We’re one of the places featured in series three of BBC Two’s Hidden Treasures of the National Trust.
The show goes behind the scenes to hear from the experts who look after treasured objects and works of art, including the Long Gallery ceiling in episode six. Watch the series every Friday at 9pm. Watch the series and find out more about the other places in the show here.
The project
For the first time in its 400-year history, one of Europe’s most spectacular historic ceilings, depicting dozens of Biblical scenes, birds, and mythical beasts, underwent full conservation and repair throughout 2024. Created for Lanhydrock’s former owner, John Robartes, between 1620-40, the ceiling is a masterpiece of Jacobean plasterwork, and thought to be the work of the Abbott family of Frithelstock near Bideford.
At 35 metres (116 feet) long, the barrel-vaulted ceiling of the Long Gallery at Lanhydrock took specialists from Cliveden Conservation months to clean dirt and discolouration accumulated over centuries and to carry out intricate repairs. Using sponges and brushes, the specialists used warm water to clean the ceiling, mould missing parts, including two unicorn horns, and reapply a layer of distemper.
Comprising 24 panels with scenes from the Old Testament Book of Genesis, including Adam and Eve, Noah and the Ark, the Life of Jacob, and David and Goliath, they are surrounded by more than 350 different species of animals, as well as intricately moulded plants and mythical beasts.
Visitors were able to climb a purpose-built scaffold to see the full length of the Long Gallery ceiling up close and watch the conservators at work. Work is now underway to return the Long Gallery to its usual state, ready to re-open in March 2025.
