News / dyrham park
Renovation throws up mummified rodents
It’s not the sort of discovery you may expect at a genteel stately home.
During preparations for a multi-million pound renovation project at Dyrham Park, near Bristol, National Trust staff uncovered, under the floorboards, the bodies of two 200-year-old perfectly preserved mummified rats.
Named Collin and Martin, the rodents have become an attraction in their own right.
is needed now More than ever
Visitor and volunteering experience o fficer Kate Collins discovered the second rat which has been named in her honour.
She said: “We’ve been having to do a lot of work to prepare the house for the roof project and we thought we’d find a few weird and wonderful bits and bobs, but we never imagined anything like this.
“At first I thought it was just a bit of old carpet, but then I saw the little paws and it made me jump. I couldn’t believe how well preserved it was.”
The rats were discovered at the start of £3.8m renovation project at the stately home. Scaffolding has started going up around the whole house in preparation for repair the roof.
It will take a year to replacing the 46 tonnes of lead on the roof and 8,000 Welsh slates.
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