Behind the scenes, floorboards had to be lifted and new pipes and cables laid before more exciting decorative work could be carried out in the Palace House transformation. It also required the skills of Palace House staff . . . . as well as bee experts, as Lord Montagu explains.
The work to create the new themed bedrooms and bathrooms in Palace House required a range of skills including electricians, plumbers, carpenters, plasterers, painters, furniture restorers, and even bee experts.
For several years, bees have been getting into the house through a small hole in the stonework and living in one of the cavities. Much as I love bees, it’s not very good having a colony that might swarm close to a public area, so we called in bee specialists who cut a hole in the corridor ceiling to capture the swarm and relocate it with the Queen.
Honeycomb was recovered which I was pleased to sample on my toast. I was initially doubtful about eating something which had been scraped out of an ancient cavity but it was really quite good – you can’t get any more homemade than this!
Hear Lord Montagu tell the story here: https://youtu.be/uCyBrsJSf6g
Then explore the new rooms for yourself with a ticket to Beaulieu, which also includes entry to the National Motor Museum and its exhibitions, adventure playground Little Beaulieu, 13th century Beaulieu Abbey, the Secret Army Exhibition, unlimited rides on the tree-top monorail and beautiful grounds and gardens.
NEXT WEEK: See what’s coming next to Palace House!
