Repair Plan
July 7, Saturday.
On this morning, the Rolls-Royce spray-painted with the crest of the Duke of Devonshire family, after picking up Bonnie, drove on the road to Chatsworth Manor.
When she approached Chatsworth Manor, Bonnie saw the familiar scenery with a smile on her face:
"Barron, look, there is a little deer over there... No, there is a group of them, they are in the woods, too So cute!"
It can be seen that Bonnie is in a great mood when she comes here again.
For Barron's personal assistant Wang Wanting, who was sitting in the passenger seat at this time, this was her first time in such a magnificent aristocratic manor.
It was not like she had never visited this kind of British aristocratic manor in the past, but those manors pale in comparison to Chatsworth.
With more than 100 rooms, Chatsworth Manor can be regarded as the second largest manor building in the UK in terms of scale.
As for the first place, it is Blenheim Palace, also known as Churchill Manor, owned by the Churchill family of the famous British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. It is the only manor called Palace in the UK.
Churchill Manor was built by Queen Anne in order to thank John Churchill (the ancestor of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill) for his military exploits in the Battle of Blenheim. It was given to the first Duke Churchill, so it was named Palace to show his sincerity.
A gift from the Queen. Does it sound sincere?
Unfortunately, the Queen died in the middle of the construction, and the financial chain was broken. The first Duke had to pay for it out of his own pocket to continue the construction for many years, and the family almost went bankrupt.
"Your Majesty the Duke, you are finally back..."
The Rolls-Royce stopped at the door of the mansion. The gilded iron door of the manor mansion was wide open. Butler Sean and a group of servants greeted Barron at the door.
Barron gave Sean a hug affectionately:
"Butler Sean, you look very good today."
Although he was a little shocked by Barron's hug that did not conform to the traditional aristocratic etiquette, but Butler Sean The smile in his eyes could not be hidden.
"Hello, Mr. Sean, we meet again."
Bonnie saluted Butler Sean and said happily.
"Welcome to Chatsworth, nice to see you again."
...
Entering the mansion of Chatsworth Manor, both Bonnie, who has been here once, and Wang Wanting, who is here for the first time, all Be struck by the luxury of its interior.
As soon as you enter the hall, you can see magnificent murals around and at the top, depicting the life of Julius Caesar.
After passing through the hall, you enter a dazzling sculpture gallery...
the most eye-catching one is a sculpture of a girl wearing tulle.
This sculpture is extremely famous and was created by the 19th-century Italian sculptor Raffaelle Monti. It is called "A Veild Vestal Virgin".
The gauze on the head of the girl sculpture is as thin as cicada wings, and the carving of the entire sculpture is amazing!
Barron called the butler Sean to the study to discuss matters. Bonnie, who had already been here once, took Wang Wanting to continue to visit the Chatsworth Manor mansion.
Including the Queen's bedroom and dressing room when the ancestors of the Devonshire family were ordered to imprison Queen Mary...
Queen Victoria was 13 years old when she was still a princess. She attended the first formal dinner in her life, marking the princess' official entry into adulthood. The North Wing Restaurant of the Society... The bedroom
where the 1st Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, stayed at Chatsworth Manor with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert - this was the sixth generation's bedroom at the time. The Duke of Devonshire carefully prepared it for him, and the walls were decorated with exquisite Chinese-style wallpaper, which was very fashionable at the time...
It can be said that many well-known British historical figures have left their mark on Chatsworth.
...
"Butler Sean, I wonder if you have asked someone to calculate how much it would cost if our Chatsworth Manor, including the mansion and gardens, were to be completely repaired?" This
was Barron's return this time. One of the main purposes of Chatsworth was that when he came here before, he had found that many places in the manor were obviously old.
Moreover, although the manor has undergone some modern renovations, wires and networks have only been installed in some rooms, which is still far from the convenient modernization that Barron hoped for.
