Newby Hall: Behind the scenes with dusters and polish as a Yorkshire stately home gets ready to reopen
The country house is a hive of activity before it reopens to the public on April 1.
"Everything is on track," said commercial director Stuart Gill. "Just about every hour is allocated - there's no room for any last minute changes."
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Hide AdFirst built in the 1690s, and attributed to Sir Christopher Wren, Newby Hall is widely said to be among the finest country seats in the North.There were significant adaptations, through history, by some of Britain's best known architects including John Carr and Robert Adam.
Inside, there are perhaps 30 rooms to prepare. Alabaster urns, and impressive columns, tables and chairs by Thomas Chippendale.
In the anteroom, teams have lowered the chandelier to give it a "once over". Then there's the brass work. The statue gallery.
"When you do one room, you create dust," said Mr Gill. "The tapestry room has wall-to-wall carpet, everybody just backs out the door."
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Hide AdThere have been challenges. Just a few weeks ago, three trees were destroyed in a storm. Each was 300 years old. This was emotional, said Mr Gill, to see them laid down. Clearing created a setback. Now in the final days, it's to the wire.
"Newby is a bit different, it's a family home, the Comptons do live here," said Mr Gill. "We tend to start the big spring clean as soon as we can in January. It comes down right to the last week really. There's lots of rooms with lots of ornaments and lots of bits to polish. It's a big job. One of the final jobs is to 'oil' the front door.”
To Mr Gill, it’s a bit like preparing for a Royal visit, with everything pressure washed “to within an inch of its life”.
"The smell of furniture polish is right through the house,” he added. “It's the smell of March, to us, getting ready for the season to begin."