National Trust welcomes visitors back to its historic houses and collections in a Year of Treasures

National Trust houses and other properties in the South West will start to reopen their doors to visitors from 17 May following the Government’s easing of Covid restrictions. 

Staff and volunteers have been working hard behind the scenes to get properties ready to reopen safely with social distancing in place.

Some small properties or rooms which cannot accommodate social distancing will reopen later once Covid restrictions are lifted or when repair or redisplay work is completed.

Hilary McGrady, Director General, National Trust says, “This is a big moment that we have all looked forward to for months as we welcome people back safely, to spend time together at their favourite properties. 

“Hundreds of our parks, gardens and countryside locations have already reopened, but we know how much our members and supporters have been looking forward to returning to see our houses and collections again.

 “Our places are nothing without our visitors there to enjoy them and our staff and volunteers have been working hard behind the scenes, cleaning chandeliers, polishing floors and dusting books, to get everything ready. It is a matter of huge relief, pride and gratitude that the places in our care can start to reopen following closure due to the pandemic. Not a single place will be lost to the public. The cultural treasures that are our shared inheritance are waiting – for everyone.”

During the pandemic conservation work has continued in Trust’s houses across the South West, including;

• At Montacute House in Somerset where a portrait of William Phellps has been restored and cleaned.
• Dyrham Park in Gloucestershire will be redisplaying two rare 17^th century Flemish tapestries which have returned following specialist conservation.
• At Newark Park in Gloucestershire a stained-glass window on the stairs was removed for conservation at Holy Well Glass conservation studio in Wells and was replaced on the Monday that the country went into lockdown last March.
• At Cotehele in Cornwall the team erected scaffolding up in the Great Hall to allow the conservation team to get up high (even higher than the Christmas garland) to dust the rafters of the Great Hall ceiling.
• At Castle Drogo in Devon, visitors will be able to see the Castle back once again to normal following extensive conservation work to make the building watertight.
• Lanhydrock’s iconic main kitchen rooms have all been re-presented for the new season ahead designed to show the hustle and bustle of a country house kitchen

The reopening of houses also coincides with the Trust’s focus this year on its collections and the one million items it looks after, with many properties featuring in a new book celebrating 125 treasures in the charity’s care.

For example:

• A highlight at Stourhead in Wiltshire is its heavily decorated 16^th century Pope’s Cabinet. Following a year-long conservation project in 2006/7 Dudley Dodd and Simon Jervis wrote an epic volume about the cabinet which can be seen in the Cabinet Room.
• Visitors to Greenway in Devon, will be delighted to see that Humphrey the camel has returned. It was a gift to Agatha Christie, the bestselling crime author from her husband Max, and is one of the most important objects at Greenway.
• At Kingston Lacy in Dorset a life size bust of a commanding Roman male is on display, discovered in Alexandria in Egypt and brought to the property by Egyptologist William John Bankes for his collection.
• Buckland’s Rembrandt is safely back from his holidays (he enjoyed his Lockdown in Amsterdam) and he is back in the Georgian dining room at the property. The painting was on loan last year as part of a major exhibition at the Museum, De Lakenhal, Leiden, Netherlands
• At Knightshayes in Devon the Xanto plate which depicts a battle between the Romans and the Samnites will be on display in the morning room
• At Dunster in Somerset, the painted leather hangings are arguably the rarest and most important pieces in Dunster's collection. Telling the love story of Antony and Cleopatra, they are made of calfskin, embossed and painted to give a three-dimensional appearance.

Andy Beer, Director of Operations, National Trust says, “Our houses have been closed and treasured collections haven’t been seen for some time. But a lot of work has been going on behind the scenes. As a result of some of the changes we’ve had to make during the last year we have looked at new ways to present and share places and their individual stories, for example by introducing guided tours to bring them to life, as we have done for years with places like the Beatles’ houses and the Back to Backs. These tours will, we hope, give visitors a more in-depth experience and a personal welcome.”

Hilary McGrady concludes, “We could not reopen so many of our places or carry out essential conservation without the patience and support of our members, visitors, donors and government schemes throughout this pandemic. And we are enormously grateful to our volunteers for the roles they have played, and will be playing again, as they return to our properties.

“All the support we have received has made the difference to the National Trust being able to continue its work and ensure that our places remain here for everyone to enjoy.”

Entry arrangements for houses will vary so please check property web pages before visiting. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lists/indoor-days-out-in-the-south-wes