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A la Ronde: A Hidden Treasure

Reading the last will and testament of Mary Parminter | A la Ronde
Project Manager Emma reads the last will and testament of Mary Parminter while being filmed for BBC’s Hidden Treasures. | © ©National Trust Images/Paul Harris

A la Ronde featured in the BBC series ‘Hidden Treasures of the National Trust’ (series 2, episode 1). A la Ronde takes a starring role in the first episode, focused on houses belonging to people who created unusual homes, and who refused to live according to the conventions of their time. Jane and Mary Parminter sit firmly in this category. The episode follows the conservation work that took place from 2023 to 2024 in A la Ronde's Shell Gallery and Grotto Staircase. It also looks at A la Ronde's unusual history and the women who created it. Each step of the journey was documented by the BBC Two team, offering a rare insight into the significant and fascinating conservation work. The episode was first transmitted on 10th May 2024, and can be watched again on BBC iPlayer.

A la Ronde has an unconventional heritage.

When Mary Parminter died in 1849, it was usual for houses to be inherited by male heirs and for property owned by men only. However, Mary rejected this, choosing instead to leave A la Ronde to only women when she died.

In her will, she specified the names of the women who should inherit the house after she had died. Her wishes were honoured in an almost unbroken line for over 200 years. Below, Project Manager Emma Mee examines Mary Parminter’s will, written on large sheets of vellum, while she is filmed for the BBC series.

The last will and testament of Mary Parminter | A la Ronde
Project Manager Emma examines the last will and testament of Mary Parminter written on vellum. | © ©National Trust Images/Paul Harris

BBC Two - Hidden Treasures of the National Trust, Series 2, Episode 1, "I find it really powerful"

This short clip from the episode shows Mary’s will being unwrapped and read aloud by Emma. She explains that you can hear Mary’s voice in this document, instructing A la Ronde to be passed down to women, and to single, unmarried women specifically.

This clip demonstrates Mary’s legacy and her beliefs about empowering women.

National Trust staff and conservators in the Shell Gallery
Project Manager Emma, Conservator Rachel and House and Collections Officer Jane stand in the Shell Gallery being filmed in the Shell Gallery at A la Ronde. | © ©National Trust Images/Paul Harris

Although the 2023/2024 conservation work has helped to safeguard and protect the Shell Gallery and the Grotto Staircase, in order to ensure the narrow spaces continue to survive they can no longer bear the impact of visitors. Now, only specialist conservators are permitted access, for maintenance and condition-checking. The film crew were allowed special access to the gallery while the conservation work took place, to give viewers a rare insight into the space. Emma, Rachel and Jane can be seen above being filmed.

BBC Two - Hidden Treasures of the National Trust, Series 2, Episode 1, "There's nothing quite like it"

This short clip from the Hidden Treasures episode shows Conservator Rachel unpacking the many shells and other items that had fallen from the walls over many, many years of wear. Rachel and her team were tasked with the huge jigsaw puzzle of returning the shells, crystals, pinecones, ceramics, and other materials to their original homes in the walls of the Shell Gallery.

Admiring the view of the Shell Gallery from the Octagon
National Trust staff and conservators admiring the view of the Shell Gallery from the Octagon during the filming of BBCs Hidden Treasures. | © ©National Trust Images/Paul Harris

Above the A la Ronde team gaze upwards from the Octagon to the Shell Gallery, while being filmed by director Sam for the BBC Hidden Treasures. In addition to the conservation work that took place in the Shell Gallery and Grotto Staircase, the walls of the Octagon were carefully hand-painted to match the original historic pattern. And in the last paragraph, please can you add "... the walls of the Octagon were carefully hand-painted to match the original historic pattern, and the Feather Frieze in the Drawing Room was cleaned, stabilised and conserved. You can learn more about the conservation work from our Regional Conservator Dan Cull here: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/devon/a-la-ronde/a-la-ronde-symposium---conserving-the-past-creating-the-future-a-summary-of-the-conservation-project-at-a-la-ronde"

The interior of the cabinet of curiosities in the Library at A la Ronde, Devon.
Exhibition
Exhibition

The Compendium 

The Compendium is a collection of stories to delight and surprise. You can explore all things A la Ronde here in one central place for the first time. We will be adding new stories for years to come.

A view of the Octagon at A la Ronde, Devon, from the Shell Gallery.
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Article

The Octagon 

Learn more about the Octagon at A la Ronde, its use and decoration.

A piece of silhouette art showing plan pots on stands, with a woman watering them. Others are reading or playing the harpsichord.
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Article

Meet the Parminters 

Jane and Mary Parminter decided to create an unconventional life for themselves at A la Ronde. So, who were these women and where did they come from?

The Shell Gallery at A la Ronde in Devon after conservation
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Article

Our Conservation Story: Conserving the past, creating the future 

Learn more about the conservation work undertaken at A la Ronde during the 'Conserving the Past, Creating the Future' project.