Putting a National Trust property to bed

Originally published in Surrey Life magazine November 2008

In this month’s National Trust column, Helen Webb, house manager at Clandon Park, near Guildford, gives us a fascinating insight into what goes on at the property during the winter months


While many National Trust gardens and estates remain open during the winter months, the houses themselves usually close to the public at some point. There are several reasons why they have to be ‘put to bed’, as it is known, not least because of the cold. These properties were simply not made to keep the heat in! 

Here at Clandon Park, it’s especially chilly because it was built in the style of Italian architect Andrea Palladio whose houses were designed to be cool in the Mediterranean sun. Visitors would have to come dressed in their hats, scarves, gloves and thermal underwear – in fact, our staff do! Jenny, our visitor services manager, admits to wearing her long johns, while Maggy, our housekeeping assistant, knits her own woolly hats for the winter clean! 

That’s the other reason we have to close of course – because the house team have to clean every piece of furniture, every ceramic, every inch of floor, every piece of fabric, every chandelier crystal and every conceivable nook and cranny. And with so many delicate items, you can imagine how long this process takes. It’s not your average spring clean! We also have to check everything for pests such as woodworm and carpet beetle. Afterwards, each object is covered in a cotton sheet to protect it.

Handy hints

Most of the cleaning techniques are fairly straightforward, especially with a little guidance from the National Trust Manual of Housekeeping – our bible. Mainly, you have to be careful how you handle things so as not to break them or affect their finish – for instance, acid in fingertips has a corrosive effect on metal. The team also use special vacuum cleaners, which are strapped around their waists, and brushes, made with pony or hog hair, to dust most objects. Some of the furniture is very precious and has to be hoovered through gauze to ensure that none of the threads get sucked up. 
  
We dust literally every inch of the houses, using scaffolding to get to the bits that are hard to reach. One year, I was standing on scaffolding in the Marble Hall dusting the statue of Apollo and I dropped my brush behind him; no matter what I did I couldn’t retrieve it and it’s been there ever since, hidden behind Apollo’s leg! 
 
Other jobs include cleaning all the ceramics. For this, we simply use water with a tiny amount of detergent, which is
applied using a kebab stick with a twist of cotton wool – a good tip to try at home, but remember not to touch any gold bits. 

Another good tip is to soak a cloth in a solution of vinegar and paraffin, let it dry and then buff your wooden floors with it. During the winter, all the wooden floors get a good going over with wax. 
  
The winter clean is not just a matter of making sure the house looks spotless; it’s a means of preserving it and the things in it for future generations (a really important part of our jobs). It’s also a really enjoyable time as it gives us a chance to really appreciate the beauty of it all. When we’ve finished, it’s a very satisfying feeling and the place literally gleams – but we always look forward to welcoming back the public and our volunteers in March. 
  
Of course, the house is not completely devoid of visitors over winter. We still do weddings up until Christmas and our carol concerts are always such popular occasions. Also, this year you can actually see the team in action and catch a glimpse of us ‘putting the house to bed’.

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For all the latest National Trust events in Surrey and to catch up with the Trust's columns, click here. Alternatively, to learn more about Clandon Park, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/clandonpark

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