Belton House mansion in Grantham closes for winter maintenance

The mansion at Belton House is now now closed for winter maintenance.

This time enables the house team to care for many of the extraordinary collections - including caring for over 20,000 books.

The team diligently clean, examine and record the details of each book.

There are some hidden gems along the way, including a signed page by Queen Victoria where she struggled to find space on the page.

Jonathan Wilkinson, house steward, said it is a whole team effort to get the house ready for reopening again next year.

He added: “Winter time is traditionally the busiest time of year for the collections team at Belton House. A team of four full-time and two part-time members of staff, and 25 volunteers are getting to work on essential conservation tasks which can be difficult to do when the house is open.

“Shutters are closed and furniture is covered to protect the precious contents from dust and light damage. Throughout the season, the team can be found up a 20 foot scaffold removing dust from delicate textiles or working their way through the collection of 20,000 books, checking for signs of damage and recording condition.

"Items are cleaned on a cyclical basis and specialist cleaning tools are used depending on the object. This year, the team have an added challenge of deep cleaning all the collection items in the attic rooms, vacuuming large historic carpets and polishing floors in the main part of the house, all of which equates to many thousands of hours of work."

The house will reopen to the public in March 2022.

The grounds including the gardens, indoor and outdoor playgrounds and the parkland remains open for visitors throughout the winter season.

Photos: Belton House