(upbeat uplifting music)
- Merry almost Christmas.
Today we've come to Petworth which is a tiny little village
quite close to Brighton.
And we've come to see Petworth House
which is a big National Trust house,
as you know, we're obsessed with National Trust houses.
And they have got an exhibition on
that's all about Christmas, way back in time.
Christmas, history, two things I love, very excited.
(uplifting music)
So, this is Amelia Dovelle who is the Queen of Christmas,
we've decided is your job title.
- Yes.
- What does that mean though?
- I'm in Christmas mode all year 'round.
So, right now I'm planning next year's Christmas
as well as keeping this one all going.
- Amazing job.
- Yes. (women chuckling)
- Is it not? - Yes.
- That sounds
like a dream job. - No, it is.
It's an amazing job, I love it
but it does mean that come personal Christmas,
I have to really try to be not over the top.
We decorated my mum's Christmas tree the other weekend.
And I walked in and all the fairy lights were wrong,
so, I had to sort out the fairy (laughs) lights
because, yeah.
- I thought you were gonna say:
When it comes to personal Christmas,
I just don't have anything, I have like a white box
that I just-- - It's hard not to care.
- You're just like, I don't even have Christmas.
- No, no, no, she cares too much about Christmas.
- I care too much about Christmas.
It's really hard to switch it off.
- You're running the Christmas show here at Petworth House.
- I am, yes.
- Which is called, I think, Before Tinsel and Turkey?
- Yeah, Christmas before Tinsel and Turkey.
So, it's essentially a pre-Victorian Christmas.
So, we're talking sort of in the Georgian era.
It's before electricity, it's, obviously, before internet,
social media, TV specials.
So, it's all about, greenery, bringing the outdoors in.
It's about the food, it's about the wine,
it's about the family, the gatherings.
- It sounds like the Christmas I like.
- It does, it sounds like a lovely Christmas.
- And it's all about playing games together
and singing together and--
- So what kind of things
would they have done on Christmas Day?
- It would have been a lot of food,
a lot of drinking.
The sort of main pastimes would've been board games.
So, here we have a room where we have set out some,
a typical Georgian style board games if you want to play.
There's some for kids, there's some for adults.
Yeah, we have the replica of the Snakes and Ladders
that's one of the earliest prints of Snakes and Ladders
because the board games are all about morals and learning.
- Well, they kinda still are, aren't they?
- Board games? - Yeah.
- Do you think so?
'Cause I feel like Monopoly is about capitalism, go for it.
- Yeah and then you have to learn about
what it's like to lose.
(women chucking)
I hated Monopoly.
- You're so clearly a younger sibling.
- Game of Life, that's another one about morals.
Do you wanna go to uni--
- Also, make as much money as you can.
- It's all about money actually.
- [Amelia] Make as much money as you can.
- It's not really about being a good person.
- Okay, fair enough.
- I think maybe it's more subtle now.
- Yeah.
- It's more subtle now.
Back then it was just, you'd be going up bad boy lane
or you'd be going down honesty path and things like that.
So, they were pretty in your face with it back then.
If you weren't playing a board game
you'd be gathered around a piano
or sort of singing with each other, singing songs.
You'd definitely go to church in the morning.
And, then, you might sort of have a little pantomime.
You might perform for each other, play charades.
And, then, eat some more food and drink some more.
- We have carried on quite a lot of those.
- Yeah and to be honest to us that sounds wonderful.
- Yes. - We're not big on TV.
But what kind of food--
- Or tinsel. - Or tinsel (laughs).
- They were not happy with tinsel.
- We hate tinsel.
- I hate tinsel.
- I'm so sorry. - I hate tinsel so much.
- This always starts a war with our friends
whenever we're like-- - Really?
- Are you tinsel people or not tinsel people?
And half of our friends are like:
Uh, you have to have tinsel or else it's not Christmas.
And we're like.
- Tinsel's, like, highly flammable.
- It's also highly tacky. (group laughing)
No, you know.
- It comes from the queen.
- I have ruled no tinsel, no tinsel.
- Fair enough.
So, what do you think did they decorate with if not tinsel?
- Okay, so, Christmas trees, unlikely.
Most people think that it was Victoria and Albert
that brought in Christmas trees but actually it wasn't.
So, it was Victoria's grandmother, so, Charlotte.
So, she came over from Germany
with the German traditional treats
that's been kind of going on for centuries over there.