After understanding what Barron meant, butler Sean said:
"Your Majesty, in fact, in these years, our manor has only undergone some partial repairs and renovations. The entire mansion has more than a hundred rooms. If it is like you said, , if all the interiors of the rooms and halls, as well as the outer walls, plus gardens and some roads, are completely renovated and renovated, it will probably cost tens of millions of pounds, or even more... For specific figures, you need to hire a professional agency. We have an estimate."
"Then let's make an estimate first, Butler Sean."
"Are you really prepared to do this? Your Majesty, this is probably a very large expenditure..." "
Yes, but will it be done immediately? We also need to get specific figures. After all, Chatsworth is too old and always needs thorough repairs. I hope it will continue to be in the best condition." "
As you command, Your Majesty the Duke."
Since 1894, The British government imposed heavy taxes on the nobility, and the highest inheritance tax rate ever reached 80%.
This turned the manor from a symbol of power in the past into a hot potato for the established nobles.
In addition to the high inheritance tax, the daily maintenance of the manor was also expensive. Many nobles had to sell their manor homes and collections of art to make up for their financial shortfalls.
The heirs who choose to stick to the manor are often miserable. They guard the mansion and the house full of treasures, but are burdened with huge debts and live a life of poverty. Some even claim to be poorer than beggars.
If it's so hard, why not sell the estate? Perhaps this is the commitment of the British nobles to their ancestors and their persistence in tradition.
Since 1900, 1,200 manors have been demolished in England alone!
In 1950, manors were being demolished at the fastest rate in history, with one manor disappearing every five days across the UK.
Some lucky manor owners handed over full rights to their properties and converted them into museums, schools, hospitals, or prisons, which was a not-so-bad confession to their ancestors.
Most of the manors have been demolished or abandoned.
At first, the awareness of cultural relic protection in England was not strong, and the people did not feel it was a pity that the manor was demolished—perhaps they were also happy that the old landlord was overthrown.
However, in 1974, an exhibition called "The Ruined Manor" at the Victoria and Albert Museum made the British people aware of the historical significance of the manor.
In this climate of public opinion, the National Trust, a charity that protects British cultural heritage, has become a refuge for British estates.
However, there are only a handful of manors that can generate income through open tours or other activities. Most manors require continuous investment in repairs and maintenance, which has become a heavy burden for these related non-profit organizations.
If someone is willing to buy it, they will often sell it to the other party at a low price, and only ask them to ensure the maintenance of the manor - even if they sell it for 1 pound, they need to bear millions of repair funds.
It can be said that compared with most manors, Chatsworth Manor is lucky.
In addition to the fact that the Devonshire family has always stayed here and never given up their ancestral business, as the second largest manor in England, it has many shining deeds in British history. It is also easier to attract tourists... Now
Barron hopes to pass The "Downton Abbey" novel and subsequent film and television works based on it have made Chatsworth Abbey more topical.
At the same time, a thorough renovation will be carried out here so that it can be presented to the world in a more perfect manner.
Of course, carrying out such repairs requires a lot of funds. That is to say, the purchasing power of the pound is still very strong, the exchange rate is also at a high level, and the cost of raw materials and labor-including the cost of experts for such ancient buildings-has not yet been reached. Extremely exaggerated...
Otherwise, if it were twenty years later, the cost of complete renovation and renovation of a manor of this size would easily reach hundreds of millions - for example, the ten-year renovation project of Buckingham Palace twenty years later is expected to cost RMB 369 million. GBP.
Of course, Buckingham Palace is much larger than the mansion at Chatsworth Manor. It has nearly 800 rooms...
But even now, if you want to carry out large-scale repairs and modernization of Chatsworth Manor, I am afraid it will cost at least Over £15 million.
The data during the new book period is related to subsequent recommendations, so follow-up reading is very important. I beg you not to keep it all the time. If you feel that it is okay, read it every day to help increase follow-up reading. Thank you very much.