The story of a huge fire at the royal family’s favourite holiday home has featured in a new TV documentary series - with the help of a museum in Watford.
The first episode of Sandringham: A Royal Residence was broadcast on Channel 5 on Saturday evening.
Presented by actor Nigel Havers, Invictus Games medallist JJ Chalmers and archaeologist Raksha Dave, the series looks back at the history of the 274-room house in the Norfolk countryside where the royal family have relaxed for more than 160 years and reveals some of the secrets of the 20,000-acre estate.
The opening episode revealed how Queen Victoria purchased Sandringham Hall as a 21st birthday present for her son Prince Albert, but disaster struck in 1891 when the newly-renovated residence went up in flames.
Viewers were able to see JJ Chalmers get to grips with the type of equipment used to fight the fire after he visited the Hertfordshire Fire Brigade Museum in Lower High Street.
Curator Roger Middleton was filmed showing how a manual fire pump operated before both men picked up a hose from a steam powered fire engine – with soggy consequences.
“We got absolutely soaked to the skin because the jet going up the yard was being blown back onto us by a very strong wind and we were soaked right through, “Roger smiled, “but luckily it was a day like today and we soon dried out.”
The museum was first approached by the production company about being involved in May and filming took place on June 11.
Roger enjoyed the experience of being a part of the programme, explaining: “I’ve done little bits (of TV) in the past when I was a press officer for the brigade but I haven’t done it for a long while so there was a little bit of trepidation to start with.
“JJ is good, he talks to you man to man so any slight worries I might have had to start with were soon gone because we had a good chat through prior to starting the filming so I knew roughly what we going to do and talk about.”
Episode two Sandringham: A Royal Residence is due to be shown at 9pm on Channel 5 this Saturday but episode one is still available to watch online at My5.
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