A Spring clean

Imagine a Spring clean with 128 rooms, over 300 windows, four floors of precious objects and not forgetting 44,000 books – that’s the task of the Longleat conservation team.

Throw in a 300-year-old chandelier that can only be winched down very slowly from the roof – plus hundreds of pieces of ceramics, glass and silverware in the State Rooms – and the true scale of the task to ensure Longleat House is protected for the future becomes apparent.

Although the rooms are regularly cleaned, Spring means a deeper dive into the crevices which attract dust and can harbour damaging pests such as clothes moths and silverfish. With so many books housed in the 16th-century building's seven libraries, dusting and checking them all takes several years so no sooner has the team finished then it starts again.