Tyntesfield

200,000 visitors!

2011-11-29T15:41:00.005Z

What an amazing year - we've just clocked 200,000 visitors! The highest we've seen in one year and we're still counting!

This puts Tyntesfield in the top 5 most visited attractions in Bristol and in the top 10 in the West of England. Wow!

We surprised our 200,000th visitor Sheila Fox and her husband Richard from Portishead with a little gift of vouchers to spend in our shop. Lucky them! They then went off to have a nice stroll around a rather windswept estate.

Just a reminder, if you like this blog, don't forget you can keep up to date with more news on Tyntesfield’s Facebook site too.

Season's greetings!

2011-11-25T09:43:00.007Z

We've officially entered the festive season! The decs have gone up at Home Farm and it seems that cast iron cattle stalls, timber roofs and feeding troughs are perfect for hanging baubles and garlands on! We're kick starting our festive events this weekend with expert Sarah Pepper who is holding a series of workshops showing you how to make beautiful festive decorations. A few spaces are left so book now by calling 0844 249 1895. From then on it is a bountiful mix of festive treats... Father Christmas weekends, concerts in the chapel, kids craft sessions, lots of delicious seasonal food and, of course, we're open every day for wintery walks.

Our retail team have done us proud and the shop is looking amazing. Better than trudging around a packed high street! Check out the pics:

We're also pretty excited about our christmas tree delivery. Frenchay Forestry will be selling trees in Home Farm courtyard from the beginning of December. A perfect dayout - pop in for walk around the estate, some warming food and then pick up a fine specimen of a tree to take home.

Check out our website for more christmas inspiration !

We won!

2011-11-01T16:09:00.005Z

A big round of applause for our amazing orangery project team and our team mates at City of Bath College and Nimbus Conservation - we have just won the English Heritage Angel Award in the 'people's choice' category for our rescue of this great building. This means that lovely Telegraph Subscribers and English Heritage Members thought our project was the best - hooray! The team went off to a fancy awards ceremony yesterday to hear the good news and rub shoulders with a few celebrities. Well done team - we are all so very proud.

Our team with the judges and presenters.

See more about the winners on the Telegraph website.

The orangery project continues with a new intake of students and lots more work still to do. Tours of the orangery and hands on stone masonry taster sessions will be taking place so come and see progress. Call us on 01275 461900 for more information.

Pumpkins at the ready

2011-10-14T16:55:00.002+01:00

Our gardeners, the Brandon Trust and our lovely volunteers have been hard at work perfecting their legendary pumpkin display. Come and see the dislay in the kitchen garden and if you are real pumpkin fan why not come along to our pumpkin weekend on 22 and 23 October.

We're on the short list!

2011-09-22T16:43:00.005+01:00

Great news! The amazing rescue of Tyntesfield's Orangery has been short listed for a national award. The English Heritage 'Angel' Awards aim to recognise projects which have saved significant historic buildings at risk... just like our Orangery. We've been working in partnership with the City of Bath College to give students on their Architectural Stone Conservation course practical stone masonry skills as part of their training, working alongside specialists Nimbus Conservation to hone their skills.

City of Bath student gets 'on the job' experience

You can now get glimpses of how impressive the Orangery is.

The stone work has been beatifully restored

If you are English Heritage Member or Telegraph subscriber you can help vote for our project at the Telegraph subscribers website or the English Heritage website. Please help us win!

Free Wifi at Home Farm

2011-08-30T15:12:00.003+01:00

Take your office to the tea and cake! We now have free Wifi at the Cow Barn restaurant at Home Farm (when you purchase some food or drink). Settle yourself into an old cattle stall, grab a cuppa and catch up on a few e-mails, upload your great Tyntesfield photos or follow us on Facebook!

Dig deep for our kitchen garden

2011-08-05T11:02:00.004+01:00

We're in need of some help! We've just launched an appeal to help save our amazing kitchen garden and are trying to raise £290, 000 to carry out urgent repairs before winter sets in. Still in use it is one of the few Victorian kitchen gardens to have remained in continuous cultivation since its earliest formation in the 1830s. Complete with numerous glasshouses and potting sheds brimming with historic gardening paraphernalia, the practical but charming buildings have been home to over 100 years of estate gardeners. Fruit trees climb the red brick walls, and rows of vegetables and flowers thrive in this sheltered south facing spot in North Somerset, originally used to provide produce for four generation of the Gibbs family who made Tyntesfield their home.

When you get up close you can see the repairs needed

The walled garden is a beautiful, calm space which is still well used today

The cutting garden with gardener's workrooms in the background

Whilst the plants are thriving, sadly the vulnerable buildings are in serious disrepair and need urgent work. If you can help call our fundraising manager Charlotte on 01275 461908 or go to www.nationaltrust.org.uk/tyntesfieldappeal2011

Growing their own

2011-07-21T15:01:00.006+01:00

We've been celebrating with our local school, Wraxall Primary this week after another successful Countryside Guardianship project at Tytnesfield. Throughout the year they have been tending to their own veg plot in our kitchen garden under the watchful eye of our head gardeners. To celebrate the delights of home grown fruit and veg they cooked up a feast - our head chef Gile's helped them create some yummy pasties.

Planting runner beans...

Obviously the soil needs close examination!

Head Chef Giles and our Learning intern Jenny

Home Farm Frolic 10 June 7-10pm

2011-06-02T08:51:00.004+01:00

Woo hoo, 500 free tickets for the Home Farm Frolic, June 10 7-10pm are now available to book. Join us and celebrate our brand new visitor centre with live music from tip top chaps the The Hot Potato Syncopators, performances from the Natural Theatre Company and aerial silk displays! Book now on 0844 249 1895 or www.nationaltrust.org.uk/tyntesfield
The Hot Potato Syncopators comprise of ukulele, tea-chest bass and musical saw, comedy moments, stage theatricals, acts of ear and eye defying balancing, bangs bells hooters and pop guns.

Also, if you haven't 'liked' us on Facebook please do, our page has been live nearly a week now. Check out www.facebook.com/Tyntesfield

BioBlitz has begun...

2011-05-20T13:56:00.003+01:00

Take a look at the live BioBlitz blog, it's been updated continually and includes tons of great images and wildlife discoveries. Last species count...26!

Follow the action here www.bioblitzbristol.wordpress.com

Gearing up for Bristol BioBlitz 20-21 May

2011-05-13T18:15:00.006+01:00

From late night moth walks to early morning dawn chorus walks there's so much to see and do during Bristol BioBlitz 20-21 May (C) NTPL John Millar

A week today we'll be hosting Bristol BioBlitz and we can't wait! A BioBlitz is a race against the clock during which scientists, naturalists, students, members of the public, schools and community groups work together to find, identify and log as many different species as possible in a given location.

We're hoping to identify over 1,000 different species in just 30 hours and beat the tally achieved last year at Blaise Castle, where an army of 2,500 participants successfully logged 600 species.

Organisers Bristol Natural History Consortium (BNHC) are working us for the very first time and we'll be opening our 540 acre estate (including the gardens) to BioBlitz participants free of charge for the two days.

For further information visit www.bioblitzbristol.org

Spring has sprung…

2011-04-08T11:55:00.003+01:00

Our gardens are looking simply gorgeous in the spring sunshine. The tulips on the terraces are just starting to ‘pop’, daffodils seem to multiply by the day, our beautiful magnolia is sending swathes of delicious perfume through the arboretum and the hyacinths in the Lady Garden are the most unbelievable Delph blue colour…

Our picture-perfect flowering magnolia

Bright, bold and very fragrant hyacinths in the Lady Garden

and with fine and pleasantly warm weather predicted all weekend, we hope lots of visitors will enjoy a spring frolic in our gardens!

A blue plaque unveiled...

2011-03-15T09:58:00.003Z

We were delighted to be able to attend the official unveiling of a plaque commemorating one of the Trust’s co-founders at the Community of the Sisters of the Church, 82 Ashley Road, St Pauls last Friday.

The beautiful plaque was made by Mike Baker and features scenes from Rawnsley's life in Bristol and in the Lake District

Canon Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley (29 September 1851 - 28 May 1920) was an English clergyman, poet, writer of hymns and conservationist, and probably best known as one of the co-founders of the National Trust. As an Anglican vicar in the English Lake District for more than 30 years, he worked for the protection of the countryside, and secured the support of people of influence for his campaigns

His connection with Bristol lies in his early work when, in 1875 he was ordained as a deacon in the Church of England and became the first curate of Bristol’s Clifton College mission in the parish of St Barnabas, St Pauls.

He vividly described the area as he first saw it: “Muck-heaps and farm refuse, on which jerry builders had set up rows of houses, which periodically got flooded and sucked up fever and death from chill for the poor folk who lived there. No lamps. Streets only wadeable through. A few public-houses of the worst sort...”

After a few years, Rawnsley left Bristol for a life in the Lake District and champion of England’s natural countryside, coastline and historic buildings. In its obituary notice, The Times said of him, "It is no exaggeration to say - and it is much to say of anyone – that England would be a much duller and less healthy and happy country if he had not lived and worked."

