Belvoir Special Ep. 1: Meet My Mum

Hidden Heritage

HeritageXplore

Society & Culture, Arts, History

4.8 • 608 Ratings

🗓️ 17 November 2022

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Episode Description: On the first episode of this new season, the Duchess sits down with her beloved mother, Roma, to discuss their family life in Wales, the Duchess explains how it prepared her for a life in custodianship and we learn what Roma’s family really thought about her daughter joining the aristocracy. Top Quotes: “The ethic of work and not the achievement of what it brings is whats important. Of course, nothing at Belvoir will ever be mine but the journey of making it successful is what brings me so much pleasure.” - Duchess of Rutland “Its through the hardship that you gain strength.” - Duchess of Rutland About Belvoir Castle: Belvoir Castle is a 16,000-acre estate in Leicestershire, it’s history dates back to the 11th century in 1067. Crowning a hill, the Castle’s turrets and towers rise over the Vale of Belvoir, designed by the legendary landscape architect Capability Brown. The Belvoir Estate has been passed down through 36 successive generations of the Manners family, and an unbroken line of Dukes of Rutland for nearly 1000 years. James Wyatt, the renowned architect of Windsor Castle, designed the remodelled the Castle between 1801-1832 for the 5th Duke and Duchess of Rutland. Today, Belvoir Castle is one of the finest examples of Regency architecture in Britain and a modern working estate. In addition, the gardens have undergone several major changes over the centuries – the latest being a two-year restoration programme by the present Duchess to bring the lost plans of Capability Brown to fruition in 2016. About the Host: Emma, Duchess of Rutland, grew up far away from the world of the aristocracy. Born Emma Watkins, the Duchess grew up the daughter of a Quaker farmer, in the Welsh countryside. She trained as an opera singer in the Guildhall School of Music, and worked as a successful interior designer before meeting her future husband David Manners, the 11th Duke of Rutland, at a dinner party. Their marriage in 1992 thrust Emma into a new world, which included the responsibility of preserving one of the nation's greatest stately homes: Belvoir Castle. While simultaneously running the day to day operations of the castle, and raising five children, the Duchess became fascinated with the history and importance of the other stately homes of the UK. Join Emma as she embarks on a wonderful journey through time, to learn more about the incredible homes that have defined Great Britain and, most importantly, meet the other extraordinary women who work tirelessly in the background, to preserve their homes history and magic for future generations. Resources: Step inside Britain's greatest Historic Houses, gardens and family homes through HeritgeXplore, your digital gateway to discovering heritage today. Visit https://www.heritagexplore.com/ https://www.belvoircastle.com/ https://www.onefineplay.com/ https://www.emmaduchessrutland.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm the Duchess of Rutland. I'm so excited to be back with you for another season of Duchess, and this one will be extra special.
0:13.0	I'm so grateful I've been able to travel around the country, see beautiful houses and meet extraordinary
0:23.2	people. But I've wanted to finally bring you inside and share all the magic we have here at our
0:31.0	very own home, Beaver Castle. So in this six-part limited season, we are exploring my home, Grantham's Great Jewel, bringing you every piece of its history, art and culture, all of its past, its present and the future.
1:02.1	So I hope you enjoy this very special season.
1:04.3	This is Duchess. am the Duchess of Rutland and my home is Beaver Castle, this wasn't always the case. I am a proud daughter of a Welsh farmer. And to kick off
1:31.1	this very special season of Duchess, I thought I'd share more about this side of my heritage.
1:37.7	So to do this, I could think of no better guest than my beloved mother, Roma Watkins, for the first episode.
1:47.3	In our conversation, we talk about my upbringing and what it was like for my family when they found
1:55.2	out that their daughter would become a Duchess. But first, I wanted to understand more about what life was like for my mother when she was growing up.
2:10.1	So, Mum, this is a huge pleasure to finally have you on the podcast.
2:14.5	Can you start by telling me, Mum, a little bit about your childhood
2:20.7	growing up? Yes, well, I expect it was quite similar to yours, which is a farm in Herefordshire
2:27.5	on the borders. I was one of six. Six children. Six children. You know, it was a very happy childhood.
2:36.0	It was busy. There was always things to do on a farm. What sort of time was this, mum? What's of date was this? I was born in 39.
2:43.0	So just during the Second World War? Yes. And things were quite tough. I mean, my mother used to make
2:50.0	dresses out of parachute silk and things were so tough. I mean, my mother used to make dresses out of parachute silk and
2:52.6	things were so different. We had an argo. I never grew up with central heating. I hadn't got a clue
2:58.5	what it was to be warm in your bedroom. You could scratch the ice off the inside of your window.
3:03.7	It must have been very frustrating. I can remember you being frustrated when you used to see
3:09.1	the waste that left the plates from my children's plates growing up. Yeah, well, you didn't,
3:15.1	you didn't waste food. Something you just didn't do. No. And I do know that I will go to my grave
	...

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