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00:04 Wentworth Woodhouse near Rotherham in South Yorkshire
00:06 was once one of the great treasure houses of England.
00:10 It was full of fine furniture and great works of art, most
00:14 of which had long since departed.
00:16 Today, it's a vast empty palace, but many hints
00:20 remain of its past grandeur.
00:23 Here in the magnificent marble saloon,
00:26 there's one element of the decorative scheme
00:28 here at Wentworth Woodhouse that has survived.
00:30 Not all the sculptures in the collection at the house
00:32 were dispersed, and we still have an outstanding collection
00:36 of marble statuary.
00:38 It was the height of fashion in the mid-18th century
00:41 for young men of wealth to embark
00:43 upon a grand tour of Europe as part of their education.
00:47 This would include visits to the classical sites of Rome,
00:50 in particular.
00:51 And it was here that many of the works of art in the marble
00:54 saloon were actually made.
00:57 These aren't original Roman antiquities.
00:59 That wasn't necessarily important.
01:01 Owning high-quality copies of ancient original sculptures
01:05 was perfectly acceptable.
01:06 And an enormous industry developed
01:08 in the creation of grand tour pieces for wealthy patrons
01:12 to acquire.
01:13 The second Marcus of Rockingham was one such wealthy patron.
01:17 And he, like other rich young men of his day,
01:20 possessed a mania for the collection
01:22 of classical-style statuary.
01:24 All of the statues in the marble saloon
01:27 are carved in white marble.
01:29 Downstairs in the pillared hall, the statues in the niches
01:32 are all plaster copies of antique originals.
01:35 But the two large statues either side of the grand staircase
01:39 are made of white marble.
01:41 One of these statues is the subject of this film.
01:44 He's called Germanicus.
01:45 And he was commissioned in Rome by the second Marcus
01:48 in the 1750s.
01:50 The sculptor was Filippo della Valle.
01:53 He also made sculptures for the Trevi Fountain in Rome,
01:56 which we still marvel at today.
01:59 Germanicus was an immensely successful Roman general
02:02 and politician in the first century AD.
02:05 And he was hugely popular in his day.
02:08 He was the father of Emperor Caligula
02:11 and also the brother of Emperor Claudius.
02:14 So he was regarded by many as the ideal Roman.
02:18 And it was for this reason that a statue of Germanicus
02:21 was of such interest to the second Marcus.
02:23 By acquiring him and other statues of Greek and Roman
02:26 gods, as well as notable leaders such as Antinous,
02:30 Alexander the Great, and Julius Caesar,
02:33 the second Marcus was displaying his taste, his refinement,
02:37 and his association with classical civilizations,
02:40 a connection which would have led him
02:42 to being held in the highest regard by the elite of his age.
02:46 Germanicus arrived at Wentworth Woodhouse
02:48 sometime in the 1760s.
02:51 He was originally displayed in the marble saloon
02:53 to one side of the main entrance.
02:56 But he was moved in 1902 to the building in the gardens
02:59 that we know of as the Camellia House.
03:02 He stood here with the companion statue of Antinous
03:05 until the 1980s, as shown in this amateur video made
03:09 in the 1940s.
03:11 The Camellia House fell into disrepair
03:13 from the mid-20th century.
03:15 The roof failed, allowing water into the building, which
03:18 poured over the statues.
03:19 And this explains the dirty appearance of Germanicus.
03:23 Both statues were returned to the house in the 1980s
03:26 to take up their current positions
03:28 here on either side of the grand staircase.
03:31 But there's no denying that however important
03:35 our statue of Germanicus is, he's
03:37 in less than ideal condition.
03:39 And we have a duty to protect and conserve him.
03:43 We're also always seeking ways to raise much needed funds
03:47 to support the work we do here at Wentworth Woodhouse.
03:50 And this is where working in partnership
03:52 and using 21st century technology comes into its own.
03:56 Join us in part two to learn more
03:59 about the exciting project we have underway with Germanicus
04:02 and our plans for how we can help in our fundraising
04:05 activities.
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