Belton House near Grantham to feature in new BBC TV series

Belton House will take centre stage in a new BBC TV series later this week.

The house will feature in a BBC Arts TV series called Hidden Treasures of the National Trust, which airs on Friday, May 12.

Belton House will be one of the locations featured in episode one and viewers will go behind the scenes to see one if its most striking 17th century portraits is being conserved and cleaned.

The painting is of Margaret Brownlow, daughter of MP Sir John Brownlow’s, who built Belton House – daughter Margaret Brownlow.

In the painting, there is an unidentified attendant fading into the background of the painting is what curators will look to uncover.

Charlotte Holmes, cultural heritage curator, said: “I do this work with the knowledge that some of my ancestors were enslaved African people.

“And seeing African people portrayed in a subjected pose in the visual language of the country house is a really important thing to acknowledge.

“It’s history, it’s our past and it’s here represented in our material culture.”

John Chu, senior national curator, said it is a “really exciting moment” to see a “painting for the first time after it’s come back from a conservation treatment”.

He added: “Sometimes, it’s like having a new work of art.”

The six-part series will visit some of the National Trust’s most well-known locations including Churchill’s home - Chartwell in Kent, as well as lesser-known treasures such as Hardman’s House in Liverpool, home to a nationally significant collection of photographs.

Alistair Pegg, from BBC Arts, said: “Almost six million of us are members of the National Trust, but in this series we wanted to offer viewers a chance to discover something that visitors don’t normally see.”

Tarnya Cooper, curatorial and conservation director for the National Trust, said: “We look after over 500 places for the benefit of the nation, and trying to convey the scale of that responsibility, is not easy.

“However, this series beautifully brings to life the quantity and diversity of the objects and places in our care, and the incredible skills of our staff, volunteers, and the specialists we work with.”

Belton House is open Thursday to Monday from 11am to 4pm and visitors will be able to see the portrait in the Saloon.

Belton Estate is open daily from 9.30am to 5.30pm.