a home it was the most beautiful home it just happened to be a castle but the defense is were going to come in handy very handy seven years after the bank's family bought Corf Castle the English Civil War broke out for nine years the Kings followers battled it out with the supporters of parliamentary rule commonly known as round heads the parliamentarian forces were quick to Target the royalist banks and in 1643 they arrived at the gates of korf so Castle's now under attack how do Sir John and Lady Mary go about defending themselves well Sir John is traveling with the king so lady Banks comes here on her own with two or three of her children some Maids gets into the castle and parliamentarian soldiers surround the castle so how did they go from such a lavish lifestyle to the fundamentals of defending their Castle you just pull up the drawbridge close the gate and that's it no one can get in 600 men outside the castle and over a hundred were either killed or injured lady Banks inside the castle had just had two men killed it's an incredible class it's absolutely incredible The Siege went on for 13 long weeks before royalist forces rode to the rescue but the parliamentarians hadn't given up two years later korff was attacked Again by then Mary's husband had died undeterred she held her own for 48 days how was this great Castle finally breached it was done by treachery the second Siege to 1646. Lady Banks had a traitor in the camp Colonel Pittman one of the Garrison here told the Garrison that he was going off to collect some reinforcements but he went to Weymouth a parliamentarian stronghold brought 120 round head soldiers just outside the castle they turned the coats inside out they got red coats with blue Linings the royalists in the castle have got blue coats so they creep up to the to a back door somebody says oh it's Colonel Pittman with all the reinforcements and of course looking as if the royalist sulfurs they all pile into the castle and that's how it was taken Brave day Mary left with her head held high the keys to the castle returned to her as she departed but after their hard-won Victory the round heads weren't about to take any chances and they blew up what remained of course and here it stands almost 400 years later as a reminder of an unlikely Civil War heroine she was a phenomenal woman she was absolutely loyal to her royalist ballester Catholic church and to her family I'm in Dorset home to the private Palace of the fabulously wealthy Banks family oh my goodness look at that the family moved here after their former seat coff Castle was destroyed by the parliamentarians in the English Civil War despite being stoutly defended by Brave Dame Mary Banks because she'd been so brave she was allowed to leave alive carrying only the keys to the castle wow that heroic Mary wasn't the only famous family member her globetrotting descendant William John Banks brought his sense of adventure to the house by transforming it into an italianate Palazzo oh my goodness this is elaborate in the extreme the trusts Alison sharp has offered to show me the tantalizing Clues to his personality that lie beneath all this opulence and nowhere is his love of Art and Adventure more obvious than in the extravagant room he created to house his Spanish paintings what an amazing thing to do it certainly is William John Banks made this room which he called the Golden room well you can see why I mean absolutely everything that isn't a painting is gilded it is yes and reflects the light beautifully no decorative detail escaped the attention of sharp eyed William Banks but few realized just how far he would go to get everything looking just right the ceiling he bought that actually on Bond Street but it came from Venice imagine going down Bond Street buying this most people buy shoes the walls are intriguing they appear to be leather that's right that was an idea he took from Venice in Venice they used it instead of cloth covering or wallpaper because of the damp was he regarded as a Next Century I think that people were very shocked by him he was a very charismatic flamboyant person he's got this wonderful taste and wonderful eye and was passionate about art for William decorating Kingston Lacy was more than an excuse to go on a shopping spree it was also an outlet for his own creativity and signs of his artistic influence are sprinkled throughout the house if you know where to look are there any examples in here of his art yes in fact there are the 12 door panels here which follow the months of the year amazing aren't they wonderful entrance to a room absolutely beautiful and he had them made in Venice so he made up the designs completely and then had Craftsmen there create the panels that's right yes he kept visiting the workshop again and again to make sure they did it right all that attention to detail paid off the 12 panels six golden for summer and six silver for winter now decorate the three doors in the room this is a man who was passionate about art absolutely he was very much in love with Spanish painting which was unusual at the time few other people actually thought much of Spanish painting not very fashionable no not at all no where did he get his inspiration from from his travels really he spent a long time from 1813 to 1820 overseas starting off in Spain where he was part of the Duke of Wellington's Camp that's where he acquired a lot of the art that's in this room and then he went on into Egypt and then back into the Holy Land up into Greece back into Egypt he was all over the place yes absolutely he had a real appetite for it he became