Secrets of Britain's Historic Houses and Gardens

Go behind the scenes at some of the UK’s most magnificent houses and gardens. At Belton House, conservation is taking place on an art treasure. But could the painting contain a hidden mystery? At Biddulph Grange a beautiful Chinese bridge is painstakingly rebuilt, while Hardwick Hall must save a 450-year-old table from collapse before it goes on a North American tour.

Head behind the velvet rope and go behind the scenes at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, former home of writer Vita Sackville-West. Her writing room is in danger of collapse, including a collection of phone numbers she scrawled on the wall. Can experts save it? Another literary legend, Rudyard Kipling, made a manor called Bateman’s his home. But could his priceless writing desk have woodworm?

Gain exclusive access to the childhood home of a music legend. Forthlin Road, Liverpool is the house Sir Paul McCartney grew up in and is considered by many to be the birthplace of the Beatles. It’s been lovingly restored, but there’s still one project the team need to tackle. Dudmaston Hall in Shropshire holds works by Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore. But one masterpiece may be rotting away.

Cragside was the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity. It is filled with engineering marvels, but now the team must carefully restore and replace a priceless clock. Seaton Delaval Hall was home to a family whose hard-partying lifestyle led to them being dubbed the ‘Gay Delavals’. But can conservation experts repair a painting that may have been damaged by a champagne cork?

In 1922, needing a countryside retreat, Winston Churchill bought Chartwell House in Kent. Now open to the public, it contains many items owned by the great man. But one of its prize possessions, a relief model used during D-Day, needs essential repair. A few miles away, Ightham Mote, England’s oldest surviving medieval moated manor, has an insect problem that’s eating a precious artefact.

Beside the waters of Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland lies Mount Stewart, the historic seat of the Stewarts. Now a team of experts battle to save unique dodo and dinosaur statues in house’s extensive gardens. A few miles away, in the architectural wonder of Castle Ward, a portrait could hold a hidden story. While in The Argory, a Victorian garden seat undergoes restoration to its former glory.