Nicola gave a fantastic speech about Rawnsley's work in the Lakes and his role in setting up the National Trust

Bristol’s Lord Mayor, Colin Smith was joined by members of the local community and Nicola Watt from the National Trust’s South West regional committe of to unveil the plaque which commemorated Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley’s life and work.

Tyntesfield on the Big Screen

2011-03-08T15:15:00.003Z

We’re very excited that BBC Big Screen in Bristol are featuring the time lapse footage of the scaffolding being dismantled. Situated at Harbourside in Millennium Square, the Big Screen will play the film every day for the next couple of months…so if you’re in the city centre make sure you take a look!

Tyntesfield unwrapped

2011-02-28T09:16:00.007Z

An impressive sight will greet visitors today, the first day of the 2011 season as the house and chapel are finally scaffolding free!

GiraffePhotography captured this amazing photo of the house in the spring sunshine

Visitors will be able, at last, to admire the spectacular Gothic architecture of the house and chapel in all its glory. For over 18 months the roof has been hidden behind one of the largest temporary free standing roof structures in Europe, the size of 10 tennis courts while repairs and restoration work were taking place.

This is a still from the Time Lapse film, revealing the cocoon that shrouded the house and chapel

An incredible time lapse film (see http://www.vimeo.com/20461262) , mounted on its own scaffold has captured the dismantling of the scaffolding which took 14 weeks to remove. Taking a frame every 10 minutes between 7am and 6pm, 5 days a week the film has recorded the entire process of dismantling which saw the removal of 28 miles of scaffolding poles, 11 miles of scaffold planks and over 24,000 fittings.

Unwrapped, the fairytale-like turrets and pinnacles, chimneys and gables that make up the Tyntesfield skyline are revealed once more. Watertight and weatherproof the newly restored black and red tiles display the complex geometric pattern that had been unseen for generations; its bold colours a striking contrast to the mellow tones of the Bath stone of the house itself.

Rooms that had been stripped of their contents, covered in dust sheets or used as storage during the renovation works have been unwrapped, deep cleaned and reinstated. Objects that were carefully packed away and moved into storage by trained staff and specialists have returned.

Meghan Wilton, Acting House Manager explained:
“This colossal project has been a bit like moving house, but imagine a house with over 100 rooms and more than 40, 000 objects, ranging from Victorian cooking utensils and toys to rare and delicate pieces of furniture.

“It’s incredibly satisfying to see all the work complete as we begin to re-present the rooms, evoking the different ways all four generations of the Gibbs’ family used the house. The Main Hall, for example, with its chairs and jigsaw puzzles, recalls its time as a family living room in the 1890s, making it the perfect place to stop off and relax. I can’t wait to see the visitors’ reactions.”

Piano in mammoth move

2011-02-09T17:27:00.004Z

The team at the house have been very busy getting everything ready for opening on 28 February, not least last week when they moved a Broadwood baby grand piano.

In a complicated three hour marathon move the piano travelled from nursery up on the second floor down to the Hall on the ground floor, around several awkward corners and flights of stairs.

The piano is in need of restoration, and will be fully restored so that visitors can have a go at playing it- filling the house with music. As Meghan our house manager explains,

“One of the key objectives of the restoration of the piano is so that we will be able to let people play it again. It is in quite poor condition, the case and the mechanism both will need work to get it up to standard. So this year the proceeds from our raffle will be used to bring the house to life and will include the piano restoration as well as conservation of a grandfather clock and a rocking horse.”

We hope to get some images up soon...watch this space

Looking back: Christmas memories...

2011-01-07T15:27:00.016Z

Back in the office after New Year’s, we have been battling the January blues by gathering round the computer and looking over the Christmas photographs, remembering all the fun we had in December!

Where to start…I must say that the wreath making workshops were a particular highlight for me. First of all it was simply great to get out and gather all the foliage with the garden team. It was on that gloriously sunny but super cold day just before it snowed.

Bex the foliage fairy!

Job done! Lots of ruby red berries and gorgeous greenery

Making a wreath was a real challenge. I saw some beautiful ones made by our visitors, but under the super direction of craft queen and workshop organiser Sarah Pepper I managed to make something to be proud of too, and it travelled with me down to London for Christmas (though the prickly foliage didn’t prove popular with fellow train passengers).

Sarah, Sophie and I hard at work

Ta-da!

Of the Christmas Concerts in the chapel, I think my favourite moments have to be jingling my big bunch of keys along to the Bristol Cathedral Concert Choir singing Jingle Bells and watching The Owls of Pill in Victorian top hats and capes doing their warm up in front of all the families doing pottery painting in the Sawmill!

The Owls of Pill outside the Sawmill

It was so lovely to hear all the concerts in the chapel; it really was a joy to work them.

Portishead Choral Society in the chapel

Watching the stables transform into a Christmas haven at the hands of the flower arrangers has also got to get a mention. They worked wonders to make Father Christmas and his helpers feel at home!

Father Christmas in his grotto

And everyone enjoyed the live music in the stableyard and the Story Group’s bacon butties, hog roast rolls and hot mulled cider in the tipis! Especially after hunting around the grounds on the Christmas trail.

The Tranquillo duo keeping warm in the stableyard

Tipis in the morning sunshine

Getting the fire going inside the tipis in the morning

A big thank you to all who helped out and came in December.

Now, back to working on our fabulous programme of events for 2011. Keep watching this space for details.

Amy Underwood Thompson Visitor Services Assistant

Christmas weekend cancelled

2010-12-17T14:59:00.001Z

We are sorry to announce that due to the adverse weather conditions Tyntesfield will not be open this weekend. The whole estate will be closed and the following events have been cancelled:

Christmas concerts
Wells Cathedral Voluntary Choir 17 December 7pm - 8pm
Christmas concert with Bristol Male Voice Choir 18 December 3pm - 4pm
Christmas concert with Bristol Chamber Choir 19 December 3pm - 4pm

Father Christmas weekend 18-19 December 10am- 3pm

All ticket holders for the Christmas concerts will be contacted and will receive a full refund.

We’d like to thank everyone that attended our Christmas events earlier this month and look forward to welcoming everyone back in the New Year. Tyntesfield reopens on Monday 28 February.

A Christmas tipi

2010-12-15T11:06:00.006Z

We’re pretty sure it’s the first time we’ve had a tipi on the estate! It’s our last Christmas weekend this weekend, so it's the last chance to enjoy lovely festive treats in the cosy tipi- complete with a warming fire and disco ball. Thanks to our friends at the story visitors can enjoy lovely local, organic meats, including beef burgers made from cattle reared at nearby Leigh Woods.

Our tipi will be brimming with tasty treats this weekend

Father Christmas is popping by too, but you’ll have to find him on our Christmas trail that takes you through the beautiful gardens. He’s not in the Sawmill but that is where you’ll find our family pottery painting sessions. Nestled away in the woodland it’s the perfect Christmas hideaway.

Fingers crossed for another snowy scene at the sawmill this weekend

What’s more the Christmas sales have come early in our shop, so you’ll be able pick up some bargain gifts and stocking fillers.

A perfect winter day

2010-12-02T09:21:00.008Z

When the sun came out yesterday I couldn't resist grabbing the camera to capture Tyntesfield in all its glory.

With the scaffolding disappearing fast it looks like the house will be unwrapped in time for Christmas.

Golden leaves contrast with crisp white snow on the South Drive.

With a sprinkling of the white stuff the Rose Garden is an enchanting winter wonderland.

Winter wonderland

2010-11-26T16:45:00.003Z

Just a quick one- apparently it's the widest spread snowfall in 17 years...

Party on the Platform

2010-11-17T11:45:00.007Z

Drinking champagne isn’t often in my work diary, but last Wednesday afternoon I was on top of our Roof Viewing Platform, a glass of bubbly in hand. Alongside 15 of our fantastic team of Roof Viewing Platform volunteers I climbed up the tower for the final time, undaunted by the wind and rain we celebrated all the incredible roof work that has happened this season, said a fond farewell to the tower and toasted the start of a new scaffold-free passage in Tyntesfield’s history.

The rain not dampening everyone's spirits!

Cracking open the bubbly!

Thanks to the team’s hard work, the Roof Viewing Platform has been open all year, giving visitors the chance to see the repair work up close, admire the stunning views across the valley and get inside one of Europe’s biggest free standing scaffold structures. We’ve seen some awesome sights from the tower, not least in recent weeks the return of both the golden cockerel and the bell tower.

The golden cockerel back at his lofty perch

The return of the bell tower

The removal of the scaffolding is in full swing now and every day here is so exciting with new parts of the house constantly being revealed. Follow our progress by watching the time lapse film at http://lobstervision.tv/tyntesfieldhouse . Tyntesfield is slowly but surely being unwrapped for Christmas!

