Hidden Treasures of the National Trust

A painting’s hidden story is revealed, a beautiful Chinese bridge is painstakingly rebuilt, and a 450-year-old table must be saved from collapse and made ready to go on tour.

A collapsed ceiling means restoring writer Vita Sackville-West’s study from scratch, while Rudyard Kipling’s family history is revealed in a precious possession.

Paul McCartney’s childhood home is lovingly restored, a unique collection of photos is discovered in Liverpool, and an intriguing modern art installation is saved from collapse.

A unique Victorian clock is brought back to life, a portrait damaged by Georgian partying is restored, and an unusual handmade puppet reveals a hidden World War II story.

Winston Churchill’s D-Day memento needs reinforcements, antique Chinese wallpaper comes under insect attack, and a Victorian A-lister’s stage costume is saved for one last act.

The battle to save unique dodo and dinosaur statues in a Northern Irish garden, the hidden story behind a portrait and a Victorian garden seat's restoration to its former glory.

An exquisite gallery made of seashells needs shoring up, a priceless Rubens is saved from falling down and an ancient Egyptian obelisk is cracking up.

The portraits of two high-society grandes dames give up their secrets, an Edwardian clock tower is running out of time, and a Renaissance balustrade needs an intervention.

A missing masterpiece returns to its stately home after two centuries, plus the search for a buried castle and the scrapbooks revealing one man’s mission to save English country houses.

A showstopping clock needs restarting, a unique 1920s house frozen in time is under threat, and a child’s fancy dress costume reveals the life of its original Victorian owner.

Benjamin Disraeli’s grand estate gates are given a golden upgrade, the most important carpet in the National Trust gets a re-weave, and a Reynolds masterpiece is revamped.

A mysterious portrait of a servant reveals its secrets, and two rare hidden treasures are brought back into the light.

Beatrix Potter’s dolls’ house undergoes major renovation at Hill Top, and in Clouds Hill, a mysterious painting belonging to Lawrence of Arabia reveals its secrets.

The revealing statue of a Georgian high-society mistress has her beauty restored at Knole House in Kent, and Townend, a traditional Lake District farmhouse, undergoes a makeover.

Kedleston Hall’s Peacock Dress, a symbol of the British Raj in India, gets a makeover, and a rare but damaged painting from Dyrham Park reveals a controversial colonial past.

The battle to save the homes and treasures left by two Royalist women who refused to submit during the English Civil War - Ham House and Corfe Castle.

A moving work of art from the modernist home of architect Erno Goldfinger undergoes conservation work, and hidden messages from an old master are discovered at Upton House.

At Lanhydrock in Cornwall, a huge, 35-metre-long decorated ceiling needs saving, while in Warwickshire, the Tudor mansion Coughton Court gets an entire new roof.

The homes of two literary giants reveal personal treasures and the real people behind the pages.

Two great country houses reveal stories of extravagant Grand Tours, royal luxury and one of Georgian society’s most scandalous relationships.

Preserving the legacy of St Cuthbert and a colony of breeding seabirds on the remote Farne Islands. And experts in Wales race to save a fragile Bible that shaped Welsh culture.

Caring for the curious collections at two of the National Trust’s most unusual houses, from a boy’s suit of samurai armour to stuffed birds and a living collection of rare sheep.

Exploring workers’ lives in the Industrial Revolution: a rare contract of a boy tied to a cotton mill is conserved, and final touches are made to Kinver Edge’s rock houses.

Preserving garden designer Gertrude Jekyll’s legacy at one of the National Trust’s newest properties, and at Nymans, celebrating the flamboyant set designer Oliver Messel.