She came over and then she threw a party
on Christmas year 1800 for sort of children,
the wealthy children but it was mainly a kids party.
So, she kind of introduced the idea of Christmas trees
to the rich and wealthy and all of those people,
yeah, in the year 1800.
So, then, Victoria grew up
with tradition of Christmas trees.
And, then, when she married Albert
and a picture of them got shared and went viral
everybody, everybody had a Christmas tree.
However, back in Charlotte's day Christmas trees,
they didn't really look like our Christmas trees.
They would have been more likely to be things
like yew trees in pots.
And that's what we've done actually here.
So, we've got some yew trees in pots.
They're still growing, they're sprouting.
- Yeah, it's probably a better way
of bringing life into a house.
- We can plant them, also. - Yeah, exactly.
- That is really-- - And, then, bring them back
in the next year.
- Bring them back, they'll just keep gettin' bigger.
The decorations on the tree would've mainly been things
for children to loot and eat.
So, things like nuts, fruits, gingerbread
but, then, especially in the royal household
it's a little bit more fancy.
So, you'd have toys,
you'd have sort of glittering crystal,
things like that, as well.
- For the children.
- [Amelia] For the children.
- There's crystals. (Amelia laughing)
Put on a few rubies here and there, it's fine.
- But mainly it would just be greenery.
So, it would all be about
decorating greenery with some fruits and spices.
It would've been a very sensory Christmas
just not in the way that it is now.
Like now it's very, very visual.
It's very, very overlaid.
And it would have been very different back then.
It would have been about the smells and the taste.
- So, we're looking at all the food back here.
And it's without turkey, there was no turkey.
- There might have been but it wasn't the go to.
- Did we have turkeys?
- We did have turkeys.
And they would tend to be
sort of brought down from the north
and they would have been marched through,
marched through the towns wearing little boots (laughs).
- Aww!
Why?
- 'Cause otherwise their feet go funny.
You wanna look after your turkey's feet.
Christmas food is similar back then but not the same.
So, Christmas pudding wasn't a thing 200 years ago.
It's thought that it's most likely
to be somethin' called: Hackin
which is like a sweet haggis kind a thing.
Yeah, so, you've got your sheep's stomach, of course.
- Of course, obviously.
- You got your sheep's stomach.
And, then, in there you've got sort of oats,
sort of soggy oats.
You've got raisins, you got fruit, you got sugar,
you got spice.
The recipe says you boil it 'til it's enough.
- Until it's what?
- Enough. - Enough (laughs).
Boil it 'til it's done.
- [Amelia] Until it's enough.
- Oh, right, okay. (group laughing)
- Okay.
- But, then, probably-- - Hands enough now, it's done.
- You probably, then, you'd slice it up
and fry it and have it for breakfast, actually.
It's a breakfast thing, it's a breakfast thing.
- Oh, interesting. - Oh, okay.
- No, sugar and spice and fruit were very expensive.
So, things like mince pies would have been more meat
than sugar and fruit and spice.
And there would have been fig for sharing, as well.
And really important one, in my opinion,
is the Georgians had a ceremony called:
Cutting the Christmas cheese.
- Yeah.
- So, Christmas Eve, your friends,
your family, your neighbors, they'd all come around.
And you would have brought in a special cheese,
your special Christmas cheese.
And cutting it would kind of mark the start
of the festive celebrations.
You eat it with something called: Pepper cake
which I'm afraid I don't know the exact recipe for.
And have a lot a wine with it, as well.
The children would be drinking beer
because water was too unsafe to drink.
- Yeah (laughs). - Of course, obviously.
- But it died out with the Victorians.
So, I'm bringing it back.
There is cheese to eat and try here.
We've got lots of cheese, it's a cheddar,
it's a really good cheddar though.
- Will I be allowed some?
I'm a little bit lactose intolerant (laughs).
- Oh, are you?
- You spent the entire car journey here
complaining, I know, 'cause you ate some cheese.
- Yeah but it's Christmastime isn't it?
- You can have a tiny bit.
- Yeah, a tiny bit's okay.
- (laughs) We've been sponsored by
a Somerset based cheese company called: Wyke Farms,
they've been making cheese since the late 1700s.
- Oh. - Very nice.
- So, yeah, it's a good cheese.
- Then there are Christmas trees.
- Yeah, so, bringin' it back.
Presents. - Yes.
- Homemade, sentimental.
It wouldn't've been, Amazon wasn't there.