Amy Underwood Thompson Visitor Services Assistant

Super Squash

2010-10-27T16:21:00.007+01:00

A super hectic, but super enjoyable Pumpkin Weekend has just past by in a whirl! We celebrated the season for this amazing fruit with various special events around the estate. The House was filled with the delicious smells of roasting butternut squash (with plenty of chilli flakes to give it a kick), baking pumpkin bread and pumpkin chutney as the volunteers and I got busy in our aprons in the House Kitchen. We were helped by any visitor who fancied getting their hands dirty (a young girl had a round of applause for cracking her first egg into the bread mix for us!) and everyone appreciatively munched the samples fresh from the oven.

Some of the smallest!

All our recipes used squash grown in the Kitchen Garden. There was a bumper crop this year and our great team of gardeners created a stunning display in the Loggia near the Lady Garden. There were a huge variety of shapes, sizes and colours – I thought the Crown Princes with their pale blue skin were particularly cute (and, as it turned out, very tasty too).

Families were also kept busy with our special garden trail and pumpkin inspired craft activities in the Sawmill. I was very impressed with all the paper pumpkin lanterns I saw being carried round the estate.

Some of the largest!

(Smiler our estate cat was great a guarding the pumpkins while they were being stored in the green house)

We have more fantastic fun lined up for Halloween this weekend; we have a spooky House trail, creepy crafts in the Sawmill and a fancy dress competition (make sure you are at the Sawmill at 1:30pm to be judged!). All the squash from our display is now available for purchase at our shop. Why not pick up one to carve or make yourself a lovely pumpkin dinner?

Amy Underwood Thompson Visitor Services Assistant

Tyntesfield emerging from its scaffold cocoon

2010-10-04T10:05:00.007+01:00

Just a quick one to let you know about the exciting times ahead, as Tyntesfield’s scaffolding is starting to come down, revealing the beautiful Gothic mansion hidden beneath it!

A grand entrance emerges

The diamond roof tile pattern

Leading you down the garden path...

2010-09-30T10:31:00.008+01:00

Tyntesfield is pleased to announce the return of the Lady Garden Gate!

The Lady Garden is a small, but beautiful floral garden which originally hosted a striking gate to welcome in the family and their guests to the Lady Garden, Cutting Garden and Kitchen Garden. Oozing with grandeur and proudly boasting the family motto ‘TENAX PROPOSITI’ (which means tenacious of purpose), the gate was the perfect entrance to this pretty wonderland.

The returned Lady Garden gate in its fully glory

The gate had fallen into disrepair and after years of rusting, expanding metal work and crumbling bricks, it was a sorry sight to see; no longer the grand and importance entrance it had once been. So our mission was clear, to repair and restore the gate to its former glory! In January the gate and side panels together with the Orchard Garden Gate opposite it, were removed from site for expert restoration work including cleaning, repairs, repainting and gilding- and wow was it worth the effort! Detailed paint analysis was undertaken to discover how the gate had been decorated and moves were made to ensure that the new scheme was as close as possible to the original one.

The Lady Garden gate has seen better days

Meanwhile back at Tyntesfield work continued to repair the brickwork alongside the gate and remove the vegetation that had been damaging it, in preparation for the gates return.

The gate is now standing proud, boldly shouting out the family’s motto and proving its importance. It really is a beautiful addition to the garden and it is wonderful to see it back… it is also doing a great job of keeping the deer out of the vegetable garden!

The Lady Garden gate

A Gothic Retreat

2010-09-23T10:18:00.006+01:00

Our beautiful Rose Garden gazebos have been returned to their former glory and are now available for all to enjoy!

The picturesque Rose Garden once housed some impressive gazebos, perfect for quiet contemplation and appreciation of the stunning surrounds. With flowers in bloom and the Yeo Valley in view, what better place to spend a sunny afternoon? However, in recent years the gazebos have not been looking their best, as they have slowly deteriorated and crumbled, becoming shrouded in a tangle of vegetation. Cracked and broken were the beautiful Minton tiles, the roof was leaking and the wood was rotting- it was a sorry sight indeed. However, all was not lost as work began to return these wonderful structures to their former beauty.

The before photo!

As you can imagine this was no easy task, with rafters to replace, a roof to fix and tiles to find. Many of the beautiful original tiles were missing or broken (some were found buried in the garden!), so the task to track down replacements was started. Colour matching and commissioning tiles to be made that matched the originals was no mean feat, with modern tiles being created using different processes. Even getting the size of the tiles right was a challenge. All together it took nine months for the perfect tiles to be created and delivered! Now it was time for the next challenge- putting the tiles up, which was an intricate and skilled process.

The tiles going back up

But all is now complete and, as I am sure will agree, it was worth the effort. So once again you can take a seat and contemplate the beauty of the Rose Garden, just like the Gibbs family did!

The after photo!

Straw Bale Shenanigans

2010-09-14T14:49:00.010+01:00

Amy our Visitor Services Assistant gets her hands dirty for the day.

Last Friday was a particularly exciting day, not because the weekend was fast approaching, but because I had the opportunity to go up to home farm and help the building company ‘Amazonails’ build our lovely new Visitor Reception out of, wait for it….straw!

The bales looking gorgeous and golden in the morning sunshine

I was very intrigued by the prospect; I'm all for being environmentally friendly and using sustainable resources, but I did have some questions about how the structure would work in practise (I couldn't get the tale about the three little pigs out of mind). My doubts couldn't have been more misplaced. I came away from the day knowing that it is a fantastic load bearing material, provides unbelievably excellent insulation, lasts pretty much forever and, most importantly, is great fun to work with.

Ray 'persuading' a stake to go in

When I first saw the bales and a few of the layers already done, it looked as if you could just plonk them on each other, giant Lego style. In fact there was a lot of technique and skill in getting each bale ‘snug’ (technical term) in its place, chopping them so they didn’t just disintegrate into loose straw, hand carving hazel stakes and spearing each bale in place. It was a fantastic day, the whole process relied on team work and Amazonails had a very friendly and welcoming ethos. I can’t wait to see the next stages take shape.

Bea strimming the face of the wall so it is nice and smooth for rendering

The straw structure should be rendered in clay this week, so if you want to pop by and take a look make sure you come soon.

Panels on the Piggery!

2010-09-06T15:57:00.005+01:00

Our Piggery has just had the exciting new addition of solar thermal panels added to its roof. These panels will generate energy for our new, shiny Visitor Centre which is taking shape as the historic home farm buildings are being converted into a new restaurant, shop and café- look out for them in the new year! These solar thermal panels will also have the added bonus of helping us to make some extra money too; as we can sell the extra energy we make back to the grid- which will help to support Tyntesfield in the future, so good news all round!

Dancing in the Drawing Room

2010-08-25T10:02:00.003+01:00

The house is alive with drums and dancing this week as the Rambert Dance company have come to visit. They are working with a group of local young people as part of the 'Find your Talent' inititative and are making the most of our opulent Drawing Room. The room had previously been cleared to make way for electricians and plumbers and the wooden parquet makes for a perfect dance floor!

They are doing dance and music workshops all this week and topping it off witha small public performance on Heritage Open Day on 11 Sept.

The group get to know each other before they start work - amazing chandeliers!

Rambert putting the group through their paces.

Rambert also carried out music workshops to accompany the dance

We take to the road...

2010-08-05T17:37:00.006+01:00

This year we've been out and about a bit at local shows and festivals talking about Tyntesfield. Last week our Assistant Head Gardener, Marianne took the beauty of Tyntesfield to Portishead Flower show .... and she won a prize! Second prize for best non-trade stand - hooray!

Our stand did look lovely piled with gorgeous flowers and veg from the kitchen garden....

Fabulous photos!

2010-07-29T10:54:00.006+01:00

Drum roll please..... The winners of this year's Tyntesfield Photography Competition are...

David Whitcomb (over 18s winner)

Rory Whybrow (under 18s winner)

Adam Sheppard (under 11s winner)

Congratulations to our amazing winners and a big well done to the runners up (you can look at all the images including the runners up at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/tyntesfieldphotofest).

We have loved looking at all the entries and hope you will continue to enjoy taking inspiration from Tyntesfield! The images will all be displayed on the BBC Big Sceen in Bristol's Millennium Square soon (we'll keep you posted on roughly when) for lots more people to enjoy!

A big thank you to our judges - Tim Martin, Editor of the BBC’s Natural World series; Chris George, Editor of Photoplus Magazine and Paul Evans, Tyntesfield’s Head Gardener. We've also been reallyu kindly supported by the London Camera Exchange who donated our prizes - thanks LCE!

Sh-a--llot of work!

2010-07-19T09:41:00.004+01:00

Our gardener Marianne found our estate cat 'Smiler' asleep on the job last week. He was making the most of all the lovely shallots and onions that the garden team had put out to dry in the glasshouses. He obviously thought this warm dry bed was made for him!

Smiler - 'guarding' our onions!

Pick up your Smiler-dried shallots on our produce table in the kitchen garden!

Tyntesfield Nightlife

2010-07-08T12:16:00.008+01:00

As the evening approached and with rain looming in the air we all ventured down to the Croquet Lawn with a sense of anticipation and excitement. Would the rain stay away? And more importantly had we remembered the corkscrew? Spreading out our blankets and settling down, the rain clouds began to disperse and a beautiful pink sky made the perfect backdrop for the opera to begin.