almost a professional traveler other particular Treasures in here particular paintings that are especially valuable and important well yes I I think the Velasquez has to be the most wonderful picture in the room it is Velazquez was a 17th century Spanish painter his most celebrated work is Las meninas incredibly Banks thought he'd bought an early version of the painting experts now believe it was a copy made by Velasquez's son-in-law but this canvas is the genuine article it's a portrait of cardinal Camilo Masini who looks as though he enjoyed a few good meals and a few good glasses I think he did foreign isn't the only hedge Turner in the bank's collection one painting currently absent from the house is the Omnia vanitas many believe it's by the Italian master Titian but that have always been doubts about its Origins to unravel the mystery the canvas has been sent to the Hamilton Kerr Institute in Cambridgeshire Joan bakewells followed it there in the hope of finding a masterpiece petition or to give him his family name tiziano vicelli is one of the great masters of Venetian painting and today his work is worth millions of pounds but is the Kingston Lacy painting the real deal to get a picture of the painstaking work that goes into finding out I'm meeting Art Expert Rupert featherston it's very nice to meet you very nice to be here are you going to tell me all about this painting which looks at fast glance like a tissue do you have that reaction yes definitely and the point being about this that it does relate to so many other paintings that Titian is known to have done in the form of the woman and the way she's looking up and all sorts of things about the landscape sort of suggestion but there are so many imitators of his own day even in his own day there were definitely people working in his style what can you discover that I can't see with my rather poor eyesight in need of grasses just having a strong light you'll begin to see there's a lot of little damages these little Speckles little losses of paint there's a very big sort of funny patch here that looks like an old retouching you see it's sort of Milky look it doesn't really match I can see that until we've cleaned it we don't know if that's because of damage or whether it's because of repaint or whether it's exactly what it is so what's going to happen to this now what we would normally do is analyze and paint trying to see what's in it what's its what's its layer structure what's under the surface are there any alterations this is where we start doing the the technical analysis and the first thing we did was to take an infrared image and what infrared shows it shows there is a faint face now this is this is the blotch that which the blotch covers this area so that's interesting that was enough to wet up but could appetite you shouldn't have been using a an old canvas she did that a lot this seems to me that he's changing an existing picture he was a great reuser and a great reworker and he often created things as he went along and recreated and he didn't mind going over what he'd already done no because he knew how good he was I think so so that's what the infrared yes and the X-ray penetrates right through and hits any lead Rich paint lead white that you get in flesh or something like that right lo and behold we have a face in much more detail looks like he developed the face quite heavily and then covered it up extraordinary now there's another this is yeah I'm not at all sure about this this is where closer and closer we're getting yeah what we're interested in is this shape here this is a ghost in the machine it is and we're tantalized by that but it proves to us that it's an original work of art it's not a copy there are ideas changing change of subject matter it all begins to point towards Titian and his Studio rather than a follower in the 16th or 17th century even it's a wonderful narrative isn't it it is modern technology can throw up many intriguing Clues to the painting's origins but before more tests can be done thick layers of varnish and dirt have to be removed from the Omnia vanitas you know as I watch you do that through these lenses it does just look like lumps of dirt conservator Alice Tavares de Silva has the delicate job of restoring the canvas to its former glory coming in a little bit so if I take this off it's come blue it's completely see the sky passage is now emerging from under that very thick varnish which is now on the swap and are you going to give her a good clean absolutely she's going to be very pale and beautiful and the whole of the sheet will be very white white as that little area is already showing us it's very painstaking how long is this going to take you six months just because we have to assess different methods for different areas we're also going to investigate the the technique of the painting take samples do some research no stone is left unturned in this process as well as x-raying and cleaning the picture samples of paint are analyzed under the microscope Rupert and Alice are showing me how it works we've focused on that little bit of blue sky that you have already cleaned the best place to take samples from is the brown areas where paint has been lost so you would take away an infinitesimal small piece of that paint and what does it show you the idea is that if we can compare the layer structure the components of the ground with another painting which we know is by Titian that may give us some confirmation or otherwise as to whether it came from his Studio or not there's not one absolutely magic ingredient which you say oh