Our work at Ham House and Garden

Our work in the house 

Throughout the year every detail of Ham House is carefully inspected, cleaned and conserved. Our conservation team have a huge amount of knowledge about the collection and the specialist skills needed to care for it. 

One day at Ham House might involve inspecting the moulded ceilings, with their fine cornicing and gilding. The next day, the team might focus on analysing the condition of intricate objects or polishing wooden floors which have been walked on by centuries of past inhabitants and visitors. 

Specialist equipment 

Our conservation team use specialist tools and techniques to carry out their work on collection objects and the house interiors. Some of our tools are adapted to our specialist needs, such as low suction hoovers which remove dirt without damaging objects.  

If you spot us using some of this equipment or examining an object, feel free to ask us what we’re doing. It’s a privilege to get so close to these extraordinary objects but it’s even more of a joy to share the hidden details with visitors. 

Conservation routines

Conservation tasks are carried out weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually or sometimes only every 5-15 years. The latter includes cleaning tapestries, dusting the surfaces of paintings and larger projects such as looking after the external fabric of the building, including windows and brickwork. Tasks done weekly and monthly include cleans horizontal surfaces to remove dust and dirt brought into the house and checks of known mould hotspots, particularly in some of the damper areas of the basement. We also carry out quarterly pest checks to pre-empt and treat any potential infestation.

Our November weekday tours give an insight into our annual conservation work which takes place each winter.

Winter conservation cleaning and checking

The most involved conservation work takes place from early January and into February, while the house is closed to visitors, and during weekdays in November when the house is accessible by behind-the-scenes conservation tours. 

It allows us to carry out delicate and more complex conservation tasks, such as putting up scaffolding to access the hard-to-reach places. It’s also an opportunity to look at objects and spaces from a different perspective and notice signs of wear that need our attention.  

When we start the deep clean in the winter, we work in a logical way from the top to bottom of a room. It is amazing to see how much dust can accumulate after one year.   

We have a large number of condition reports for each object in the house. Historic objects have their own personalities and quirks, and condition reports allow us to the track small but significant changes that tell us how an object is doing over the course of its centuries-long lifespan. 

We also carry out important project work during the winter closure, such as building conservation which might affect larger areas or sections of the house. 

Damage prevention 

Our work in the house includes, where possible, preventing damage from happening in the first place. Damage to fragile interiors and objects can be caused by fluctuating humidity, light, mould, pests, dust and dirt.

We carefully monitor each element. For example, inside the house you might notice small sensors which monitor temperature and humidity. Sensors in each room feed back to a central control system which automatically turns on the heating when the relative humidity gets too high.

Light is one of the main causes of damage to objects – leading to faded colours in fabrics and tapestries, in particular. The effects of light damage on paintings and furniture were well understood by people in the 17th century. If the family were away, furniture would be covered to protect it in their absence.

Today, we manage our light levels using a gadget called a lux meter to measure brightness. This ensures we can adjust our blinds and shutters to allow as much light as possible in for visibility, while still ensuring the collection is protected.