Wrapping up close for the performance

The singers presented themselves in stunning costumes, setting the scene for what was a humorous and yet touching performance. La Boheme is Puccini’s most popular opera and as a first time opera goer it was easy to see why. As the skies darkened and the performance reached its distressing climax, the atmosphere perfectly fitted the action; with the crowd silent as Mimi made her final exit.

Opera Brava: Mimi's final scene

A thoroughly enjoyable experience, in perfect surrounds. An enjoyable evening was had by all and a glass raised to the impressive performers.

Tyntesfield’s nightlife season will continue with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men performing Shakespeare’s The Tempest on the 24 July. To book tickets or for more information call 0844 249 1895 or visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/tyntesfield

Are You Experienced? Nailsea students descend on the house

2010-07-04T15:15:00.005+01:00

Hello, we’re Jack and Selina and for the past week we have been here at Tyntesfield on our work experience. We have mainly been based in the house, either in the servant’s hall devouring large amounts of biscuits or on a floor somewhere around the house scrubbing it free of wax or repetitively vacuuming it to remove all the dirt brought in by the visitors. Sarah Schmitz has been our slave driver for the duration of the week but a relatively nice one as she regularly allows us to eat biscuits. One of Jack’s biggest achievements of the week was managing to properly attach his badge. While Selina has constantly been battling with the curtains in an attempt to pull them up a skill that now at the end of the week she is beginning to master.
The week has been great fun as we have both learnt new skills like how to take the relative humidity of a room and why it is important taught to us kindly by Fern while Helen has taught us how to roll up a curtain in order to conserve it. However there is only one aspect of our time here at Tyntesfield we have not fondly enjoyed and that was the cutting out of pieces of felt to be placed under EVERY object on a table which as you can imagine took a very long time. (So we hope you appreciate it Meghan)
The food is great! We have consumed custard creams, bourbons and even ice cream today (to celebrate Canada Day) however we have unfortunately been informed that the staff do not have ice cream every Thursday.
We have both great enjoyed our time here at Tyntesfield and feel that it was EXTREMELY educational and we have learnt many new skills that will hopefully help us in the future. Tomorrow is our last day and we have been informed that we will be doing a whole day of hard manual labour including going to a BBQ but we will sorely miss everyone here- But we WILL be back. (Okay Selina will be- apparently Jack doesn’t want to come back).

Mould busters

2010-06-18T14:12:00.004+01:00

I just couldn't resist posting this photo of some of our house team in their fetching work-wear!

The team have been working hard to remove mould in a number of first and second floor and have had to don some full-on PPE following the recommendation of the National Trust’s mould expert. Such a glamorous job!

The house team in their gorgeous outfits!

Citrus Celebration

2010-05-18T15:14:00.002+01:00

Don a hardhat and venture into our stunning Orangery, which is now open for free tours every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 2-3pm. An Orangery is like a greenhouse that is used to grow citrus fruits and they were often built as a symbol of wealth and status, although Tyntesfield’s Orangery, as it stands now, is far from the impressive structure it would have once been!

The Orangery has been closed since 2002 due to instability and it has been placed on English Heritage’s Buildings at Risk Register. With work due to begin on it’s restoration shortly, we are inviting our visitors to come inside and see the Orangery as it is now, before a fleet of expert masons move in to restore the structure to its previous beauty, making it the stunning centre piece to the Jubilee Garden once more.

P.s. Look out for our Celebrating Citrus day on the 21 August, featuring a Citrus Swap Shop, recipes, family activities and more.

New facilities one step closer

2010-05-07T16:22:00.003+01:00

If you are at a loose end this weekend you might want to pop down here to get a close look at some of our amazing restoration and building work at our Meet the Builders event on Sat (8 May). As well as extra access scaffolding tours, demos and talks you can also take a peek inside the location of our new visitor facilities with the architect. Work is well underway - we can't for it to open - March 2011 here we come!

Home Farm - the location of the new facilities - now a construction site - soon to be a fab, welcoming space with restaurant and shop.

Inside Home Farm - work is well underway.

Brilliant bluebells

2010-04-26T12:11:00.004+01:00

Just a quick one today to say the bluebells are out! After a bit of a longer wait than usual due to our cold winter the bluebells are here! Truckle Wood looks particularly stunning so well worth a walk - you can walk on the public footpaths in the woods for free (pick up a leaflet from Visitor Reception).

Katie took this picture today at lunchtime in Truckle Wood - the blue carpet looks spectacular

Local families discover a wilder side to Tyntesfield

2010-04-01T11:54:00.006+01:00

A group of local families are working with us to develop a new way for visitors to engage with the amazing wildlife on the estate using digital cameras. The Community, Learning and Volunteering team would like to say a huge thank you to the group, who after a whole day of discussions and exploring, have contributed some invaluable ideas and advice. We will be working with the families between now and July to develop and refine the project, and hope to have it available for all visitors to trial by the summer holidays!

Here are some of the amazing pictures that they took in just one hour…

by Ruby and Marie Brown

by Audrey Wellman

by Elena Morris

by Lula Nicholson

by Georgia & Finlay Bloxham

Bonus time... we're open!

2010-03-26T16:17:00.005Z

Bex gives her thoughts on another amazing opening weekend...

The last time I wrote for our blog was just about 12 months ago all about our first day of the season 2009, which I seem to remember was the most glorious of days with beating sunshine and hundreds of eager visitors. Our 2010 season opened without the sunshine unfortunately, but like last year, an overwhelming number of excited visitors, keen to explore the five new rooms open for the first time and come back to see all the developments over the winter. The weekend was also “Bonus Time” which gave everyone free entry to all National Trust properties.

The Holly Walk - lovely and neat and ready for visitors...

We were amazed with the numbers who were onsite and queuing for parking by 9 o’clock in the morning! Unfortunately, due to the fact that our fabulous new car park was not quite finished and the contractors still laying tarmac that very morning, the huge influx of people were patiently waiting to be parked in temporary car parks i.e. fields!

Katie - helping out with our still-steaming car park!

Despite the miserable weather, the queues, the smell of hot tarmac and the dripping wet staff and volunteers out doing their utmost to park as many cars as possible, the weekend was a storming success with visitors coming back to their cars full of wonder and excitement, impressed at the ongoing project, delighted to walk on the gorgeous new Hall carpet and thrilled to see even more than ever before. We were overwhelmed with the number of really positive emails and comment cards we have received from visitors full of praise and that, even though the house was rammed with people, they thoroughly enjoyed coming to Tyntesfield and spending that time in the house. What an amazing weekend.

After 7 hours of standing in the rain on Saturday directing cars, I couldn’t wait to get home and empty the water from my wellies! Looking forward to Easter and a brand new finished car park….

2 days to go!

2010-03-18T15:20:00.004Z

Just two days to go until we open again for the season. It's all hands on deck as we do some last minute jobs before opening on Saturday. Last year we thought the amount of construction/restoration work was incredible but now there seems to be even more of it going on so we're doing lots of tidying up!

The house is looking remarkable – our new hall carpet was laid this week. A replica of the one which was commissioned by Antony Gibbs in 1890 this beautiful carpet has been woven from scratch. The great thing about it is that unlike the other delicate, historic, carpets which we can’t tread on we, and all our visitors, can sink our toes into this one and run up and down the stairs on it as much as we like! A specialist carpet company Linney Cooper has been installing it all week – handstitching all the joins and making it look truly spectacular.

The glorious new hall carpet - come and dip your toes in!

The house team have been doing their usual rolling, unrolling, moving, lifting, cleaning … all in readiness for opening up more of the house this year. As well as reinstating some of the downstairs rooms such as the library, for the first time we are opening up some of the first floor rooms to visitors on a brand new visitor route. It’s going to be fab to see the hall gallery up close and sweep down our grand newly carpeted staircase.

Now that all the re-wiring and re-plumbing has finished, the library has been 'put back together'

Come along and see us – we open this Saturday (20th March).

PS Everyone gets free entry to National Trust properties this weekend – hooray!

How many years of dust?

2010-02-19T11:07:00.003Z

If scaffolding outside the house wasn’t enough our scaffolding inside the house never ceases to amaze us all – the house looks incredible. A ‘bird cage’ scaffold has been up in the hall for a few weeks no as they carry out repairs to the oak lantern light in the ceiling.

One of our volutneers Steve Young took this amaazing photo of the interior scaffold souring right up through the middle of the house.

Whilst the scaffolding is up the house team have the unenviable job of dusting areas that have probably not been cleaned for donkey’s years – simply because it is normally so inaccessible. Dirty work but making inroads into the thick layers of dust is also quite satisfying apparently!

Karen up in the roof with her handy hoover. What she is standing on is not a real floor but a temporary suspended floor high up in the roof (you can see it at the top of the photo above).

Gorgeous gateway gets a face-lift

2010-01-20T11:42:00.004Z

Despite being closed to visitors for the winter there is lots of activity on the estate at the moment. The snow has cleared and I’m not sure if I’m imagining it but I’m sure there’s a sense of Spring in the air.

