Ickworth Estate to star in Series 4 of BBC Two's Hidden Treasures of the National Trust
Ickworth Estate in Suffolk is to take centre stage as one of a handful of properties appearing in the upcoming new series of BBC Two’s Hidden Treasures programme as it returns for another look behind the scenes at some of the country's most beautiful and historic houses.
Scheduled for 9pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer the programme will reveal new and compelling stories about the work going on behind the scenes of the National Trust to look after incredible objects and properties and the passionate staff and volunteers who care for them.
The Two Duchesses of Devonshire
Ickworth Estate will appear in episode two, alongside Attingham Park in Shropshire scheduled to air on Friday 22 May and will focus on a delicate watercolour and pastel portrait of Elizabeth Forster, known as Bess, daughter of the 4th Earl of Bristol and more commonly known as the Earl Bishop, and her friend Georgiana Cavendish.
Georgiana was the Duchess of Devonshire, married to 5th Duke of Devonshire and one of the most famous women of the 18th century. Their friendship sparked a sensational society scandal when Bess moved into the Devonshire household and began a purported relationship with both the duchess and her husband, the Duke of Devonshire.
What we know is that some form of approved ménage à trois developed. It was an era where it was common to have extramarital affairs, but even then, it was a society scandal!
Now, more than 240 years later, the artwork by artist John Downman, is badly stained and structurally unstable. Paper conservator Louise Drover carefully dismantles its delicate layers of paper, washing away centuries of discoloration and stabilising the image. The team hope the conservation might also uncover new clues about who commissioned the portrait known as ‘The Two Duchesses of Devonshire’ - and what it might tell us about this extraordinary relationship.
I can quite honestly say this was one of the most difficult items I've worked on in my entire career. The watercolour is on a fine tissue and during conservation the aim is to separate the tissue layer from the heavier support paper, but I discovered during the treatment that it wasn’t possible. It had not only lost all of its structural strength, but was also fractured in places, rendering it extremely fragile. The two had to be treated together, adding further risks.”
The Election Dresses
Also to feature in the episode are the two ‘Election Dresses’, worn by Lady Margorie and Lady Phyllis Hervey for the 1906 election in which their father Captain Frederick Hervey, later 4th Marquess of Bristol, stood and won the Bury St Edmunds seat. The distinctive party dresses, one pink one white, are believed to have been designed and hand-painted by the girls’ mother, Lady Theodora, 4th Marchioness of Bristol and are decorated with symbols representing the policies and ideologies that Frederick championed during his campaign.
We are incredibly excited that the series will showcase Ickworth Estate and items from the significant collections we care for here. Ickworth and its history offers more than just a traditional country house; it was, and remains a home of great art. It is wonderful that through BBC Two’s Hidden Treasures of the National Trust, we can shine a spotlight on the incredible collection and treasures amassed over several years by the Earl Bishop, and his family in the centuries afterwards.
The watercolour of The Two Duchesses of Devonshire, and the Election Dresses will be on display for visitors at Ickworth Estate daily between 11am – 3pm from 15 May until the end of July.
Read more about these collection items
The two Duchesses of Devonshire by John Downman, RA
Pastel on paper, The Two Duchesses of Devonshire: Lady Georgiana Spencer, Duchess of Devonshire (1757–1806) and Lady Elizabeth Christiana Hervey, later Duchess of Devonshire (Lady Elizabeth Foster) (1759–1824), by John Downman, RA (Ruabon, North Wales, 1750 – Wrexham 1824). 1785. Description: full-length portrait, very pale, the Duchess of Devonshire seated in a landscape in a long white dress, her hands folded on her lap; Lady Elizabeth Foster stands beside her at the right, wearing a pale blue dress and holding up a paper from which she is reading. A tree to the right, distant horizon on the left, with cloudy sky.
Explore the house at Ickworth Estate
Discover the house and the treasures collected by the flamboyant 4th Earl of Bristol at Ickworth Estate, a magnificent Italianate palace in the heart of Suffolk.
Hidden Treasures of the National Trust
Follow our conservators, curators and volunteers at work and get closer to the objects they care for in the BBC's Hidden Treasures of the National Trust.
