In 2006 the Doddington Hall Conservation Charity was founded with the aims of ‘promoting the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment on the Doddington Estate’.
The charity’s first project was raising funds for the restoration of two late 17th Century Flemish tapestries which resided in the Holly bedroom and the Yellow bedroom. The Tapestries had been hung there since the 1760s and depict ‘scenes from rural life’ and ‘The Trojan Wars’, which is a stark contrast I grant you. The thing that was different about these tapestries is that they are considered ‘cheaper’ survivors of the era, which in fact makes them far rarer than more expensive examples. In 2014 the first of the tapestries were taken down from the Yellow bedroom, which was the first time they had been moved in 252 years. From Doddington both sets of tapestries were taken to the Heritage Skills Centre at Lincoln Castle.
When I came to the project in 2014 the team were well underway in their restoration, with both tapestries having been removed, cleaned and were undergoing repair work. I was brought in with the aim to document the later stages of the project particularly the finer detail restoration and the hanging process. I spent a great deal of time filming lots of supporting media to help tell the story of the project including interviews with Doddington’s owner Claire Birch.
The project came to a conclusion in 2016 when both rooms had been completed and a formal unveiling afternoon took place. I had produced two separate pieces for Doddington, a much shorter highlights type video for press release and a full length documentary to support the former.
For me heritage is incredibly important so to have the opportunity to utilise my skills to tell a heritage based story was very worthwhile not least for the chance to learn new lessons for my career at this early stage. This project wouldn’t have been possible without the funding from received from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Ashley Family Foundation, Country Houses Foundation, The Mercers’ Company, Lincolnshire County Council and many more.
Working on this project was incredibly interesting and I had the opporunity to work alongside some incredibly talented and skillful people that really made this project come to life.
Trailer:
Full length documentary: