British historic homes shaken by health crisis

In the United Kingdom as in France, the red bricks of heritage look gray.

Already in danger before the outbreak of the health crisis in 2020, the historic homes and the 34,400 people who work there throughout the year are now caught by the throat between the increasingly exorbitant amounts of the renovations that are looming. , and the almost total absence of income linked to their closure to the public.

While these areas are not on the list of the first activities that are expected to reopen in April, nearly 3,000 people are at risk of losing their jobs.

As for buildings, many owners now admit to being unable to maintain them.

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“

,” said James Probert.

Representing nearly 1,500 private historic homes across the United Kingdom, this official of the Historic Houses organization interviewed by AFP recalled that 1.6 billion euros was committed in 2019 for renovations, including nearly 400 million for urgent works alone, to measure the scale of the work before the pandemic breaks out.

But for a year, for lack of public and finances, some of these houses have been left to their own devices, that is to say to the elements, humidity, mold.

What to sound the alarm bell.

Historic homes eaten up by time

Owner since 1971 of the manor of Kentwell Hall, in Suffolk, Patrick Phillips was hit hard by the closing of the house to the public.

Behind the proud allure of this 16th century steelwork building, its brick architecture and the enchanting arrangements of its turrets and the bucolic bridge that spans its moat, the Tudorian house is dying.

Eaten up by time, the old stately home would require major renovations, especially towards the collapsing moat;

a prospect that is simply unachievable at a time when the mansion's usual turnover - 1.75 million euros in 2019 - has melted like snow in the sun.

Volatilized, events, weddings, conferences and other pageants;

visitors, too: in total, nearly 90% of Kentwell Hall's revenue has returned to dust.

"

, testified Patrick Phillips to AFP.

”.

Faced with the urgency of the work, the owner can only deplore, helplessly, his inability to start the required work.

A "

", according to him.

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On the other side of England, in Devonshire, this bitter observation is also shared by Charles Courtenay, the owner of Powderham Castle.

Heir to the magnificent fortified complex from the end of the 14th century built by his ancestors, the Earl of Devon told AFP that he had been "

" by the closure of places welcoming the public and by successive English confinements.

Not enough to blow up the solid foundation of the medieval walls, even if some water infiltration is to be deplored on the roofs: more than the stone, it is the casket of the castle which was reached in its heart.

We're not saying they have to allow these activities to reopen on April 12.

But we ask them to at least consider it.

James probert

Whether at Kentwell Hall or Powderham, public support remains slim.

The partial unemployment guaranteed by the government is supplemented by the financial support of some heritage associations such as Historic England, which came to the aid of the castle of the Earl of Devon, whose sums are used for the maintenance of the buildings.

However, almost more than financial aid, the various people interviewed by AFP plead above all for a reopening "as

", in the words of Charles Courtenay, to put an end to this financially trying situation as quickly as possible.

An express request that does not match the deconfinement schedule presented by Boris Johnson in February, which rules out historic homes from the wave of reopening scheduled for April 12, relegating them - like museums - to the next phase, for the time fixed for May 17.

A deadline perceived as too distant, too late, for those in charge of historic residences, in view of the economic urgency and even, in some cases, of the danger faced by these centuries-old sites. Without forgetting, either, the interest of the public in these fields: in Powderham, Charles Courtenay had made the gardens of the castle available to the public, last summer, by creating a "

" there. Well received, the initiative could testify to the attachment of the populations for these spaces of another time. “

” noted James Probert. The head of Historic Houses calls on the government to be reasonable. “

”. In the absence of a turnaround, the country's drawbridges will not be lowered to receive the public for seven weeks.