- Obviously.
- No Amazon, no next day delivery.
- Amazon wasn't around when I was little.
(group laughing)
- And, yeah, it would have all been,
I mean, especially in homes like this.
You already have what you want, you have what you need.
You have incredibly difficult to buy for.
And, yeah, it would have been home made things
like pincushions, little embroidery patches
and things like that.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
- That's nice, just a sentimental thing
to just show I love you.
There you go. - Yeah, yeah.
- [Amelia] To really show I love you.
- That's much nicer than,
I'll buy you a massive, great present.
- Yeah, exactly.
Unfortunately, we don't know much
about what Christmas was like here.
So, what we've kind of done
is we've interpreted Christmas for Georgians.
To give the idea of what it might have been like here.
But what we do know is that he loved his food,
he loved his wine, he loved his cheese.
And he loved friends and family.
- Aww, that's lovely. - And it looks amazing.
- It does. - Thank you.
- You've done an amazing job.
- It's taken so long (laughs).
- Oh, yeah (laughs). - Thank you for telling us
all about Christmas.
- Yeah, it seems to be really good.
- Very exciting.
- Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas. (women chuckling)
♪ Christmas lights fill the city ♪
♪ There are people everywhere ♪
♪ Snow is falling white and pretty ♪
♪ As I stroll on my way to you ♪
- So, this is an early Georgian fashion.
So, not quite the era that we're depicting.
So, the waistline is a little bit lower,
little bit more flattering than when it's right up here.
But what you've got on underneath is you've got a shift.
So, kind of, like, a long, thin, T-shirt.
So, that would have been for hygiene reasons
because they weren't big on keeping things clean back then.
So, you would a had your shift on.
And, then, you would have a petticoat for warmth.
You would've also had your corset on, as well
which was designed to kind of lift as well as suck in.
And, then, yeah, now, you've got this.
So, these were, obviously, very impractical,
beautiful but impractical which is why all the forks
in the dining room were upside down,
so, that you didn't accidentally hatch your lace sleeve.
- Oh!
- 'Cause that would be embarrassing.
That would ruin the evening.
- It's awful, awful.
- That's not what we want.
And that's why sort of old fashioned forks
tend to have the sort of engraving on the back
because they were designed to be other way around.
- Well.
- So, if you do take that home
make sure you be careful around the forks (laughs).
- Yes, when I steal this later, sure.
(Amelia laughing)
- I think people
might notice. - It's lovely.
Huh? - People might notice
you walk out in it.
- People might notice, do you think?
- So, these would often go on in two parts.
So, you would have kind of this bit
that would sit over the skirt area, as well.
So, yeah, this is just one of our many
historical costumes that we've got.
Some of them are replica, we do have some authentic stuff.
But I'm afraid I can't let anyone try that one on.
- Fair enough, fair enough.
I'm gonna come and start working for the National Trust
just so I can wear costumes.
- Yes. - Like, what a dream job.
It's amazing. - Costumes, Christmas.
- You got the best job ever.
- (laughs) Yes, yes I do.
- Wow. - I love it.
- Is everyone very jealous?
- Yes, everyone that understands what I do is very jealous.
- Oh, okay.
- But, I mean, the term is Senior Visitor Experience Officer
which doesn't really encompass Queen of Christmas,
wardrobe.
- Mistress. - Mistress.
- Yeah. - Yeah (laughs).
So, yeah, no, come back again, come see us.
- Oh, I will (laughs).
I'm definitely coming back.
- I've got Victorian dresses, I've got (laughs),
I've got some pretty old stuff, so.
- Fabulous.
Thank you so much for having us.
- No, thank you for coming.
And you, too.
- This is the best day out.
♪ Lights fill the city ♪
♪ There are people everywhere ♪
♪ Snow is falling white and pretty ♪
♪ As I stroll on my way to you ♪
♪ How do you feel about packing up today? ♪
(record needle scratching)
- So, you gonna do an intro?
- Before you've even--
- This is one of our volunteers.
- Oh, well, sorry.
- You would have (laughs), hello.
We'll let you go through.
- If I go and sit in here.
- Yeah, that sounds fine. - Yeah, that's perfect.
Thank you, actually.
- I'm sorry I don't want to disturb you.
- No, don't you worry.
♪ Christmas lights fill the city ♪
♪ There are people everywhere ♪
♪ The snow is falling white and pretty ♪
♪ As I stroll ♪