Stately stays for everyone
Lady Violet Manners and her mother, the Duchess of Rutland, are among the aristocratic owners set to open their doors for bespoke luxury escapes. Eleanor Doughty finds out why
Life in the stately home has many appeals – the hoards of dogs, the seemingly unlimited space for fun, the jaw-dropping architecture – not to mention the Old Masters on the walls. Now you can experience it for yourself, going behind the scenes thanks to a canny duke’s daughter, and one of the world’s best-known travel companies. A partnership between Abercrombie & Kent, the luxury travel company set up by Geoffrey Kent in 1962, and Lady Violet Manners, daughter of the 11th Duke of Rutland, is about to bring the “Duchess” tour to life.
The idea stemmed from the podcast of the same name, launched by Violet and her mother, the Duchess of Rutland, last year, in which the duchess – the chief executive of the Rutlands’ family home of Belvoir Castle near Grantham – interviews fellow chatelaines of other stately homes to explore their histories, experiences and, well, what to do when something crucial breaks.
The podcast was Violet’s brainchild. While away at business school in Los Angeles, she was nostalgic for Britain and its rich history of private heritage. Returning home, she wanted to channel this for good, and Duchess was born, launching in February 2021 with 10 willing chatelaines. Now, the third series is about to air, with Abercrombie & Kent set to bring bespoke tours to life at around 20 houses from the podcast line-up.
The idea of inviting guests behind the green baize door was born from a podcast listener, explains Violet. “After series two, we had an email from a
meet the women, like my mum, behind the houses, you have an acute understanding of the hundreds of years of sacrifice, dedication and love that has gone into keeping that building standing.”
These women are a brilliant gang, says her mother, the duchess: “What the podcast shows me again and again is that there is a group of women who have had, throughout history, the same problems.” In years gone by, “there was probably more camaraderie because they had the season, and we don’t have that now. People say, ‘Don’t you know other people from your world?’ No, because you get so immersed in your own bubble – there’s no time to network.” These days, she says, full-house party weekends are few and far between: “I have one shooting weekend a year, the duke has one, and the girls have one with their mates. My in-laws used to have five or six a year. It’s no longer the glamour of yesteryear, although [being closed during] lockdown gave us a glimpse of yesteryear.”
Still, she acknowledges that people love to come and look around places like Belvoir – and that of course they must, if it is to stay functional.
Private heritage, says the duchess, represents “the roots of the people of the nation. They give people foundations, whether they love them or hate them. Belvoir has been through famines, civil wars and now Covid, and it will go through a few more of those – and it will still be standing.”
She observes that it is sometimes Americans who feel the passion for stately homes more than Brits. “They are desperate to help us to maintain what they see as the mother island being best at. Private heritage is our USP, and they are just all over trying to support me with funds to preserve Belvoir. As a group of private houses we should look much more at how we promote ourselves to the world. We’re unique fossils that shouldn’t be forgotten.”
‘It’s about unifying heritage in a way that I don’t believe has been done before’
Abercrombie & Kent (03301 734712; abercrombiekent.co.uk) offers tailormade stays at a collection of Britain’s historic stately homes, castles and palaces featured in the Duchess series, including traditional country pursuits, garden tours and fine dining experiences. Prices available on request. The third series of the podcast begins on Spotify and Apple Podcasts on Monday