May 19, 2017

Five little challenges

A couple of weeks ago we visited Brodsworth Hall and I shared the garden with you. At the time I promised a return to take a look at the inside.  It's a fascinating place and I can't possibly do it justice in a single post, so I thought I'd approach it from a different angle. Let's take a look at the challenges of looking after a house of such an age and in such a dilapidated state. You'll be surprised how much it has in common with your own housekeeping - and how much is different.

Brodsworth has a unique way of pointing out the problems it faces in conserving the furniture and fabrics. Rather than making you squirm with tales of nastiness they have introduced wonderful, fluffy toy models of the pests living around the house. Like this "woolly bear", for example,which represents the larva of the carpet moth. As you can see from the photo within the photo - the real thing isn't quite so cute!



Let's face it, nobody enjoys dusting but leaving it in place in a historic house is not an option. Dust is not an innocuous substance that can be easily swept away with the wipe of a cloth. In fact, if it's been in place long enough its chemical properties change and it starts to stick. Meanwhile, those chemical changes can affect the object the dust lies on, damaging the surface. Cleaning is a careful process, because rough handling can cause more damage than the dust! You can see some of the tools they use in the photo.

Most of us, particularly those in older homes, have at some point suffered the arrival of the small, grey intruder Mus domesticus - the house mouse. They cause two sorts of damage - basically one from each end. Firstly, they gnaw. They'll eat their way through anything that poses a barrier for them. Their sharp teeth will go through most things and nothing is really safe. This includes cables, so there's an increased risk of fire. The other end, of course, produces some disgusting stuff. Did you know, for example, that mice pee constantly?  It's partly so they can tell where they are. When in doubt, follow the smelly trail home. But they also leave nasty little black packages. which aren't just dirty, they're corrosive.

One problem a large house faces is needing a lot of fireplaces. And a lot of fires means a lot of chimneys. But once the house starts to close down the chimneys aren't maintained and fall victim to bird nests.Then, when the nests are abandoned, the pests move in. One such is the golden spider beetle, and once it gets bored with nest material it is partial to wool, with ensuing damage to the house's carpets!

Then there's a problem you might not have expected. You might remember from the previous post that the last resident of the house, Sylvia Grant-Dalton, was fond of pets. You might also remember that we discussed the possible identity of Binkie Pippy, named on a headstone in the pet cemetery. Well, Binkie and Pippy were actually two animals, spaniels, and for a lot of their lives they were never allowed outside. So when English Heritage took over the house and began the programme of conservation they found a lot of 'evidence' of the dogs' presence. Dog urine is acidic, and there were many holes in curtains and carpets as well as extensive staining.

So, on that fragrant note, I suggest you drop by Tricky's FAST blog to see what more pleasant topics people have found this week!

10 comments:

  1. Thank you for this very informative post. I had once a male dog who could not constrain his pee during my working hours. It was a terrible time, that smell :(

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  2. How fascinating! I like the way they are showing how they keep all these threats under control, its probably a never ending process. The little furry creatures are a good idea to involve people with the types of pests they have to deal with and the corrosive nature of their droppings. I've really enjoyed reading about this side of the cleaning process:)

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  3. Fantastic post, I guess most of us don't think about the effort that goes in to maintaining these historic sites or the challenges they face. One of their other problems of course is limiting the damages that thousands of visitors cause!
    Thanks for joining in with us for Five on Friday, I hope you have a wonderful weekend :)

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  4. Wow...what an interesting post! One doesn't consider what goes into the upkeep, especially in an newly acquired historic house that was lived in! I have even worked in two historic houses years ago and never thought this much about these situations!

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  5. Great fun, what a good idea. Very creepy to imagine the fluffy toys being the actual pests though! Such a lot of hard work involved in looking after these properties.

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  6. What a really fun post! I have to admit I hadn't thought about all the things that 'invade' such spaces. It must take an awful lot of work to keep a place like that in shape.

    Thanks for sharing your Five on Friday!

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  7. English Heritage have found a creative way of giving visitors information about the maintenance of Brodsworth Hall. It must have taken a long time to get the building in good shape. The upkeep must be relentless, especially with the dusting and looking after the fabrics and other materials. I've made note of Brodsworth Hall as a place to visit and see for myself.

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  8. What a novel way of pointing out the problems - we have terrible problems with mice at the minute and just can't get rid of them - they're so cute they avoid the humane traps but we've got fed up with keeping food in the microwave, the fridge, the cupboards, even the oven, because if anything is left out, the wee blighters have gnawed through the packaging to get at whatever is there ... glad to know other more prestigious houses have the same problem. Great post

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  9. What an interesting way to highlight the upkeep and potential problems with the upkeep of the place.

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  10. Very interesting and not something we normally think about I suppose when visiting historic buildings. Now should I dust, or should I not! ha ha. Have a good week, Cathy.

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