must be a tissue but we found a more modern pigment in there for example Prussian Blue that would be a very bad sign so you take a sample what do you do with it well you get the tiny little piece of paint and I've got one here just to show you they are absolutely my new it's so tiny tiny it's like a germ it is and that tiny Speck when it's blown up and you get this sort of image where you can identify sometimes the actual pigments and that sort of information is very useful do not lose this exactly exactly or sneeze so is the painting a masterpiece or not well we'll just have to wait and see but if after months of analysis it turns out to be a Titian Kingston Lacey's best kept secret will finally be revealed [Music] Kingston Lacy in Dorset is one of Britain's most lavish houses this is elaborate in the extreme decorated by the flamboyantly creative William John banks in the 19th century the house is packed with art and inspiration picked up on his travels the walls appear to be leather that's right that was an idea he took from Venice riotously adventurous by 19th century standards nothing was too exotic for banks he roamed the Middle East and North Africa sometimes in secret disguised as a Bedouin tribesmen Gathering Treasures as he went on one trip he brought back the mother of all souvenirs a 22-foot relic of ancient Egypt nothing like it had ever been seen in Britain before the trusts Bernie King has taken me into the grounds to tell me the little known story of this unmissable Garden feature Bernie what is it well it's an Egyptian obelisk from the island of filet when William John saw it for the first time it was just lying on its side where it had fallen over why did he want it he was an obsessive compulsive collector and he really loved his uh egyptology and why wouldn't you want an obelisk in your back Garden wonderful so how on Earth did he get it back well it was a very tortuous Journey it took seven years he hired an Explorer called the Great Belzoni to bring it back when they got it to the jetty The Jetty collapsed and it sank to the bottom of the Nile William apparently turned away and walked away and disgust so they had to retrieve it from the Nile and of course in those days it was sailing ships so it was a it wasn't just a matter of loading it onto a cargo ship why is it so important it's got hieroglyphics up it what what do they say there's a mixture of ancient Greek and hieroglyph on there because of William's classical education he was able to decipher um Cleopatra and Ptolemy so if it says Cleopatra and it says Ptolemy what sort of age are we talking about for this Obelisk we're looking at something that's approximately 2 000 years old Goodness Me 16 years before William Banks found his Obelisk the Rosetta Stone had been discovered in Egypt the stone was special because it allowed experts to work out how the ancient Egyptian writing system worked it's famous as the key that unlocked the hieroglyphics code but the important part Banks and his Obelisk played has never been common knowledge how important was William in Joseph's understanding hieroglyphics oh absolutely vital there was a gentleman called champollion who was working on the Rosetta Stone and he knew of William's work and wanted to incorporate it into his own if it hadn't been for William they probably wouldn't have cracked the code as quickly as they did he obviously knew how precious the Obelisk was and was determined to have it when it finally got here William wanted to make a grand statement so he called in a favor from his friend the Duke of Wellington it must have caused quite a stone it arrived oh absolutely I mean it's not every day you get an Egyptian obelis came into Dorset and the Duke of Wellington coming to lay the foundation stone he actually lent them a gun Carriage that was used in the Battle of Waterloo to transport it from the docks and it took 19 horses to bring it here what a sight that must have been and here it sits endorse it as the most wonderful garden ornament you don't get any better than that you don't do you [Music] scholar Adventurer artist collector even for a 19th century Aristocrat William Banks was unusual but after years of exploration and Discovery Scott rock with his life hanging in the balance and the future of his beloved house under threat William was forced to make a heartbreaking decision bank's biographer Anne seba is at Kingston Lacy to tell me more so what was the Scandal well he was caught in compromising circumstances in Green Park in flagrante with a soldier and he was charged with indecent assault now indecent assault carried the death penalty now forget homosexuality in Victorian England was illegal he could have been hanged had this been William's first brush with the law he may have got away with it but a few years earlier he'd been caught with another Soldier this time his chances weren't good and he knew it so what did he do well he was not young enough to run away by the time the police caught him and in his desperate haste he gave a false name he said he was only Mr Harris a gardener but they thought impugning the profession I have to say him he thought that that would help him I must remember it actually I'm only a gardener get me off all kinds of things so what did he do well I didn't give him the false name and he was charged he was given bail and he did a runner persecuted for his sexuality Banks fled abroad to Italy leaving his beloved Kingston Lacy behind and spending the last 14 years of his life in Exile but it was far from being the end of his love affair with this house what did he do when