BBC Series To Feature Sussex National Trust Site Tonight

A National Trust house in Sussex will feature on a brand new BBC2 programme at 9pm tonight (May 19).

Bateman’s, a 17th-century house in Burwash, East Sussex, will be one of the central stories in Hidden Treasures of the National Trust, shining a light on the often-hidden work of conservators and curators in the Trust to look after items in the its care.

With many objects still housed in the places they were made or bought for, they help to tell the stories of and reflect the national scale and importance of the many properties the Trust cares for.

Hidden Treasures of the National Trust follows the conservators and other experts at work, as they breathe new life into fragile objects, uncover hidden stories, and strive to keep the past alive.

The series introduces audiences to some of the volunteers and staff revealing their passion, dedication and affection for the places and collections they help to maintain.

Bateman’s, home of the writer Rudyard Kipling, will be one of the locations featuring in episode two, alongside Sissinghurst Castle Garden.

Viewers will get to go behind the scenes while staff at Bateman’s clean a set of maps which are at risk of being damaged by mildew. These maps of France tell a poignant story of the loss of Kipling’s only son John who went missing during the Battle of Loos in the First World War.

Siobhan Barratt, Regional Conservator said:

“It does make you look at them in a different light. I didn’t know that story until we were looking at the maps and the Collections and House Manager was telling me. Suddenly Kipling isn’t this author that wrote The Jungle Book and all these other stories – he’s a father looking for his lost son.”

“It’s really, really important that we have all these objects in our houses and I think the maps are a really good example of how they are the way in to tell the stories of the people who lived there.

"If they weren’t there the house wouldn’t be the same, it wouldn’t be the home of Kipling, it would be a Kipling Museum and that’s a very different thing.”

Alistair Pegg from BBC Arts said:

“Almost six million of us are members of the National Trust, but in this series, we wanted to offer viewers a chance to discover something that visitors don’t normally see – the efforts behind the scenes to care for the wonderful gardens, the houses and their treasures, that together tell a story about us all.”

Tarnya Cooper, Curatorial and Conservation Director for the National Trust said this about the series:

“We to look after over 500 places for the benefit of the nation, and trying to convey the scale of that responsibility, is not easy. However, this series beautifully brings to life the quantity and diversity of the objects and places in our care, and the incredible skills of our staff, volunteers, and the specialists we work with.

“We will be spending £360m on conservation projects across our buildings, collections and gardens over the next three years and viewers will be get a sense of the fact that on any one day we could be repairing a puppet from the Second World War, through to 2,000 year old Roman sculptures, and everything in between.”

Bateman’s is open every day 10am – 4.30pm and visitors will be able to see the set of maps on display (check the website for details before travelling)