American Viscountess Visits Burton Constable Hall

Julie Montagu hosts the wonderful series American Viscountess, where she visits the owners of castles, manor houses and stately homes, and discover how they have adapted to the 21st century. Over the summer, Julie visited Burton Constable Hall to learn more about their collection and the important conservation work that they do.

Burton Constable Hall

Burton Constable's collections capture a wide-ranging insight into the history of this great house, which has belonged to the Constable family for 800 years. The collection contains almost all material types, from fine fabrics and furnishings to unique plans and drawings, amateur sketches and fine art, curiosities and religious artefacts through to wheelchairs, whales and exercise horses. The dates for these items span from the 17th to 21st centuries and capture a unique glimpse of a home which has passed through many branches of the same family all with their own interests. Among the collections are some key items relating to Chippendale, Capability Brown, Lightoler and many other notable designers and craftsmen from the 18th and 19th Centuries.

The Collections

Burton Constable is host to nationally important, if not internationally important, collections; key among these are the Chippendale collections and William Constable’s Cabinet of Curiosities, one of the finest examples of such collections to survive in its original settings.

Visitors to this beautiful home note the lived-in atmosphere the house has, and on the curious juxtapositions that occur among the displays thanks to the very different artistic, decorative and scientific interests of the current family's predecessors.

The collections feature works by some very key names, with furniture by Atkinson and by Lightoler as well as artworks by Jeanne-Etienne Liotard, George Romney and Pompeo Batoni, and of which have featured internationally in exhibitions. It also however showcases the exquisite amateur artwork and painstaking craftsmanship undertaken by members of the family themselves to create watercolour, sketch and needlework designs showing their beloved houses, landscapes and pets.

William Constable's broad-ranging interests mean that the Hall is full of unique curiosities, from astonishing early electrical equipment and herbarium to unique, locally-made wheelchairs as well as his more luxurious Chippendale suites. Although curiosity collections were very fashionable during the 18th century, Burton Constable's is particularly significant as it is the only to survive in its original country-house setting, with many of the objects still displaying their original 18th century labels which were handwritten by William himself and correlate exactly to letter, vouchers and bills of lading which are still held in the Foundation's extensive archives.

How they Conserve the Collection

Burton Constable is constantly re-evaluating how they use their collections to best tell their stories, with significant alterations in the Hall's displays lately to exhibit collections in a more day-to-day way and better engage with their visitors. They have also been carrying out significant works to conserve the unique and vast collections of 18th and 19th century music, with this work including a partnership project with the University of Hull to perform and digitise pieces which the family would have collected and played in the mid-1800s. This music will now be played to our visitors during their visits to the Hall, as well as featuring in new guided tours looking at the Hall's print and music collections.

This is a truly unique collection - that still has the ability to inspire and surprise.

The winner of this year's award will be announced this November. Stay tuned as we announce other shortlist contenders over the next few weeks.