This week the gorgeous Lady Garden gates are getting some special attention. The wrought iron gates erected in 1896 bear the family motto ‘tenax propositi’ (‘tenacious of purpose’). The gate would have made a suitably impressive entrance to the kitchen garden complex for the family and their friends in the late 19th century but time has taken its toll. The future looks bright though as restoration work starts this week.

The decorative overthrow of the Lady Garden Gate

Nimbus (specialist stone conservators) have started dismantling the gate piers and once that is complete another specialist company Dorothea Restorations (metalwork) will take the metal gate away for repair – all the way to their workshops in Derbyshire.

Nimbus needed scaffolding to hoist the tops of the gate piers down to the ground.

The stone balls look much bigger up close!

Original paint samples found on the gate show us that it was dark green in colour so it will get a new coat of paint before it is put back in place in April – just in time for the Spring.

It's a treat to be at work!

2010-01-08T16:29:00.006Z

We've all been enjoying the snow this week. The estate looks so magical. Take a look...

Thank goodness the house is well protected from the elements whilst the roof is fixed!

A view across the parkland from the drive - a photo opportunity if ever I saw one

On our lunchtime walk Katie made a snow angel...

...and Bex made snowballs!

A week of animal heads

2009-12-21T12:10:00.007Z

It’s all about animal heads this week...

In preparation for work in the Billiard Room our infamous Moose Head has been taken down. The moose is one of many animal heads that line the games room but is by far the biggest, shot by Via Gibbs in Canada in 1911.

Up close to the moose

The head is so big that we needed scaffolding and a small army of electrians/plumbers/ carpenters to kindly lend us their muscles to do the heavy lifting. While it is down the moose will get a long awaited pampering session as the house team give it a bit of a clean to remove any unwanted pests that lurk in the fur.

Our contractors giving us a helping hand

It wasn’t just furry animal heads that got some attention this week, our carved stone lions heads which surround the hall have been given a new lease of life.

One of the lion heads lit up thanks a clever bit of rewiring

The heads which can often go a little unnoticed were originally designed with lights in clasped between their teeth. As part of the rewiring the lions heads have been lit up again for the first time in at least 50 years.

A hidden puzzle

2009-11-26T13:56:00.003Z

Paul, our Head Gardener was proudly clutching a chunk of iron work at our team meeting this week and we all wondered what it could be…

Thanks to more digging on site to prepare the ground for scaffolding foundations we’ve discovered some of the pieces of the old elaborate glass house which used to be located right next to the house. The ironwork that Paul was so pleased to find is in fact part of one of the building's iron pillars. We have always known it existed but had never found any real evidence of the structure or known how it was demolished so it's really great news that we've found some.

An old photo from 'Country Life' showing the impressive conservatory as it used to be - the whole structure was 80 feet long and 50 feet wide

In the trench we found pieces of glass, ironwork and even colourful Minton tiles, which would have decorated the floor.

Fragments of glass and Minton tiles

An old family photo of a fancy dress party in the conservatory - you can just make out the beautiful flooring

The glass is interesting - it’s green in colour and we know, from an article written in The Builder, 1866 that it was from a recipe of the late Sir W Hooker made especially for the Palm house at Kew. Apparently it wasn’t a great recipe though as it was designed to stop plants scorching but actually prevented the plants from growing properly!

Can't wait to see what else we find…

Persistent Pests

2009-11-24T15:18:00.003Z

Persistent Pests Pester Peoples’ Museum... that’s the strapline a group of students from St Katharine’s School have come up with to describe a recent project they have been working on with us here at Tyntesfield. The students have written their own summary of the project for this blog…

A group of children from St Katherines School are involved with the National Trust at Tyntesfield and the Find Your Talent project.

They’ve been researching pests, conservation and scientific techniques which help stop pests and conserve museums such as Tyntesfield and the V & A museum in London. To help them on this journey of learning they have had visits from scientists, an entomologist, trap experts, media managers and many other specialists.

Learning a bit of theory in the classroom...

They went behind the scenes at the V & A Museum learning from the experts along the way. They even got to go inside their labs and see their special x-ray room. They also had a guided tour of Tyntesfield and learnt about the history of the house as well as the big restoration project.

Students from St Katharine's school outside Tyntesfield

Recently, they have had a session with the entomologist studying and identifying insects from the traps from Tyntesfield and some from Bristol museums. They then had a marketing expert in to teach them how to publish their learning journey.

Their next steps will be to go back to Tyntesfield and plan their presentation on what they have learned to share with their peers and stakeholders.

The best volunteering job...

2009-11-19T16:07:00.002Z

One of our volunteers, Alan Kempton wanted to share why he thinks being an inventory volunteer is the best volunteering job in the National Trust. Over to you Alan...

Apart from the interest in the incredible variety of objects we get to deal with, the other volunteers are all very friendly and Pat keeps us amused with her jokes. Ruth, our Manager, is always very supportive and helpful and I am always amazed at her encyclopaedic knowledge of the collection and where items are located. We also have an endless supply of biscuits!

This week completes my third year on the Inventory Team. Over that time I have worked from top to bottom ( the Tower Room to the cellars ) and North to South on the Estate ( Home Farm to the Kitchen Garden ) helping to carry out the inventory on an amazingly diverse range of items. This week we were inventorying items from the Butlers Pantry.

Some of the items this week were:-

- Page from a 1935 copy of the Sunday Pictorial.
- Circular letter from Conservative Central Office dated 1947 asking for contributions to a Fighting Fund.
- Wooden coat hangers with inscribed in biro with H. Gibbs.
- Various radiator keys.
- A winding handle. This leads to a general debate about what it might have been used for. Suggestion that it might have been used to open the blinds in the drawing room, so go with Ruth to check. Pass through the Hall, now completely filled with scaffolding into the Drawing Room. The furniture is all pushed against the walls so we able to go right to the bay window at the far end, where I have never been before, and see the horizontal blinds and their elaborate mechanism carefully concealed behind a folding piece of wooden moulding. The handle doesn’t fit, but we find another one which does, but we don’t dare to try the mechanism to see if it works!

Butter fingers' nightmare

2009-11-03T17:07:00.002Z

Laura from our House Team gives the lowdown on a day's hard work...

Today was a busy day. No need to go to the gym this week! Due to the impending work that is happening in the hall to stabilise the stencilling on the walls, we needed to remove some of the paintings. This is not the easiest of jobs to do!

We had the help of paintings conservators Bush and Berry to take down amongst others, the portraits of William Gibbs, Via Gibbs, George Gibbs and the very large St Laurence. In order to reach these paintings, we needed to put up scaffolding on the stairs and landing. This in itself is a challenge.

We need a good head for heights and a steady hand!

Once we had the scaffolding in place we had to have people to support the top of the paintings and people to support and take the weight at the bottom, and others to place in foam underneath when we needed to rest the paintings down. Getting up close and personal to these portraits is wonderful, looking at the detail and being able to appreciate them from a new angle. Via and George’s portraits were actually the heaviest of the lot, as the frames are solid.

A sense of relief as the paintings are removed to ground level.

It is very handy having joiners around, to build a bespoke A-frame for the paintings to be supported by. We also have a few extra bodies to help move the paintings to their support location, which can be a tricky task as these paintings have heavy, gilded frames. Via and George are now happily resting side by side together in the Ante Room, along with William Gibbs and others.

Fern admiring George and Via up close

Meeting the builders

2009-10-29T16:54:00.005Z

Tyntesfield was a hub of activity on Sunday as over 1200 visitors came to enjoy our “Meet the Builders” Construction Skills Day – and what a day! There was a really terrific atmosphere as visitors got up close to our impressive conservation project and chatted to all our enthusiastic contractors. Special tours of the scaffolding and getting to climb on the diggers proved extremely popular as well as getting hands on chipping bath stone with the stone masons and playing around with plumbing pipes!

Having a go at stone masonry

We have very creative plumbers!

One of our joiners Paul with his son Blaine

We were helping to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the HLF and trustee Doug Hulyer cam along to enjoy the festivities. Tim, our Senior Building Surveyor, gave a talk to a packed Sawmill Centre in the afternoon on the current conservation work taking place on the main house.

New one-off tours took place up the scaffolding

..and Mark Moore, our site manager created a demonstration roof especially for the day!

The day was so succesful, with a great atmostphere and loads of positive feedback, that we've planned the next one already! Put it in your diaries - Sat 8 May 2010.

40,000 and still counting

2009-10-28T16:57:00.006Z

We've had some fantastic news - we now officially have the largest collection in the National Trust!

Over 150 years of collecting, travelling and hoarding the Gibbs family certainly left a lasting legacy... A house crammed full of beautiful and fascinating objects. Each year we find out more and more of Tyntesfifeld amazing collection and think, “Can there be more?” But there is. After another year of rummaging in cupboards our inventory team of staff and volunteers have just logged the 40,000th object in our curious and extensive collection.

The latest inventory milestone, number 40,000, is a copper ‘knapsack’ spraying machine (see image above), found in the Victorian Kitchen Garden – it's reminiscent of something out of ‘Rocket Man’ !

