An Attic Tour

Ghastly weather all day today, B, H and I had planned a walk together, but changed our plans and went to NT Blickling Hall.  The highlight of the day was a Conservation/Housekeeping tour which included a tour of part of the attic.  The two guides work closely together in helping to preserve this historic house from the ravages of death watch beetles, mold, damp and other hazards from destroying the collection of books, paintings and other precious items in the house.
 
The guides are clearly are very proud of the work they do and as well as being knowledgeable and interesting, their passion and dedication was clear to see.  They took us to the restored attic room of the Cook who worked in the house in the 1930’s and despite being a generous size it was very simple, functional and almost stark.  In addition, it was very cold and she must have been glad of the fireplace there. My main blip is a collection of old watering cans that are being stored until they are needed next.
 
The guides also showed us a room where officers from nearby RAF Oulton were housed during WWII, again very basic, this room has been restored to show how it would have looked and contains many original items, including narrow iron-framed beds covered in rough military blankets.  The officers used to play cricket in the long attic corridor outside their room.  Ranks below officers were housed in Nissan huts in the grounds.
 
Finally, we were taken to Room E5 (which was much warmer as it was thermostatically controlled), see extra.  This is where many of the textiles and carpets not currently on display in the house are stored.  I would have loved to have had a rummage in some of the boxes!  They were all beautifully labelled and documented.  Nearby was a small servant ‘punishment’ room where any misbehaving servants were cast, often in the dark, locked in, sometimes for more than a day and for some seemingly minor incidents.  We were unable to see this room as access now involved climbing over the rooftop, but there was a photograph on the table showing some of the graffiti from the walls.
 
A thoroughly fascinating visit.