he was in Exile well I wish I knew precisely because there was no address he was terrified of giving an address because he didn't want to incriminate his family but what is clear is that this period made him going into Exile forced him to collect for this house that he loved he sent ideas back in little bits of gilding and he hoped they'd fit here and there and all those details actually mattered to him during his long banishment Banks left Kingston Lacey in the care of his siblings but it seems probable that love for his house eventually overrode fear for his own life and ever the adventurer he returned to Kingston Lacy in Disguise at least that's the rumor how do you know them that he came back later on in his life I think there are a few letters which really make it clear that he couldn't bear any longer but everything he'd been so determined to have precisely so just wasn't quite happening so he thought I'm going to come back in those days arrest warrants couldn't be issued on Sundays rumor has it that Banks took advantage of this loophole traveling across the channel on an early morning Ferry and returning to France by midnight on Sunday but it's his hidden letters that give the most intriguing hints of those secret trips tiny tiny rice takes forever to translate it decipher this spidery brown handwriting but you can actually see from the letter he had so much to say so if you can follow me here nothing can be more unfortunate than the manner in which the saloon dado doors have been painted white in a cold aspect such as a North room has the worst effect possible I had particularly directed that only a washing distemper should have been given to the woodwork in that room this is a man who clearly had been here there's no way you could get that from somebody describing something well this is intricate I absolutely agree with you and you know he's so cross with his brother George so here's the critical phrase but what is worse than that it appeared to my eye that the plaster cornice round the saloon which was of course never intended to be painted but to remain pure white and gold had been picked out with the same abominable color don't you love it you saw it of course you definitely saw it his brothers must have dreaded the arrival of those demanding letters but they're not the only clue to his undercover visits I just love looking at these two niches just have a look there's a a cherub a mermaid candelabra at the top probably Banks found these separate pieces sent them all back told his Steward to put them together somehow and paint them all gold but it's not the statues that give the game away it's the marble wall behind them in Exile Banks picked up odds and ends of marble but never enough of one color to finish the job because there wasn't enough he wrote a letter to his Steward saying well just cut it more finely and in this letter he says do it how I showed you from the box that I showed you and that to me is real proof that he came back marble cutting's not the kind of thing you can learn from a letter so it does seem likely that Banks returned to teach his Steward how to do it risking his own life in the process he was irrepressible wasn't he couldn't stop thinking about this house he couldn't stop accruing this Legacy and it's a shame really that he seems just to be associated with sex and shopping by the late Victorian era Kingston Lacy was owned by his Grand nephew Walter Banks packing a house with art and putting an ancient monument in the garden is a hard act to follow but Walter still managed to make his mark presenter Alison Hammond is roaming the estate in search of the secrets of his four-legged Legacy now normally I like to interview celebrity humans but today I'm on the grounds of Kingston Lacy to meet some very famous cows water or Squire Banks as it was known introduced a herd of red North Devon cows to Kingston Lacy in the 1890s and their descendants are still chewing the cud today under the eye of the trust Nigel chalk they've got the most beautiful color haven't they I think that was what what was special to the bank's family Square Banks especially and he really got into the color and as you wander around the estate there's 100 odd cottages and they've all got what we call Banks is Red Doors Walter was so crazy about the cows they even ordered that the servants Livery should be changed to match them and that was just the start of his obsession I can't believe they've all got their own individual names and those names have been passed down that's unbelievable it is it is and it's really special you know it keeps that that link going like the one that's LED right down there looking towards us that is one called Vixen the 12th and you can trace the family of Vixen right back to the 1920s so they're all related yeah they are Walter son Ralph trust in the 1980s there was just one cow-sized catch Mr Banks was really firm in his will that the the herd was to stay and something The National Trust was more than happy to do they're as important as some of the pictures hanging on the wall from day one the Kingston Lacy cattle was scooping up prizes at livestock shows a winning streak that continues to this day but he missed game the stakes are high and good grooming is everything Stockman Mark yendel knows the beauty secrets that make this lot Stand Out hi Mark how you doing hello good thank you who's this then this is Prometheus he's a two-year-old Bull and in a minute we'll be giving them a bit of a pressure wash power wash and then we'll blow dry them afterwards you are joking no Cows and Bulls are treated to