We’re still counting… here's just a couple of examples of what we've found so far...

A cupboard full of gun cases and fishing equipment (photo NTPL/Nadia Mackenzie)

Shoes, glorious shoes....

Pumpkin party!

2009-10-20T17:12:00.002+01:00

We’re in recovery from this year’s pumpkin fest, especially Lucy who was a complete star and made mountains of chutney and soup… bringing our historic kitchens back to life.

We thought we should share our special pumpkin chutney recipe kindly donated by a local lady, Linda Little. The story goes that the late Lord Wraxall, supplied Linda with fruit and vegetables from the kitchen garden to make preserves and chutneys for the local Christmas fair. One year she wanted to make pumpkin chutney and asked his lordship for a pumpkin and was duly supplied with two weighing about 25kg each – she needed to use a saw to get the flesh from them!

Here’s the recipe for Linda’s pumpkin chutney - enjoy!

Ingredients
2 1/2lb Pumpkin flesh
3/4lb cooking apples
1/2lb ripe tomatoes (skinned)
4garlic cloves (crushed)
1lb soft brown sugar
6ozs sultanas
1pint malt vinegar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons allspice
2 teaspoons salt

Method
- Chop pumpkin onions and apples into small cubes. Place in a large pan with all of the ingredients except the sugar.
- Simmer in the vinegar with the lid on the pan for 45 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the sugar and simmer without the pan lid until the mixture is thick and the surplus liquid has evaporated.
- Put into warmed jars with a circle of waxed paper and a metal lid.

If you fancy taking home any of the amazing pumpkins and squashes grown at Tyntesfield, they are now available for a donation from Tyntesfield – pop along to the shop this weekend to snap one up.

A selection of Tyntesfield-grown squashes and pumpkins - they look so lovely!

Tyntesfield's famous pumpkin display! Soon to be dismantled for you to take home - pumpkin chutney anyone!?

Chim Chimney…

2009-09-24T11:02:00.001+01:00

We had our chimney sweep in this week and if you know Tyntesfield, you’ll know that he must have been thinking his luck was in…

He had 22 chimney on his list of things to do and amusingly we’re not entirely sure which chimney corresponds to which fireplace, evoking memories of Mary Poppins style fun. With one chap by the fireplace and one on the roof, I’m sure they’ll have fun working it out!

As well as sweeping out all the birds nests and other things lurking in the chimneys we’re going to get the chimneys capped so that we don’t have any more uninvited friends (birds!) flying around the house and to avoid pests creeping their way in.

Good luck chimney sweep!

Caged cockrel

2009-09-23T09:53:00.002+01:00

Cliff, the project manager from CS Williams (the main contractor for the Mansion work) sent these pics through today – sitting high on the rooftop, our poor little cockrel weathervane is a bit caged in!

Boost for Orangery appeal

2009-09-16T17:32:00.003+01:00

What amazing weather we had for our Orangery fundraising evening! Tyntesfield most definitely put on a good show – the summer evening light shining a gorgeous pink into the kitchen garden and the trees casting strong silouettes against the sky.

A gorgeous evening in Tyntesfield's Kitchen garden

Lyndsey did a great job at getting the right people together and made everything look lovely – the marquee looked great and we were even lucky enough to have a string quartet from the Bournemouth Symphony orchestra and a really inspriring talk from Simin Jenkins, the National Trust's Chairman.

The marquee looked amazing

A chance to look inside the Orangery

We raised £17, 000 on the night – a fantastic amount which will go towards restoring our crumbling Orangery, once the focal point of the Kitchen garden. It's a huge project and we still have about £290, 000 left to raise - we have high hopes!

A new home for the House Team

2009-09-09T17:19:00.003+01:00

We are all very envious of the House Team here at Tyntesfield today as they reveal their beautiful new office in Lady Wraxall’s old bedroom. After years of tripping over each other in a small, dark office I think they deserve a bit of office loveliness.

The room has glorious views down the Holly Walk, high ceilings and a lovely fireplace but what gets most “wows” is the stunning and original, blue and white patterned wallpaper on every wall. It looks absolutely gorgeous and will make a most inspirational office. All the changes are reversible so the room can be put back as a bedroom at any time.

A few hands on deck were needed to move the original carpet out.

Out with the bed and in with some desks

Making a big impression

2009-09-04T17:07:00.003+01:00

Wow! Just when we thought the scaffolding couldn’t get any bigger! … there’s more! The latest development (apart from it seemingly reaching the clouds) are 3 huge banners adorning the outside of the House.

The South side of Tyntesfield with it's maze of scaffolding - very impressive!

Designed with the help of staff and volunteers the 8 x 4 m banners illustrate the 3 main phases in Tyntesfield’s history – William Gibbs' architectural influence, Antony’s electrical ‘revolution’ and the National Trust’s recent ownership and restoration. They look great!

A view of the front of the House

Summer dig

2009-08-20T16:29:00.004+01:00

Will and Selina give the lowdown and on this year's summer dig...

Hi we’re Will and Selina and we’re volunteers working at Tyntesfield on the archaeology course looking at the site of a World War 2 American Army hospital ...in a field.
The reason we are sat here writing this blog is because earlier this morning it was raining A LOT and so our test pits filled up with water resolving with us not having much else to do but write this. This is the team:

From left to right - Chris looking scary, James looking philosophical, Will looking hot, Bruce trying to be cool, Becca looking cheerful, Selina looking slightly less cheerful than Becca, Amanda laughing, Jane looking normal, Margaret looking even more cheerful than Becca

Katie- is the only one who is getting paid to wake up at 6 each morning and spend 2 weeks digging around hopelessly in mud in search of iron nails (which Selina and Becca have found 22 of because they are amazing) Katie regularly drinks large amounts of tea and enjoys eating many biscuits.
James-is in charge of us and tells what to do and helps to find the differences between something interesting and a piece of rock
Bruce- always wears the same hat and tries to look cool by sitting in a chair smoking with his sunglasses on but is also very good at archaeology
Chris- is less public with his smoking (he mostly goes into the woods instead of sitting on a chair and trying to look cool like someone we know *cough cough Bruce*) Found a road demonstrating archaeological prowess
Margaret- is American but despite this is very good at archaeology
Jane- is good at digging and drawing but struggles with machine that you put your eye through to measure height gradients
Becca- is good at throwing worms as well as finding great quantities of iron nails. One for the future Selina- is the joint best archaeologist and is Becca’s good luck charm. Discovered the Holy Grail but kept it a secret so not to make people feel inferior
Will- is also the joint best archaeologist. Has found loads of things of huge importance but has kept them so not to make everyone else feel bad.

Visitors have flocked to see the sight, with the now famous Katie who appeared on Points West, showing them a hole with nothing in it. Although estimates vary, it is reckoned that a staggering 23 people visited the site over two days. Things that we have found include a insulator for an electric cable, a belt buckle, 22 nails, a screw, a bolt, pieces of glass, a bit of slag, a piece of pottery, a pipe, bits of a road, some oddly shaped rocks and lots of worms which Becca cut in half (supposedly by accident and not for fun).

In conclusion, so far the dig has gone well and we hope that as the week goes on we make more discoveries and learn more about our field full of mud. Thank you for reading and if you can spare some time, why not come down and help boost our visitor numbers whilst having a great time yourself.

Will and Selina

A peek inside the Orangery

2009-08-05T15:53:00.000+01:00

Great news! Thanks to our amazing volunteers we are now able to give people a chance to take a peek inside the stunning, yet very run-down Orangery in the Kitchen Garden. Up until now it has been enshrouded in scaffold and coverings to protect it from the elements and to maintain the safety of people around it. But after a few safety checks and the addition of hard hats you can now go and take a look every Wednesday… with the added bonus of getting a potted history from one of our volunteers.

One of our volunteers, John, talking to visitors inside the Orangery

The Orangery is a truly beautiful building but currently looks in a very sorry state. Hopefully not for too much longer though as we are planning to restore it next year and let it become the fine architectural focus point of the kitchen garden once again. We have been lucky enough to have some very generous donations towards the project but we still haven’t reached out fundraising target so if you think you can help please get in touch!

The Orangery's exterior is currently hidden from view...even more reason to go inside

Under the covers you can see why it needs some attention - it's nor normal to have trees growing our of the roof!

Crane Top Trumps

2009-07-30T15:40:00.004+01:00

Just when we thought cranes couldn’t get any bigger … a 70+ tonne 'Mighty Tiny' turns up! It spent the morning lifting huge beams, which will support the next phase of the temporary roof, onto the scaffolding structure.

… I wonder how big the next one will be!

Drawing room gets back its sparkle

2009-07-23T17:40:00.003+01:00

Terry Brotheridge was in the House today putting the sparkle back into our lives!

He is re-hanging the Drawing Room chandeliers after a spell of maintenance and rewiring - and it was not just the electric re-wiring that had to be re-done. All of the lead crystal droplets are individually wired onto the frame and over time they become brittle so Terry has replaced them all. They look BEAUTIFUL!

