This is the first renovation the Althorp Estate has seen in 350 years.Video provided by Newsy Newslook
NASHVILLE — As a boy, Charles Spencer would visit his grandparents at Althorp Estate, his eyes wide and his hands glued to his side.
With its galleries and gardens, Spencer found the 500-year-old place to be "rather overpowering." Even arriving at the front door meant a 10-minute drive from the entrance gate to the house itself. "It was very much a different world," he says.
And inside, where hundreds of priceless antiques and family heirlooms decorated rooms with ornate decor, it felt both grandiose and fragile.
Spencer — godson of Her Majesty the Queen and the little boy in a family with three sisters — remembers going outside to play and being told not to break anything on the way.
"So we didn't," he says.
Today, as the 9th Earl Spencer, he is now lord and caretaker of that estate. He inherited it from his father in 1992, when he was just 27 years old.
During the past two decades, he has dedicated himself to beautifying and restoring his family’s ancestral seat in Northamptonshire, England, which is the final resting place of his sister Diana, Princess of Wales.
He was in Nashville recently as the keynote presenter at the 28th annual Antiques and Garden Show of Nashville. to speak about his restoration efforts.
"It goes back to the theme of authenticity, really," Spencer says. "Getting to the soul of the place...and respecting it and building on it."
An enchanting estate for years to come
Spencer has come to deeply appreciate Althorp's spirit.
From the age of 12, Spencer's father encouraged him to show visitors around the house. There were 90 rooms in the place, and he came to know well its nooks and crannies — and discover its most special treasures.
Assembled by 19 generations of the family over more than five centuries, there are plentiful sofas, chairs, chests and paintings that catch a curious eye and compel a fascinating story.
Among them is one of Spencer's favorites, an oak chest from the 1630s believed to have belonged to George Washington's ancestors before they left for America.
Young girls from Washington's family worked as nannies or staff in the Althorp house, Spencer says. The chest boasts a sworn affidavit of authenticity inside.
There's also a sundial that used to be in the estate garden that bears the Washington family arms.
Spencer has morphed the home from the musty museum feel of his youth to a warm residence for his family and seven children.
He welcomes guests and hosts parties. He strolls through the oak-paneled picture gallery, where some of the best paintings of the family's 650-work collection hang.
Spanning 120-feet long, it's the only room in the house that is the same from when it was built in 1508. And through its art, "each generation has added their mark," Spencer says.
"In the olden days, it was used by the ladies of the house for exercise," Spencer says. "They wore long dresses, which they didn't want to be muddy and wet, so they walked up and down the hall."
When he's not walking that same expanse, Spencer relaxes in his favorite room, the library.
Yes, it has lovely books, but he loves it more for the beautiful space. It was remodeled in the late 18th century by "brilliant architect" Henry Holland and features sliding doors that open into a view of the billiard room and the south drawing room, with lots of light.
It's a space to "meet and enjoy" people, Spencer says.
As he has restored each room, hiring a designer to scrape paint and unveil centuries of past improvements, he has worked hard to maintain the home's authenticity without being captive to his ancestors' design whims.
His focus is making the home relevant and enchanting for years to come.
"It's not just something from history," he says, "it's something for today and for tomorrow."
Althorp also carries something else forward, the memory of Spencer’s sister Diana.
Honoring Diana
It's been 20 years since her tragic death.
Diana died in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997, after the car she was riding in crashed while trying to speed away from paparazzi.
She was just 36 years old. The mother of two young boys, Prince William and Prince Harry, her children with Prince Charles. The People's Princess.
Her jarring death triggered an outpouring of emotion around the world.
After Diana's death, Spencer returned to England from living abroad to care for Althorp.
The family laid Diana to rest on a secluded island in the middle of The Oval Lake at the estate.
As Spencer beautified the home where he, Diana and their older sisters once played, he also took special care to restore Diana's final resting place.
On the 20th anniversary of her death last year, the immediate family gathered to rededicate her grave.
Spencer doesn't talk about it much.
"It was an opportunity to lay everything for posterity," he says. "… Making it so it will always be special and beautiful, I hope.
"She’s obviously a much-loved part of it and from outside of the immediate family, she’ll always be a relevant part of the story of Althorp — and somebody we are incredibly proud of."
Follow Jessica Bliss on Twitter: @jlbliss
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