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 |  | Report by Faye Claridge of the website team
When Packwood House is closed for the winter, you'd be forgiven for thinking the doors were locked and the place was left to the mice until the following spring. But, as I discovered on a visit, winter is the property's busiest time.
I went along with a camera and bags of curiosity to find out what happens behind locked doors when the public aren't looking.
Click the images button to explore the secret side of the house in its various states of undress and read about my encounters below.
You can also find out what it's like to live and work in the beautiful house by following the Life in Packwood House link on the left.
Ìý| Ìý |  | Richard the gardener leaning on the gates
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Packwood House is the epitome of the National Trust's interest in restoration and conservation. The 16th-century house was itself restored during the period between the world wars - which was the first of an ongoing period of restoration that the trust has now adopted.
The house is just five miles north of Henley-In-Arden and is a fascinating place to visit.
Ìý Such is the attention to detail that it takes three years to clean all the items in every room of Packwood House.
 | Ìý | Faye Claridge
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I met up with Joy Tovey, the house steward, and Jacky Mellows, the assistant conservator at Packwood House, just in time to see a few of the rugs and items of furniture being unwrapped from their winter dust sheets.
The house looked haunting with every item covered in its own individual cover.
I felt the anticipation as the rustling tissue paper and cotton were gently lifted around the rooms. It took over 20 minutes to uncover just one rug and one table, as every possible mark of damage had to be assessed and every detail of presentation had to be considered.
| Ìý |  | Joy unwrapping a rug from its winter covers
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In addition to the attention the house receives before its spring visitors, Joy and Jacky also have a rota for an ongoing detailed clean.
They spend one whole day each week cleaning individual items in a given room.
Such is the attention to detail that it takes three years to clean all the items in every room of Packwood House.
Ìý| Ìý |  | Victoria repairing delicate textiles in the great hall
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Visiting the house at the same time as me was Victoria Allan, a freelance textile conservator. She has restored a number of key textiles in the house over the years, including flags and tapestries.
She is just one example of the unseen professionals that preserve the historic integrity and visual beauty of the house. Other interior experts have included specialists in leather and wood.
On a larger scale, the house manager seeks advice from architects and uses contractors for structural work, while the gardening team rely on contractors for projects such as fence-building.
ÌýKeeping up appearances
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The garden comes alive when it's full of people...visitors notice when you've done a good job, they comment on the high standards we have and that's very satisfying.
| Ìý | Gardener, Richard White
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The gardening year is a long and varied one at Packwood House, as gardener Richard White explained. The lawns, box hedges and yews need almost constant care.
The borders receive as much attention, as growing plants are staked, flowers are dead-headed and any failures are replaced with fresh specimens from the propagator.
When you're looking after 102 acres, even the winters don't bring much rest as the machines need to be serviced, the footpaths need to be repaired, trees need to be pruned and the woodland and park areas need to be cleared, ready for the visitors to arrive.
Richard said that was his favourite time: "The garden comes alive when it's full of people...visitors notice when you've done a good job, they comment on the high standards we have and that's very satisfying.
| Ìý |  | One of the many yew trees at Packwood House
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"It's very, very rare we get any bad comments, although people always notice if there's something that isn't perfect! They like seeing you at work and ask a lot of questions, too."
Just the yew garden alone takes three whole days to prepare before the gardens open to the public. Once the trees start to grow, they become even more demanding. It takes Richard from the end of July to late November to get all 100 yews perfectly sculpted.
ÌýVolunteer brawn and brain
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...just to get fresh flower arrangements in the house takes a team of 15 volunteers, working on a rota.
| Ìý | Faye Claridge
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Packwood House relies heavily on a large network of volunteers, who also help with the winter chores.
The property has a register of 160 volunteers, whose roles vary from room stewarding to gardening.
The scale of the house-keeping is so large, that just to get fresh flower arrangements in the house takes a team of 15 volunteers, working on a rota.
| Ìý |  | Neil Johnson from the property's gardening team
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A large number of the permanent staff at Packwood House started as volunteers with the National Trust and all of them said they'd recommend the experience.
To find out what it's like working or volunteering in Packwood House, follow the Life in Packwood link on the left.
Employment opportunities are shown daily on the National Trust website, which is also linked on the left.
ÌýGet behind the scenes yourself
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| Ìý |  | Items under their protective winter covers
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Follow the Life in Packwood link on the left to read about what it's like to live and work in the property.
You can also have a glimpse behind the scenes and meet some of the staff at the property's last event of the year, called 'Putting the house to bed'.
Call 01564 782 024 or follow the National Trust link on the left for more information.
ÌýVisit the property
| | Ìý The park is open every day all year and the house and gardens are open from Wednesday - Sunday at the following times:
House
5 Mar-2 Nov 12pm-4.30pm
Garden
5 Mar-30 April 11am-4.30pm
1 May-30 September 11am-5.30pm
1 Oct-2 November 11am-4.30pm
The house and garden are open on Bank Holiday Mondays but are normally closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Admission prices
Adult: £5.20
Family £13
Garden only £2.60
There is free parking.
For more details, follow the National Trust link on the left.
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