a full hour-long makeover before each competition is he enjoying it wouldn't still be standing there if he wasn't as well as being watched and blow-dried to their fluffy beds and getting into this they have their Hooves clipped before the final spruce up with hair gel oh look at that that's great you didn't say no to this kind of pampering myself Prometheus you are ready for the show Kingston lays his cows aren't the only reminder of Walter's time as Master of the estate he and his wife Henrietta made a massive impact on the gardens here she'd proudly show off the grounds to famous visitors like Edward VII and Thomas Hardy and one of her finest Creations the Japanese garden survives to this day but it was in the kitchen Garden where the Banks family spent the equivalent of 100 000 pounds growing fresh flowers fruit and vegetables to decorate the tables of their italianate palace Walter established the garden in the 1870s in the hope of keeping Kingston laces larders well stocked I'm meeting senior Gardener Steve candy to see if Walter's plan worked so how self-sufficient were the banks fellow when it came to grain fruit and veg incredibly self-sufficient when they were working this area the the total site was six acres in total so they would Supply the house here they had a house at studland and also the house in in London so it's applying three households absolutely and not just that it would also go to markets how much sort of cutting-edge technology did they use they wanted to utilize the latest technology you know whether that was the latest glass houses or Heating stately homes with state-of-the-art greenhouses weren't that unusual in the 19th century but the kitchen Garden here was in a different League did people come and take hints from Kingston Lacey Queen Victoria would send her gardeners down here too oh that's interesting absolutely um here in queue with the two places regarded as as the sort of Horticultural Paradise where people could learn and train Walter's wife Henrietta was determined that the kitchen Garden should also be a secret Oasis for the family and so she added Lawns a pond and even a summer house how much of what was here then is here now I noticed you've got greenhouses back there which look pretty much like 10 Century greenhouses to me an awful lot remains some has been lost but we do have obviously the Orchid House which is probably the crown of our Glass House range at the moment I started my life looking after Victorian glass houses these I have to seek absolutely well-off victorians and edwardians had a thing for growing exotic fruit in greenhouses but all kids were Henrietta Banks's real passion and although her purpose-built Orchid House has been restored its off limits to visitors for a large part of the Year oh what a show yeah they're really looking wonderful this year I'm very very envious of this lovely old-fashioned slatted lath shading outside plenty of ventilation with these dirty great iron bars that open up the vents at the back and this wouldn't have been the only Greenhouse by any means would it not at all and we're very lucky here in in the fact that we've got some fantastic plans you know pictures and designs that were originally drawn up for the family greenhouses were built here in the 1870s and again in 1907 at its peak the garden had eight glass houses amazingly they managed to grow grapes figs peaches pineapples and of course henrietta's beloved orchids they're a great status symbol weren't they the houses of the the Gentry and the nobility but they'll have gardeners it would take a pot like that are we going to do this I think so I haven't done this for a long time are you trusting me with this I'm trusting you with that that's a bit worrying actually just just because it's part of the original collection so no it doesn't I'm dividing up and repotting these orchids a vital job if the plants are to thrive because these orchids are tropical they're tricky to grow here but henrietta's gardeners had obviously hit upon the secret because they produced dozens of varieties it's amazing how many you can get it is and today the trust is reintroduced about 40 different types based on what was grown here in henrietta's time well that do you sir perfect how good were henrietta's gardeners I mean did she have a reputation Exquisite I think is the word you know they would show obviously at the local events and it got to a point actually where Henrietta had to withdraw from displaying her various vegetables and cut flowers just purely because she was winning so much [Music] thank you from Merchant sun to Civil War heroine to well-heeled edwardians the story of the Banks family has never been short on drama but the one name that will always be associated with their great house at Kingston Lacy is the irrepressible William John Banks William was certainly an eccentric and his lack of discretion very nearly cost him his life but he was also an adventurer a classical scholar an unaccomplished artist and his life's work here at Kingston lace it remains his Masterpiece for us all to enjoy [Music]

Channel: Absolute History

Views: 102,591

Keywords: Discrimination, English Heritage, Exiled for Sexuality, Flee the Country, Gay History, Historical Exile, LGBT Rights, LGBTQ Advocacy, LGBTQ Equality, LGBTQ Experiences, LGBTQ Icons, LGBTQ Injustice, LGBTQ Liberation, LGBTQ Perspective, LGBTQ Struggles, LGBTQ+ Equality, Rise and Fall of Aristocracy., Romantic Scandal, Same-Sex Love, Untold Histories

Id: IEdus-Twkno

Length: 39min 19sec (2359 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 09 2022