Terry seems quite used to a bit of attention as he is often hanging gorgeous chandeliers in grand buildings. At Tyntesfield he has done a lot of the work in front of the public so many people will have been able to see his handiwork. All three chandeliers should be finished very soon, giving our drawing room back its sparkle.

Terry Brotheridge re-hanging the Drawing Room chandeliers

Intriguing discoveries

2009-07-20T15:32:00.001+01:00

We’ve discovered bones under the floorboards in the Spotted bathroom… lots of them!

After a slightly nervous wait while they were identified we can happily say they are not human! We still don’t know, however, exactly what they are until another specialist comes in and takes a look … it’s thought that they could be the remains of a small mammal but why on earth someone would put the remains of a small animal under a bathroom floor?! ..and they were definitely put there as the bones were not laid down as a carcass, but randomly scattered! Any ideas please let us know.

Ruth and Steve taking a look at the intriguing bones!

Can you guess what it is yet...?!

We’ve also had a few other odd things turn up over the last couple of months – from 1960s golf shoes behind a radiator to an old ice cream tub. It’s not surprising considering how long it’s been since the house had its electrics and plumbing done. Even in your average 2-bed semi you’ll find long-lost quirky items so imagine what we’re going to find in a 100+ room mansion! We’ve put some of the items out for visitors to see so feel free to come along and take a look.

1960s golf shoes - found behind a radiator

Walls ice-cream tub

Waterproof at last!

2009-06-25T17:31:00.002+01:00

After years of chasing leaks we can now breathe a little sigh of relief as our huge temporary roof starts to go up, protecting the house and collection as the roof is repaired. You’d think modern scaffold would look a little out of place compared to the Gothic splendour but some might say it’s looking equally spectacular! It’s amazing and a real sign that we are on our way to becoming watertight.

Our new temporary roof goes up...

The views under the roof are pretty spectacular and it’s just a few of us lucky staff and volunteers were able to ascend the network of ladders to the top to see the amazing sight, thanks to the ever lovely CS Williams and SGB Scaffolding. It wont be long though before visitors can get up and under as the viewing tower will soon become enveloped in the roof – providing a fantastic chance for people to see the work taking place.

A roof within a roof... !

Making way for (more) scaffolding!

2009-06-04T10:00:00.005+01:00

Jo finds a digger at work on the lawns…

Work started today to prepare the lawns for the scaffold footings. Lyndsey and I were both quite surprised to see such big holes in the ground but I guess that’s what such a massive scaffold structure needs (apparently the biggest free standing scaffold ever, says the man from SGB scaffold!)

And we certainly need the scaffold - even though the lawns look a little sorry for themselves it means that the roof repairs can take place – no more leaks !

The turf needs to be removed to make way for concrete foundations – an archaeologist is keeping a watching brief to check for any ‘finds’.

The orchid lawn is next – markers have been set out.

The turf will be re-homed temporarily to raised beds outside the walled garden - they will be watered and mown to keep them in tip top shape!

Raised beds outside the walled garden - the turf's new home!

A day in quite a different office

2009-06-02T16:00:00.002+01:00

David Body from the National Trust's Head Office spent the day sampling what Tyntesfield has to offer colleagues who want to get out of the office and volunteer for the day ....

Most of the team spent today helping the local team with gardening duties such as path clearing in the Rose Garden and mulching the camellias and magnolias.

I, though, had the task of photographing Tyntesfield and providing more of an outsider’s view of the place as I don’t have a direct connection with Tyntesfield other than working for the National Trust. Thankfully it was beautiful blue sky day.

Proactive conservation was apparent from the word go as access to Tyntesfield has changed since I was last here 6 months ago. Different routes down to the house and gardens offer the visitor both a different perspective and quicker route. The new gardener’s house is an important behind-the-scenes improvement as it gives staff a better facility from which to manage and orchestrate their work.

The Orangery is one of the areas being conserved though is an example that the fundraising work still has more mileage to cover. Even covered in scaffolding its beauty is easy to see and I hope that it will be restored and managed as a traditional orangery.

The Walled Garden looks both impressive and well maintained and offers the chance to sample its produce.

The Rose Garden is nicely landscaped and sits in its setting well. In full bloom it must be quite beautiful. The setting shows how resplendent the restored lions look back in their true place.

The house itself shows many changes since my last visit. On the exterior, the scaffolding is further testament to the ongoing work and in particular the recently removed bell tower.

The house remains a superb illustration of fine craftsmanship. As a furniture maker in the past, my particular attention is drawn to the stunning standard of craftsmanship of the doors and panelling. The oak beamed library, the library and drawing room doors and the oak desk in the Organ Room were particularly fine examples of the carpenters art. Thanks to room interpreter Keith Lane for translating the oak inscription to ‘let there be a seat for my old age’ – I know the feeling!

The Library offers a beautiful example of a mix of local stone, Italian marble and Cornish serpentine in its fireplace. The marble being a feature of further rooms also.

The pictures in the Drawing Room offering a 1800’s and 2008 view of the room both helps to understand the room interpreter’s comments and to demonstrate just how good a conservation job is being achieved at Tyntesfield.

The private Sitting Room offered a view of a watercolour painted on ivory, a new experience for me, which also illustrates the beauty of the place. My favourite item though has to be the billiard table with its unique scoring systems and truly magnificent sporting carvings. The table dates from 1884 and many thanks to Sara Wilmott for her insight into the tables’past.

It had only been a few months since I last visited but it really struck me how much had and was happening to Tyntesfield. One of the completely new features was the viewing platform which was well worth reaching the top. The views over the estate and well beyond were inspiring.

Many thanks to all the room interpreters for their knowledge and considered opinions – I’m afraid I cannot remember you all by name. Specific thanks though to Alex who not only co-ordinated the day but took precious time out to drive this disabled gent around the estate.

What I specifically learnt from this Learning at Work experience is the benefit to both the Trust, its staff, members and the general public of being able to watch conservation happening. It does create pressures but the benefits are there for all to see. The work that the Trust is doing in overcoming issues raised by the bats is a perfect example of proactive conservation and perfectly shows the breadth of knowledge, desire and dedication that the Trust holds in its grasp – from office to property and central office to regions.

Time for lift-off!

2009-05-14T15:48:00.006+01:00

Sarah Schmitz, Tyntesfield's House Manager watches as Tyntefield's bell tower is removed for repair...

For something like 10 hours I had been watching and waiting....I'd sent my house conservation team home, most of the property team had given up, but after all that time there was a cry and up it went - the bell tower was parted from its roof, but only after a struggle. I think the house didn't want to see her spire removed, but she wasn't going to win the argument without a fight from the rest of us working on the house restoration project. In reducing the roof's overall height, it enables the protective cover over the vast tiled set of valleys and peaks to be lower and therefore more wind resistant. In addition, in keeping with our property vision of access for all, the bell tower also becomes a demonstration piece, bringing the roof down to ground level to show how we are repairing lead, tiles, woodwork and finally even the bell inside.

When I walked towards the house that Thursday morning for work, the huge crane had already came into place on the house forecourt. It was going to be used to lift a scaffolding cradle over the 10 metre bell tower, plus also to lift a very large section of steel over the roof in readiness for a later phase of the roof repairs - might as well use the crane when you've got it, eh? We had to consider the risks involved which meant that whenever any lifting took place the house had to be evacuated, but that meant we were able to watch the spectacle as it unfolded - or not, as the case actually turned out.

A lot of staff braved the weather to watch

Pity the weather couldn't be controlled - my prayer for at least a dry morning was answered but after lunch gave way to constant rain, which was bad enough for those of use spectating, but really unpleasant for all those struggling to free the bell tower from her holdings. Four 7" square oak legs had a surprise inside - metal pins which also had to be cut through. The crane applied only a few pounds of lift to separate the gap in the wood to reach the pins, but that in turn added torque to the metal, so making it harder to sever. As time went by, the efforts of the contractors enabling the detachment were frustrated but becoming more and more determined.

The cradle had been built to take a maximum of 5 tonnes of weight; although the estimation had been that the bell tower, which seems so small from the ground, would be about a half a tonne - plenty of room for perhaps a little extra then. No matter the calculations done in advance, though, the crane took the strain and we eventually found that the weight was in fact almost too much for the cradle. And the 88 tonne crane had had an extra 17 tonne of ballast added earlier in the morning! Goodness - all that for a little tiny section of our gothic roofscape. By about 5.45pm, the news was that the crane would have to stay overnight - we had reached a point of no return with the crane having to carry the load of the tower yet not quite having the strength to lift it fully; but, in the space of a few minutes one last attempt was made by the skilled crane workers and somehow it all held together, over it swung, onto its new spot at the front of the house for all to see.

Off it comes!

