American Viscountess Visits Grimsthorpe Castle

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 Grimsthorpe Castle to learn more about their collection and the important conservation work that they do.

Grimsthorpe Castle

Grimsthorpe Castle has been the seat of the Barons Willoughby de Eresby since 1516. The oldest part of the Castle, the King John's Tower, dates to the late 12th Century. The house and its lands were gifted in 1516 by Henry VIII to William, 11th Baron Willoughby of Bec and Eresby, on the occasion of his marriage to Katherine of Aragon’s lady-in-waiting, Maria de Salinas.

The collection at Grimsthorpe comprises items of furniture, paintings, china, sculpture, objects d'art, books and armour. The objects range in date from the 16th century to the present day.

The Willoughby family were awarded the hereditary office of Lord Great Chamberlain in 1626, an office they continue to share with other families today. Due to this role, several items in the collection have royal provenance and were received by the Willoughby family through the system of perquisites.

The Castle and its parkland are open to the public for approximately 165 days each year.

The Collection

Recent work on their collection highlights the importance of ensuring that correct environments for display still allow them to tell new stories. It has centred around conserving and exhibiting a silk doublet and trunkhose dating from 1600 to 1605. These probably belonged to Robert Bertie, 13th Lord Willoughby de Eresby (later 1st Marquess of Lindsey) and may have been worn by him to the coronation of James I in 1603.

The provenance and extraordinary survival of this costume make it a rare and important historical text. The ensemble was previously displayed at the V&A in the 1990s and was included in Janet Arnold’s seminal work Patterns of Fashion.

However, when it is considered in the context of Grimsthorpe and the status of the Willoughby family in the late Tudor and early Jacobean period, it assumes additional historical resonance. With reference to other items in the Grimsthorpe collection (paintings, books, archival letters), this very personal item becomes a central tool in successfully interpreting the character and preoccupations of Robert Bertie, and informs our understanding of him as one of the most influential military leaders of his time. We have been able to reimagine elements of our collection in terms of martial inheritance and authority. 

The doublet was rediscovered in 2019 in poor condition and partially conserved, the treatment having been started and abandoned in the early 2000s. It required extensive but sympathetic conservation before it could be exhibited alongside the trunkhose. The treatment was expensive, but the team were awarded a grant towards the cost by the Pilgrim Trust. 

Once the doublet was conserved and stabilised, it was concluded that the friable costume could only safely be exhibited in optimum environmental conditions. It would require a bespoke display case which was far outside the budget. Fortunately, again they were awarded a generous grant by Tru Vue Acrylics and the Institute of Conservation. This allowed them to create two identical display cases, complete with UV acrylic lids and built-in environmental controls, in which to display safely both the doublet and the trunkhose. Although the costume was exhibited this summer for only eight weeks due to their fragile nature, the bespoke cases will be used for displaying other sensitive collection items in future exhibitions.

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.