ELIZABETHAN MANSION GETS A 21st CENTURY ‘VIRTUAL MAKEOVER’

05-12-2009

Special: Read a Traveler's Journal article on Burghley House and two other "Hidden England" grand estates.  http://www.travelersjournal.com/articles2.php?ID=510

 

May 2009 - One of England’s grandest Elizabethan houses has been given a 21^st Century virtual makeover after Burghley unveiled a brand new website.

Burghley House is among Europe’s most important family estates and the new interactive site reflects its role as not only a popular tourist attraction, but as a living, working estate too.

Boasting a new look and feel, the re-designed website offers a first for Burghley, a ‘Search the Collections’ facility, allowing details and images of items to be available online. It will be constantly added to, with the eventual aim of providing access to all 5,000 items in the collection.

The new site also benefits from an internet store with selected Burghley-branded products for sale in the virtual shop and online bookable tickets for some events.

With a new home page, events diary, young visitors section and many pages covering the whole estate, www.burghley.co.uk is packed with information for visitors.

“For those who know Burghley this new look website offers a terrific way of keeping in touch with everything that’s happening not only in the House, but on the Estate as well,” said Miranda Rock, Director of Burghley House.

“For those who don’t yet know what a great attraction Burghley is to visit, we think our new website will really tempt them to come along and see it for themselves.”

Among other new features are more in-depth details about exhibitions, conservation, staterooms and the gardens at Burghley as well as a new online searchable database of the extensive collections of paintings, furniture, works of art, silver and ceramics.

For schools and young visitors, a dedicated section includes details of the comprehensive learning facilities and education courses as well as a popular interactive feature now available online, the Burghley Bee that gives youngsters a fun way to explore the House, gardens and historical characters.

Burghley’s season runs until Thursday 29th October 2009 and this year’s exhibition, The Travelling Earls, reveals 300-year-old hidden secrets about some of Britain’s first souvenir-hunting tourists. Highlighting the Grand Tours of Burghley’s Earls, the exhibition will offer a treasure trove of personal souvenirs, many of them displayed for the first time.

Other major events being staged at Burghley in the coming months include the BBC’s ever-popular Sunday evening programme Antiques Roadshow, which will be filming for its 32nd series on Thursday, 21st May 2009 (9.30 am to 4.30pm).

Some of Britain’s leading antiques and fine arts specialists including Burghley’s own Orlando Rock will be on hand to offer free advice and valuations to visitors who are invited to raid their attics and bring along their family heirlooms, household treasures and car boot bargains for inspection by the experts.

Orlando, who has been appearing on the Roadshow on and off for over 10 years, moved into Burghley with his wife Miranda, a direct descendant of William Cecil, just over a year ago to look after the House and collections on behalf of Burghley House Preservation Trust.

More details about visiting Burghley are available from www.burghley.co.uk or 01780 752451.

 

 

 

 

 

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