The tower will be repaired at ground level for everyone to see

The five scaffolders, from a company called SGB who will be with us for the 2 year roofing contract, were actually steaming gently by the time they had finished for the day - they had worked so hard in the wet! Mark Moore, our Site Manager from lead contractors C.S. Williams, had seen his team refuse to leave site in order to get the job completed before the end of the day - lots of phone calls to other halves were made, as they all stood by him to do whatever was needed in very difficult conditions (although at least there wasn't a breath of wind). I am immensely proud of all those who worked up there that damp day; I know that the building for which I have responsibility is in good hands. I can't wait to see the rest of the scaffolding grow and grow, and find out what other surprises and stories the project works have in store for us. In the next couple of weeks the first tiles should start coming off, revealing the as yet unknown state of the roof joists......

New learning centre ready for action

2009-05-07T18:00:00.002+01:00

Jo looks back at a day of celebration…

Today was a very happy occasion as we celebrated the official opening of our new Sawmill Learning Centre with a bit of a party… complete with jazz band and all the people that have helped make this project happen.

Members of the Golden Agers from Easton in Bristol - looking proud of their handmade quilt - made especially for the Sawmill

The opening of the sawmill marks quite a major step in Tyntesfield’s transformation – never before have we had undercover space that we could use for the 1000s of school children, events and training courses or that we could hire out to local people. Now, with this amazingly converted building and all the mod cons … the sky’s the limit.

Tyntesfield's new Sawmill learning centre

The party happily coincided with the HLF coming to visit – as our main funder we were really pleased when Dame Jenny Abramsky kindly agreed to ‘cut the ribbon’ for us… and in true Tyntesfield style we had to do something a little bit different. …on the count of 1, 2, 3 the ribbon was cut and over 100 people scattered grass seed along the centre of the driveway leading to the Sawmill. Before long it will look lovely and lush and green.

Putting the finishing touches to the driveway!

If you think you might fancy booking the sawmill or would like more detailed info give us a call on 01275 461907 - perfect for school activities, parties, meetings and training courses!

The return of the lions!

2009-04-30T13:49:00.006+01:00

Kath Campbell-Hards reintroduces lions back to Tyntesfield...

It felt like a momentous day today at Tyntesfield when the first of the garden ornaments were returned to site following conservation and repair work. The ornaments were removed by the National Trust in 2002 for safekeeping.

The lions return...in a pickup truck

One of the lions gets a new tail!

The Rose Garden Lions are the first to be put back into position. These sit either side of the stone steps leading up to the Rose Garden itself and will make a great entry feature. The lions were in quite good condition apart from a broken tail and a damaged plinth. Nimbus Conservation, who are undertaking the work, have made a new tail piece to replace the section that was missing.

Each lion weighs approximately 150kg, so lifting them is a tricky process requiring the use of a gantry. The statues are being reinstated using special security fixings to prevent any future attempts at theft so that they can be enjoyed by visitors, volunteers and staff for years to come.

Lifting the lions back into place

Nimbus Conservation getting well-earned tea break whilst admiring their handiwork

Building heritage skills at Tyntesfield

2009-04-23T09:10:00.004+01:00

Katie gives the lowdown on our latest Prince's Trust project...

Tyntesfield is working with the Prince’s Trust to deliver a 3 week course called Get Into Heritage Construction this month, where a group of young people will have the opportunity to work alongside our building contractors (and we have a few of them about at the moment); learn new skills in bricklaying and lime mortar and rebuild our sad looking derelict cold frames in the walled gardens. As well as this they’re revising to pass their CSCS test which will give them a card that is requested by most building companies for new employees. An ambitious project, but ‘challenging’ is Tyntesfield’s middle name.

The group are all between 16 and 25 years old, and come from the Prince’s Trust target groups – essentially young people who need a chance to turn their lives around.

I am working as the National Trust liaison on the project, working alongside Kate Ingham from the Prince’s Trust. I have potentially never been so tired but never felt more proud of working where I do. I’ve learned many things on this project. Firstly, never underestimate quite how much sugar you need to buy in when 12 young men all drink between 2 and 5 spoonfulls of sugar in each cup of tea. That the best way to get through training sessions on health and safety (not traditionally the most riveting subject) is to include a large number of disgusting and dangerous slides of what happens when things go wrong. I may never climb a ladder or use an electric socket again.

I’ve also been continually astounded by the strength of the young people, how much they have overcome to be with us. They’ve picked up the brickwork so quickly and their team work and commitment has really impressed us all. Today is the last day of bricklaying training, and Kate and I are pulling our weight, with the guys being very kind and simply redoing our bits when we aren’t looking. Tomorrow we start on the wall itself, building walls that will hopefully stand for the next 100 years.

And the sun is shining… not a bad job is it?

Preparing the lime mortar

A bit of practice before being let loose on the cold frames

A record breaking Easter weekend

2009-04-13T09:00:00.006+01:00

A record breaking, sunshine-filled Easter weekend at Tyntesfield.

We’ve had more visitors than ever this weekend! Sunshine, Easter egg trails, story telling and face painting meant lots of contented families.

A buzzing weekend full of happy people

Everyone certainly made the most of the sunshine and the freshly mown lawns

Easter fun and games in the Sawmill Learning Centre

Discovering the depths of the kitchen garden pond

2009-04-08T17:09:00.004+01:00

Jo takes a wander to the kitchen garden...

I popped down to the walled garden today and stumbled upon a very muddy Head Gardener, Paul up to his ears in the pond… I was pleased to see that he wasn’t having a swim but was in fact clearing out the pond with the help of some (also very muddy!) volunteers. I don’t think he knew how deep it was and was surprised to find the bottom about 6ft down!

Paul in the pond

One of our volunteers Mike draining the pond

They cleared bucket loads lillies!

We're open - Saturday 4 April

2009-04-07T14:18:00.002+01:00

Bex Foy gives her perspective on her favourite ever day at Tyntesfield...

Without a doubt, Saturday was my favourite day working at Tyntesfield over the past two years. The atmosphere was fantastic, really buzzing and whoever ordered the pouring sunshine certainly had the right idea! After a hectic few weeks on the property trying to get everything ready for opening, our first day of the new season was a huge success and Tyntesfield was the place to be, without a doubt. Visitors poured through the gates right from the off, enjoying the new route to the House through Paradise, the freshly cut lawns, the Sawmill for a good old nosey around, the viewing platform for stunning views of the roofscape and stretching out across the Yeo valley. On top of the scaffolding, it was truly heart-warming to watch people down below; milling around the House, desperate to get up on the roof, picnicking in the park… and even an impromptu cartwheel competition on the croquet lawn! There was no denying that the scaffolding really impressed many of those brave enough to tackle the ascent, and the ability to see the work planned for the roof really intrigued the majority.

Up in the Sawmill, visitors were delighted to enter through the huge original wooden doors to the Engine House and Lantern Room within to see the fantastic restoration work and learn about what the buildings were used for and how we plan to put them to good use with school visits and events. It was very difficult to shut the doors at the end of the day as there were so many people enjoying a look around, marveling at the original features, the beautiful handmade quilt adorning the wall, and of course (most importantly) our fantastic new toilets!

And what a change in the House. The visit is now completely different with carpets removed and furniture moved to one side, many of the rooms can be enjoyed from a different angle. It was fascinating to see everyone amazed by the magnitude of the conservation work, asking lots of questions of our Room Interpreters and knowing that in hardly any time at all the House will look different again, constantly changing throughout the project this year, necessitating a visit later on to see how’re we getting on.

And so much more, it’s hard to write it all down. Intrigue, fascination and enjoyment continued at the Stables (with the batcam, discovery tables and virtual tour) and up at Home Farm with the new introductory film, welcome map and touch map.

The enthusiasm and energy of staff and volunteers was overwhelming, and very much appreciated by our visitors. Let’s hope this fantastic first day has given us a taster of a very exciting year to come!

Bex Foy, signing off.

One day to go - Friday 3 April

2009-04-03T18:00:00.005+01:00

Today was really hectic for everyone but there was a definite sense of excitement and the sun was shining so the last minute jobs were made a lot easier – and there were a lot of last minutes jobs! Clearing, tidying, painting, shifting furniture…to name a few. In the House last minutes preparations were made including laying perspex in the Butlers’ pantry which will give visitors a view under the floorboards and of the random objects that were found there (including bones and bottle tops!). The lovely permanent loos are ready to go and we mustn’t forget the amazing rooftop viewing tower - what a view!

The new rooftop viewing platform - ta da!

A nice edition to the Gothic Victorian architecture!

It looks a long way up from down here!

Helen and Cliff (from CS Williams) having a chin wag by the chimney pots

Tyntesfield blog starts here - Friday 3 April

2009-04-03T17:41:00.013+01:00

We’ve got the builders in, big time! … and we’re opening to visitors tomorrow!

It’s a pretty special time at Tyntesfield as we open up to visitors while a major restoration project takes place. It’s not your average National Trust property and you’ll soon find out. So as well as opening up the estate while all the work goes on for all to see we thought we would get blogging too …. There is lots happening behind the scenes so we’ll be posting up lots of lovely pictures and notes from the team to keep you up to date with all the goings-on at Tyntesfield.

Find out what it’s like to restore and repair a 120-room Victorian mansion...as we do!

Over the winter we have all been really busy preparing for the project…

The House team and helpers rolling the library carpet

Removing the drawing room curtains