Britain’s Historic Castles Face “Armageddon” as Coronavirus Torpedoes Tourist Season
www.vanityfair.com
At the real Downton Abbey and dozens of other grand estates, owners are mowing their own lawns, offering Zoom yoga classes, and doing whatever it takes to keep the family home intact.

Filmed last year, An American Aristocrat’s Guide to Great Estates takes viewers on surprisingly intimate tours of eight country homes: Beyond the requisite priceless treasures, exquisite gardens, and intrigue of the aristocratic families, we spend time with the people keeping these estates going, from the cooks, gardeners, horse keepers, fishermen, archivists, and conservators to the surprisingly relatable owners and their families. (Only one butler appears in the episodes I watched, and it’s noted that he’s doing the job a staff of 10 would have done back in the house’s heyday.) Montagu, a mother of four, emphasizes the challenges of making a family home within a national treasure, and the creative ways owners keep their estates running.

“We have to save these homes again,” Montagu said. “We still have the most preserved homes in the entire world.

Actually I think Britain needs to demolish its hives of pedos

  • TreadOnMe [none/use name]
    ·
    4 years ago

    'Surprisingly relatable owners', even if I did own a house, I doubt I would find them that relateable.

    • SoyViking [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Who cares if sir Reginald Arsebottom the Third is relatable? He still has no right to wealth hoarded through slavery and exploitation.

  • Shinji_Ikari [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I think old buildings are really cool so at first i'm like "oh no old buildings" then I realize that these are their family homes and they can go get fucked.

      • Shinji_Ikari [he/him]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Coincidentally I found an english reality show about people who buy old castles and fix them up.

        All I can think about is how bad billionaires are with their money. Why are they not buying old Scottish castles and hunting quail all day long. wtf is wrong with them.

        • CatherineTheSoSo [any]
          ·
          4 years ago

          Well, it seems like soon there will be 300 more castles for Bezoses of the world to buy.

          • skollontai [any]
            ·
            4 years ago

            Bezos and his generation of billionaires are such sick bloodless fucks, I bet they don't even want a castle. They'd rather boof Soylent in an empty Apple Store or something.

  • thelasthoxhaist [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    just nationalize their properties so they dont have to worry about tourist revenue

  • SoyViking [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Well... That's capitalism for you. Supply and demand, the invisible hand, risk taking and all that. Maybe inbred aristocrats should just learn to code?

    Under socialism things would be different. The castles would be owned collectively and used as museums, community centres, schools, retirement homes or other useful proposes.