Weston Park is very much a living country house and the old servant’s quarters – far from being dowdy museum exhibits – still function to support the great house and its events, just as they did in the time of the 3rd Earl of Bradford.
Weston Park’s Curator, Gareth Williams, will be the guide on these fascinating journeys into the previously unseen working world of Weston. Visitors will be able to see what went on behind the green baize door, when the house was populated by a large team of servants who looked after the Bradford family and find out what goes on in the quarters today, with a view to making the house survive in the 21st century.
The Weston Park Foundation, which now runs Weston Park, is charged with the conservation of the house and collections, and so the tour will also give an insight into the work of the Foundation and a peep into the stores where remarkable reserve items from the collection are kept in stable environmental conditions.
“Weston is like an iceberg, with only its very tip normally on the public route when the house is open to the public. This really is a chance to see places that only the butler, steward or housekeeper would have seen”, comments Gareth, “since parts of the tour go around the old servant’s quarters, our visitors won’t see sterile rows of gleaming copper that never gets used, they will see the quarters in action – an essential part of operational Weston. We will though, be able to give access through these tours to some amazing treasures that are still in store. These range from an enormous eighteenth century ceiling painting to a pair of remarkable boulle cabinets which are awaiting restorative conservation”.
Tour routes will vary depending on the activities taking place in the House on each day, making each of these monthly tours a unique experience.
The guided tour will start at 12.00pm and lasts about an hour and may include some steps. The event costs £18 per person and includes the Tour, entrance to the House, Park and Gardens and Afternoon Tea in the Stables.
What the Butler Saw – Behind the Scenes Tour dates 2008:
Sunday 11th May
Sunday 15th June
Sunday 27th July
Sunday 10th August
For more information visit www.weston-park.com
