Charleston

House with a rich history - Charleston

Inside Out goes back in time to look at the history of an extraordinary group of people - the Bloomsbury Group.

These artists were the talk of their day in southern England.

On our travels we also find a painting which tells a remarkable story about the group

Creative forces

Between the wars there was a collection of creative people called the Bloomsbury Group.

Charleston was their stunning country retreat.

The house is now a unique gem, because the artists among them decorated it by hand.

The building is now itself a work of art.

Inside Out goes inside the house and retraces the lives of some of its famous inhabitants.

Charleston

The Bloomsbury Group first acquired Charleston in 1916 and it became their country hideaway for decades to come.

The Director of the Charleston Trust, Alastair Upton, explains the ethos of the group:

"They were called that simply because they lived in Bloomsbury in London. They were a group of friends and lovers, and members were Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf, Duncan Grant, John Maynard Keynes. They were tied by a communality of approach to life."

And while they were doing that they developed a reputation for bed hopping shenanigans that would be shocking today, never mind 80 years ago.

They were the bohemians of their day, at the forefront of an artistic and sexual revolution.

Bohemian lives

From the moment they moved in to Charleston during 1916 the artists began to transform the house.

The result today is a unique building decorated by internationally important artists of the early 20th century.

The bohemian lifestyle of this group of writers and artists in the Sussex countryside was, to say the least, unconventional.

For example writer Lytton Strachey had an affair with a married couple, Ralph Partridge and Dora Carrington.

Duncan Grant had an affair with both Vanessa Bell and her brother Adrian Stephen.

Angelica Garnett thought her father was Clive Bell, the man married to her mother Vanessa Bell.

But at the age of 18 she was told that her real father was in fact Duncan Grant, despite the fact that he was gay and had affairs with four other men in the Bloomsbury Group.

Confused? Well, the Charleston Trust has produced a handy guide with a diagram of who was doing what to whom.

Every picture tells a story...

The painter Vanessa Bell was one of the core members of Bloomsbury.

Inside Out speaks to Virginia Nicholson, her granddaughter.

The Garden Room - hub of the house

She tells us that when Virginia Woolfe was visiting Charleston, she would end the day having a chat with the rest of the group in the Garden Room.

One of the most unlikely members of the Bloomsbury Group was John Maynard Keynes, arguably the most important economist of the 20th Century.

To this day the way the government runs the economy is based on his theories.

Today there's still a painting of him sitting in the garden of Charleston.

He's writing a letter to America asking for a loan for Britain to continue the war.

Auction battle

The people at Charleston have discovered that the painting is up for auction.

The owner wants to remain anonymous. But he says that if they can come up with £120,000, which is apparently a bargain, then the owner will pull it from the auction and sell it to Charleston instead.

Every picture tells a remarkable story

The picture was painted by Duncan Grant.

He was a former lover of Maynard Keynes but at the time of the painting in 1917, they were just good friends.

It's an important historic as well as an artistic record of the period.

The main hope of keeping the picture is to turn to a charitable fund whose purpose is to help museums buy the things they want.

It's a tense few hours waiting to hear if Charleston has been successful.

Finally the announcement comes that Charleston has got the money to buy the painting.

The next day at Christies the picture has been withdrawn - it's been bought by Charleston.

The painting arrives at Charleston and is hung on wall in the place where it was always meant to be - another reminder of the house's remarkable history.

Links relating to this story:

• Charleston
• Bloomsbury Group
• Virginia Woolf Society

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French affair

French living is attractive to many southerners

Inside Out visits France - land of bistros, vineyards, fine cheese and wine… and incredibly cheap houses.

With bargain basement prices in France, it's a big surprise to discover that many French people are moving to Kent and East Sussex.

Until recently, removal vans used to head to France full, and come back empty.

Now they're coming back loaded, bringing English people back from France and bringing French people here to start a new life in England.

The price is right

First Inside Out looks at what sort of property the pound will buy you in Northern France.

Less the 30 minutes drive from the port of Cherbourg, a typical country cottage will set you back in the region of £32,000, but it needs a lot of work.

We also looked at a beach house with two bedrooms and a garage. The asking price was £65,000.

Finally, a four bedroom rustic farmhouse with central heating - the price tag: £82,000.

For the price of a two bedroom flat in say, Maidstone for example, you could buy six country cottages in Normandy.

French leave

But if property is so much cheaper in France, why are so many French people hopping across the channel to live in Sussex and Kent?

It seems to be because it's a lot easier to earn a living.

Anne Cecile is a good example of the current trend:

High speed train links have helped the Entente Cordiale

"I arrived in London about three years ago and then I came down to Kent where I had a few friends already, so it was quite a good opportunity for me to set up a business in Kent - and with my friends around it was even easier."

Based in Canterbury, Anne's business, Jumping Frogs, supplies entertainers and magicians for parties and functions.

Since leaving France, her life has been transformed:

"It's much easier in England to set up your own company as a young person. If you have a good idea, if you like the challenge, you just go ahead and you do it. People will give you the chance to do what you want to do."

