Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2012 | Page 65

FEATURE

The doors at Osborne House may be
closed to the public at the moment,
but within the rooms and corridors of
the famous East Cowes residence this
happens to be one of the busiest times
of the year.
The vast array of Christmas
decorations have been taken down
and stored away safely, and from the
outside Osborne House appears to be
in hibernation. But this is when the
house is undergoing a major cleaning
programme that lasts around three
months.
It is a painstaking process, but
one that is carried out with military
precision to ensure that when the
doors are re-opened every carpet,
curtain, statue, piece of furniture or

ornament are in pristine condition.
The first floor of Osborne House is
closed for six months right through
the winter, and will not re-open until
April 1. The ground floor will remain
closed until the middle of February,
and will be open again to the public
to coincide with the schools’ half-term
holiday.
During the ‘hibernation’ period
all the items in Osborne House are
covered with dust sheets. But it is not
a case of just throwing a sheet over
a settee or priceless vase. Curator
Michael Hunter explained: “Dust
sheets have been made-to-measure
for every item. The lady who made
them came to Osborne a few years
ago to examine everything and take

measurements.
“Now every object in the House has
a unique catalogue number which
matches the number of the cover. It is
a very methodical process, as hundreds
of objects have to be carefully
covered.”
Surprisingly, virtually the whole
covering and uncovering operation,
and well as the tedious cleaning of
carpets, curtains, ornaments and
furniture is carried out by just one
person – temporary housekeeper
Catherine Harbour.
However, just before the official
re-opening a team of workers, using
scaffolding where necessary, carry
out the final cleaning of areas where
access is more difficult, such as ceilings
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