62 - The Alnwick Castle Library Project (Part 2) - with Ellin Belton, Andrew Jarman and Robin Smeaton Artwork

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

Alnwick Castle is one of North East England's top visitor attractions and has been part of British history for nearly 1,000 years. Now, Alnwick Castle has a podcast! Join hosts Daniel and Deborah, and regular special guests, as they discuss fascinating aspects of Alnwick Castle's history, from the people that lived there to its connections with famous events, its place as a filming location, and more. New episodes will be available every two weeks - make sure to subscribe so you don't miss any!

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The Alnwick Castle Podcast

62 - The Alnwick Castle Library Project (Part 2) - with Ellin Belton, Andrew Jarman and Robin Smeaton

June 12, 2024 • Alnwick Castle

We last told you all about the Alnwick Castle Library project in April this year, on episode 59 of the podcast. On that episode, we spoke to Project Conservator Ellin Belton and Household Controller Andrew Jarman and found out the plans for restoring this amazing state room within Alnwick Castle.

The project has continued its progress since then, so we went back to the Library to find out the latest updates. This time, Deborah was joined by Ellin and Andrew, as well as Buildings manager for Alnwick Castle, Robin Smeaton - making his long-awaited debut on the podcast.

Together, these key members of the project team tell us all about the work cleaning the Library ceiling, the discoveries made during that process, and how amazing it will look when it is revealed to people once again. We also hear news and details on the Library's silk wall hangings, its 200-year-old chandelier and the challenges of following plumbing instructions in 1899's 'The Book of the Bells and the Book of the Flues'!

We recorded this episode just below the incredible Library ceiling, at the top of the scaffolding in place within the room - so you may hear background noise that reflects this.

If you enjoyed the episode - please let us know! We will visit the Library again before the end of the project and if there is anything you want to know, we would love to ask your questions to the team. Thank you!