Business abroad

So how tricky is it to start up your own business in France?

According to many of the French people we spoke to the economy is quite difficult at present:

"Everyone is looking for a job. There is a high rate of unemployment. And I guess for an English person it might be even more difficult and longer," says Anne Cecile.

To make a new life in France, you've also got to be prepared to work hard.

David Brewer used to live in a semi in Hoo, near Rochester. Now he lives in a farmhouse in Brittany.

Since 2001, Dave, his wife Kerry, and their three children, have lived in the tiny village of Guilliers - halfway between Maniac and Moron:

"It is a good life here, but there are negatives that go with the positives." Dave Brewer.

It may look a cosy life, but France has its downside - paperwork and bureaucracy for a start.

For six months Dave wasn't legally allowed to work:

"On the final, final, interview...
I had to sign... must have been two dozen bits of paper, and I don't know to this day what I was signing."

Anne Cecile says that this is all-too-common in France:

"This is typically French. And it's a good example of how difficult it is for an English person or even for French people to set up your business in France.

"All these forms to fill and you never speak to the right person, they send you to a different department and it could take months and months before you have an answer. It's almost as if they don't want you to succeed there."

Gallic goldmine?

Earning a good living in France is a challenge. The rate of unemployment is three times higher than the UK, and salaries are significantly lower.

But surely if you've got qualifications and you can speak French, you can find work somewhere?

Sandiey Blackburn moved to Brittany from Ashford, 9 months ago, after the break-up of a relationship. She's been looking for work ever since:

"Sometimes it feels like you're having doors slammed in your face, constantly. I've been to the unemployment office, job agencies. Going into local bars, local hotels. You name it, I've tried it.

"I even applied to work in the packing hall of an egg factory. I've said I'd be happy to muck out pigs if I had to. Just to earn a living, like everybody else does."

Sandie is seriously thinking of packing it in and going back to the UK unless a job materialises soon.

Frenchmen abroad

Joel Grosse is a Frenchman who now owns a traditional Kent pub.

He had a business in France before which he says was a nightmare.

Last time Joel advertised for a chef, he got more than 600 replies from all over France.

So what kind of difficulties would an English person face if they tried to set up a bar or a restaurant in France?

"It's not going to be easy you know. He has to apply to all the bureaucracy, all different departments. It's going to take a long time you know," he says.

Another Frenchman who's moved to Kent is Marc Anger. He runs a French market stall, something he'd never attempt back in France.

So what advice would he give to an Englishman going over to France?

"Go there to retire. To enjoy the climate. Don't go there to work".

It seems that the French invasion of Britain is likely to continue, but Brits might just be thinking twice about moving to the other side of the Channel.

Links relating to this story:

• BBC Inside Out - Relocation
• Country profile – France
• BBC Languages: Changing Places
• The British Embassy in France
• Living France Magazine

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites

Squirrel controversy

Grey versus red - not everyone loves grey squirrels

Inside Out presenter Chris Packham visits a secret squirrel sanctuary in Hampshire where the owner admits he is breaking the law.

Lindsey Maguire looks after injured grey squirrels, nurses them back to health and then releases them back into the wild.

But setting them free is illegal, as grey squirrels are officially classed as vermin in this country.

This means that they get put to sleep if they are taken to conventional rescue centres.

Squirrel sanctuary

Lindsey keeps the address of his sanctuary a secret, as he gets hate mail from opponents.

He says that people misunderstand the work of his refuge.

"These people seem to think that we breed grey squirrels in great numbers and take them to where red squirrels live and let them out," he says.

"We basically find people who are very sympathetic who have gardens or woodland, where they will be safe and where they will have no impact on forestry, farming or any other kind of wildlife."

Grey versus red squirrels

The first grey squirrels were brought to Britain from America in 1876.

They spread rapidly across the country and quickly displaced our native red squirrels from most of the mainland.

Experts are not certain why grey squirrels have gained so much territory.

Red Squirrel - under attack by the non-native grey

But they are bigger and stronger, and some believe the greys may have passed on a deadly virus to the reds.

Attempts have been made to cull the grey population in the past, but conservationists now believe we will never wipe out our non-native squirrels.

The only surviving red squirrel colonies in the south are on the Isle of Wight and on the islands in Poole Harbour.

Locals are so concerned about their survival that they regularly check their squirrel boxes for any sign of those dreaded grey hairs.

White squirrel - a rare sighting in Hampshire

On the island, motorists are encouraged to watch out for the reds crossing the road, but the biggest threat to the population would be greys crossing the water.

There are now thought to be about 2,000 red squirrels on the island.

Back on the mainland Inside Out came across a squirrel perfectly adapted for the cold winter - an albino grey squirrel in a Hampshire garden.

Links relating to this story:

• BBC Hands on Nature
• BBC Science and Nature
• RSPCA
• Squirrels Info

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites