Today I’m going to discuss Yesterday’s ‘Secrets of the Manor House’ series which has been
airing for a number of weeks now. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the
programme to be honest with you. I’d caught an advert which I was intrigued by
and so just pressed the record series button, thinking I’d come back to it in
good time. That I did and I was pleased to discover the first episode was on
Hampton Court Palace – a favourite childhood haunt.
Unusually the programme wasn’t headed by a presenter, rather
it was narrated by Samuel West and incorporated a number of ‘talking heads’ who
spoke about their specialist subjects, including Suzannah Lipscomb who provided
the main historical narrative. I’m a big fan of this technique and thought that
it was really well used in this episode. We have so many talented historians in
this country, with a broad array specialisms, that I can’t help but feel it’s a
good decision for a documentary to showcase that. By drawing on the expertise
of individuals it helps to show the general public that history isn’t all about
the conventional topics like politics, monarchy or gender, but a great many more
things that might appeal to them and their particular interests. In this one
programme the producers had drawn on the expertise of a food historian to talk
about Hampton Court’s extensive Tudor kitchens; a cultural historian to talk
about Henry VIII’s passion for ‘real tennis’; an art historian to talk about
the paintings and their use as forms of propaganda, as well as, the Head
Curator of Historic Royal Palaces, Lucy Worsley. It wasn’t a single historian
or presenter fronting the programme and appearing to know everything, rather it
showcased the research and expertise of a number of individuals and as a viewer
I responded really well to that.
What I also liked about the programme was how the palace itself
was utilised as the setting for the pieces to camera and that the majority of
the images used were clearly of Hampton Court. When each historian was shown discussing
their particular topic they were positioned in the relevant place within the
palace or with the relevant artefacts and it just felt genuine and intimate. At
one point Lucy Worsley even commented how the meeting she was referencing took
place in the ‘room below this office’, while at another point, camera shots
were used to show the different styles of architecture that were favoured in
different periods and added on to the original palace. Despite being a
television programme, this technique offered somewhat of an immersive
experience, as if you were having your own private tour of the palace and that
made for quite an unusual experience as a viewer.
I’ve also made no secret of the fact that I’m not a fan of
historical dramatization in history documentaries but surprisingly I didn’t
object to its use too much in this instance. The clips were well integrated but
used sparingly and made good use of the authentic setting. The costume was also
more convincing than other examples I’ve seen and I couldn’t help compare it to
the Tudor Tales demonstration I’d
witnessed at the Embroidery Guild meeting a couple of months ago. Within this
programme the use of dramatization seemed to fit well with the narrative, not
directing it but offering another visual medium which enhanced the viewer’s
experience. 
It will come as no surprise then that I really enjoyed this
episode. If offers the viewer something that resembles a private tour of one of
England’s most loved palaces, with experts on hands to offer unique insights
into its history. I’d originally sat down expecting only to half pay attention
and wish it to be over quickly, yet by the end I was enthralled and surprised
when the hour was up. All round I’d say a hidden gem and well worth a watch!
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