The enthusiastic historian and naturalist Michael Clegg travels the Yorkshire region meeting colourful characters, looking at interesting places and uncovering some off-beat jobs and trades. In this episode of Clegg’s People, Michael Clegg visits Holkham Hall in Norfolk. He meets Lord Coke and explores the wildlife on the estate including thousands of geese and a large herd of deer in addition to an international collection of trees. The film opens with a title sequence, showing artists...

The enthusiastic historian and naturalist Michael Clegg travels the Yorkshire region meeting colourful characters, looking at interesting places and uncovering some off-beat jobs and trades. In this episode of Clegg’s People, Michael Clegg visits Holkham Hall in Norfolk. He meets Lord Coke and explores the wildlife on the estate including thousands of geese and a large herd of deer in addition to an international collection of trees. The film opens with a title sequence, showing artists pictures of wildlife drawings of people who work and find recreation in the countryside and drawn colour portrait of Michael Clegg. Title: Clegg’s People The film shows a coastal harbour with the tide out in North Norfolk. The location is Wells-next-the-Sea. Nearby Holkham Hall is the home of Lord Coke (pronounced ‘Cook’). The film shows Michael walking along the lengthy driveway which leads to the hall explaining that the family have lived here for over 400 years. A view from behind Michael as he makes his way slowly up the driveway, shows a large obelisk ahead of him. Michael says that all over the estate there are memorials and arches. He passes beneath one arch which displays the family crest, which includes an ostrich. A family motto which accompanies the crest Michael translates from the Latin as ‘the prudent one is the patient one’. The ostrich medallion on the arch is surrounded by a wreath and in its beak, it holds a horse shoe. The second half of the motto seems to play on this feature, which Michael translates as ‘because he digests the hardest things’. The film goes on to show the house in its grand setting. Michael says the family created the estate from sandy barren land with no trees and meandering tidal creeks. Michael meets the present Lord Coke near a large fountain in the grounds opposite the house. Lord Coke summarises the work of his ancestors. Michael explains how the family after the house was built concentrated on developing the estate and agriculture. Standing next to the large memorial which pays tribute to Thomas William Coke the 2nd Earl of Leicester a great agricultural improver, Michael celebrates perhaps the most influential Coke ancestor. A frieze on the base of the memorial shows the earl’s main agricultural interests. Michael states that the earl improved local sheep breeds to make them more productive in wool and meat. The earl then also improved the local cattle breed. The earl ensured the whole estate embraced agriculture, he introduced innovations in crop management and reviewed rents in a fair manner, for his tenants. A tractor runs over a ploughed field on the estate, as Michael explains that the farms on the estate must be run competitively. Sheep are still kept at Holkham, one of the cross bred sheep is separated from its luxurious wool by a sheep shearer. The shearing prepares the sheep for lambing. Michael watches the sheep shearing, alongside him is one of the estate staff. Michael then inspects some of the farm buildings, including the second earl of Leicester’s masterpiece the great barn of Holkham built around 1775. This accommodated a large sheep shearing gathering, with invitations to attend going around the world. The Coke family in the early years were also adept at tree planting. Michael walks through part of the estate known as the American garden. Some of Thomas William Coke’s trees make up part of the garden and were planted around 1800. Michael points out an American Western Hemlock tree, next a Chile pine or Araucaria, or more commonly a monkey puzzle tree. Michael points out a cedar of Lebanon from the middle east. The earl spent a lot of money acquiring different species of tree. Other estate trees apparently arrived by accident. Michael stands next to an evergreen oak tree, usually found in Mediterranean areas. This was thought to have been grown from acorns found in material used in packing art works from Italy for the first earl of Leicester. Some of the branches from these trees are sent as food for some of the antelopes in London Zoo during winter. In turn the estate received a pair of snow geese from North America. Other birds introduced to the estate includes a pair of Egyptian geese which are surviving successfully. Michael goes on to say that Holkham is a big sporting estate, with pheasants being the main game bird. Michael talks to John King the head keeper who is out catching some male pheasants for export. They approach a pheasant trap which has been set by John. Nothing has been caught but he demonstrates how this humane trap works. The next one they look at has trapped a bird. The bird is taken from the trap and put with other males in a pen. The birds will be going to Hampshire for stock as the Holkham pheasants are thought to be good fliers and perfect for the gaming season. The film then goes to show the herd of fallow deer on the estate. The herd has a history stretching back to the 1840s. They share grazing with the estate’s sheep and cattle. Many of the deer are exported to farms overseas as breeding stock. There is also thriving venison trade at the estate. The deer graze amongst the trees. One doe is particularly tame and shares food with the free-range chickens at feeding time. She tentatively approaches the chickens and the lady who is feeding them and is very wary. Rose, John Kings wife has been giving the chickens scraps regularly for some time and explains how the doe got tamer as she made return visits. The film shows the solitary deer approaching the feeding session again. Lord Coke stands in front of the ornamental fountain as Michael asks him about the deer herd, much of the produce from the herd he says is venison. The film shows the deer and many of the sheep sitting or lying on the ground in the shade of trees. Another development on the estate is the largest single nature reserve in England and Wales. The film shows a landscape with reeds growing in large stretches of water. Michael explains that nine and half thousand acres has been given over to this reserve, stretching along parts of the coast and includes these grazing marshes, which are now flooded to attract birds. Michael goes down to the grazing marshes with assistant warden Michael Rooney, to observe the wild goose flock. The two men use binoculars to get a good view of the geese. Areas of the marsh have dozens of geese on the ground making viewing of the birds much easier. Michael Rooney points out three species out on the marsh, pink footed geese probably 2000 in number, white fronted geese and brent geese in total around 5000 geese on the grazing marshes. The film shows geese in flight then a huge flock of brent geese take off. A comment from Lord Coke suggests that in the past his family would not have known the word conservation, but there has been an element of conservation in all the work they have done over the years. Lord Coke sees himself as a conservationist and he sees no conflict in good farming and the conservation of wildlife. Michael’s final comment over views of geese coming into land on the marsh, refers to the impending changes in agriculture with its emphasis on conservation, he asks if the big estates are going to move full circle to their wild origins, a future that perhaps lies in the past. Credits: Editing Richard Jackson Graphics Richard Wisdom Sound Chris Greaves Dubbing Mixer Tim Wheeler Producer/Director/Cameraman Charles Flynn Executive Producer David Lowen © Yorkshire Television Ltd 1990 End credit: A Yorkshire Television production for ITV