When it comes to a big spring clean, the team at Hillsborough Castle certainly are a dab hand. That's because they are in the midst of cleaning every single item in Northern Ireland's only royal residence.
That's around 1,200 items, ranging from chandeliers to chess pieces, and it’s a tradition that dates back over 200 years.
Hillsborough Castle has long been the residence of choice for the Royal Family when they have visited Ulster and it is now the official home of the Secretary of State.
Read more: Council to offer £500 grants for King Charles coronation parties
The Co Down village was a hive of activity throughout 2022 with the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June and then her death in September.
Belfast Live paid a visit to Hillsborough Castle this week to learn more about their six-week conservation clean and find out what it takes to keep a royal residence looking spick and span!
The conservation clean is a tradition that Hillsborough Castle and Garden’s records have documented as far back as the 1800s when the 3rd Marquess of Downshire requested a thorough clean of the building by the Castle Steward.
Now, over 200 years later, Castle and Collections Manager David Orr and his team of four are following much of the same cleaning techniques and traditions as the royal residence undergoes its annual conservation clean of around 1,200 items throughout every room.
Over six weeks, the team will painstakingly dust, hoover, wax and wash items from the collection.
These range from the oldest items such as the Irish Elk Antlers above the State Entrance, which are at least 8,000 years old, and a Bartolomeo painting, which dates back to the early 1500s, to the Royal applique banner and its intricate gilding in the Throne Room.
This week the team is tackling the Drawing Room which will take four days alone as it contains the greatest number of objects within the collection.
Meanwhile, the impressive chandeliers adorning the Throne Room are both the biggest and smallest pieces to be dusted and cleaned, with each individual crystal getting the VIP treatment.
David explained: “In every room, we have the scaffolds up and are working from the top of the ceilings right down to the carpets and wooden floors and everything in between, removing all the dust and giving all the objects a clean to make sure we're prepared for the return of visitors in April.
“At the moment we have around 1,200 pieces in the collection, most of which is on display and this includes roughly 300 paintings on loan from over 60 different lenders.
“Most of the works are situated within the State Rooms which visitors can view and they range from silver and brassware to paintings on canvas and 25 chandeliers.
“It takes about a day to do one chandelier alone, which means quite a few pieces of scaffolding being carefully built within the Throne Room.
“Next door, The Drawing Room has an impressive collection of paintings, each of which has to be individually cleaned, plus all the furniture and rugs must be delicately vacuumed and washed to ensure their integrity.
“The Drawing Room is the biggest room of the house and we have to take it in stages, carefully moving furniture around by the day and ticking everything off as we go, so it is the room that takes the longest.”
While the team continue their work, visitors can get an exclusive insight into the conservation process during a unique behind-the-scenes conservation tour with David Orr later this month.
“During the tour, we’ll be showing how we care for the historic collections and the techniques we use, as well as providing some tips and advice for the visitors’ own collections of antiques they may have at home,” David said.
“We will also welcome clock conservator Duncan Greig who visits Hillsborough Castle every year to service our antique clocks, such as the Dan Quare and Stephen Horseman Clock which sits in the heart of the Castle, the Ante Room.
“It's on loan to us from the V&A in London and is the oldest and most accurate working timepiece.
“Duncan will show visitors how he cleans and restores these historical timepieces, being careful not to damage any of their delicate materials, nor knock off their accuracy.”
The conservation tours on 22 and 23 February are part of a series of events at Hillsborough Castle and Gardens alongside the Northern Ireland Science Festival.
Elsewhere, a Beginners Guide to the Science of Compost will take place on 16 February, where visitors can learn how to get the carbon and nitrogen ratio just right, what can be composted and when it is ready to use.
Meanwhile, Hillsborough Castle's gardeners will also give a guided tour of the Walled Garden and a behind-the-scenes look at their operating base.
Finally, all the family can enjoy sun-printing and beeswax wrap making during special workshops. On 18 February visitors can discover the magical technique of early photography through the pioneering work of botanical artist, photographer and scientist Anna Atkins, and make their own cyanotype print to take home.
And on 25 February, the NI Science Festival events close with a beeswax wrap workshop with Hillsborough Castle’s resident beekeeper, Gwen Earnshaw.
Booking for all events is essential and more information can be found here.
Video by Belfast Live videographer Harry Bateman.
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