1 00:00:40,148 --> 00:00:42,170 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: Hello and welcome to the National Trust 2 00:00:42,210 --> 00:00:46,714 Podcast. I'm Michelle Douglass. Why do millions of us put up a 3 00:00:46,754 --> 00:00:51,317 tree in our home and decorate it with sparkly bits in a strange 4 00:00:51,398 --> 00:00:53,579 ritual marking the start of Christmas? 5 00:00:54,300 --> 00:00:58,003 In this festive story, we'll be travelling to London in the 6 00:00:58,063 --> 00:01:02,834 mid-1800s to discover how one eye-popping image of young 7 00:01:02,914 --> 00:01:07,217 trendsetters Queen Victoria and Prince Albert went viral 19th 8 00:01:07,237 --> 00:01:11,519 century style and sparked a Christmas tree trend in Britain 9 00:01:11,679 --> 00:01:12,220 and beyond. 10 00:01:13,180 --> 00:01:16,202 And a quick heads up if you're listening with kids around, this 11 00:01:16,282 --> 00:01:18,984 episode briefly features some adult content. 12 00:01:25,704 --> 00:01:29,605 It's the run-up to Christmas at Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire, a 13 00:01:29,645 --> 00:01:33,506 medieval monastic-style building you might recognise from scenes 14 00:01:33,606 --> 00:01:34,867 in the Harry Potter films. 15 00:01:36,947 --> 00:01:40,328 The Lacock team are all hands on deck for the sizeable feat of 16 00:01:40,388 --> 00:01:44,249 transforming the Abbey into an enchanted Christmas kingdom. 17 00:01:47,090 --> 00:01:51,131 The centrepiece is the Christmas trees. They're putting up dozens 18 00:01:51,131 --> 00:01:53,932 of little Christmas trees for the community festival in the 19 00:01:53,952 --> 00:01:56,698 cloisters, two big trees in the Great Hall. 20 00:01:57,198 --> 00:02:00,761 And finally, there's a huge 20-foot Christmas tree to hoist 21 00:02:00,781 --> 00:02:02,382 up in the courtyard entrance. 22 00:02:07,087 --> 00:02:09,929 The pressure is on to get the trees up, straight and 23 00:02:10,029 --> 00:02:14,493 sparkling, before expectant visitors start arriving at 11am. 24 00:02:18,156 --> 00:02:22,039 More than 85% of British homes put up a Christmas tree each 25 00:02:22,139 --> 00:02:24,782 year. According to the British Christmas Tree Growers 26 00:02:24,802 --> 00:02:25,502 Association. 27 00:02:27,003 --> 00:02:31,447 We often look to the old and the new. Traditions from childhood, 28 00:02:31,947 --> 00:02:33,369 new rituals from adulthood. 29 00:02:33,729 --> 00:02:37,072 Perhaps you enjoy looking for future inspiration, like on 30 00:02:37,132 --> 00:02:40,134 social media where there's no shortage of people filling our 31 00:02:40,194 --> 00:02:43,337 feeds with ideas for festive flair for your tree. 32 00:02:45,478 --> 00:02:49,262 But when it comes to historic influences, there's one couple 33 00:02:49,622 --> 00:02:53,144 and one image that can be credited above everything else 34 00:02:53,424 --> 00:02:56,905 for triggering the great Christmas tree trend. 35 00:02:59,806 --> 00:03:01,787 CLARA WOOLFORD: Our Christmases would look very different if 36 00:03:01,827 --> 00:03:03,947 this image hadn't have been circulated so widely. 37 00:03:04,407 --> 00:03:08,528 I'm Clara Woolford and I am the property curator at Cragside in 38 00:03:08,548 --> 00:03:09,189 Northumberland. 39 00:03:11,049 --> 00:03:14,890 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: It's December 1848, The Illustrated London 40 00:03:14,950 --> 00:03:17,891 News, the world's first illustrated weekly news 41 00:03:17,951 --> 00:03:22,953 magazine, has issued a Christmas special featuring an eye-popping 42 00:03:23,073 --> 00:03:23,973 printed picture. 43 00:03:24,914 --> 00:03:28,356 It's an unusually intimate portrait of the young Queen 44 00:03:28,416 --> 00:03:31,178 Victoria, her husband Prince Albert and their children, 45 00:03:31,479 --> 00:03:36,362 decorating a new kind of festive centrepiece rarely seen by Brits 46 00:03:36,422 --> 00:03:36,942 before. 47 00:03:37,463 --> 00:03:39,884 An evergreen tree in their home? 48 00:03:39,884 --> 00:03:46,249 CLARA WOOLFORD: The 1848 print is showing a beautifully 49 00:03:46,329 --> 00:03:47,650 decorated Christmas tree. 50 00:03:48,130 --> 00:03:50,111 You've got this gorgeous evergreen and it's lit with 51 00:03:50,152 --> 00:03:50,672 candles. 52 00:03:51,028 --> 00:03:53,810 On top of that are all of these little ornaments. 53 00:03:54,050 --> 00:03:58,833 There's things like cradles and letters and puddings. 54 00:03:59,474 --> 00:04:02,276 Some of these would have been handmade. They're all hanging 55 00:04:02,296 --> 00:04:05,518 off of the tree. And then gathered around are the family. 56 00:04:06,539 --> 00:04:10,361 Prince Albert and Queen Victoria are both very much enjoying a 57 00:04:11,162 --> 00:04:12,183 family moment. 58 00:04:12,643 --> 00:04:15,045 They're interacting with the children and it's a glimpse of 59 00:04:15,065 --> 00:04:18,267 their family life that we wouldn't have had previously. 60 00:04:19,007 --> 00:04:21,369 And they are, they're doing it really, really intentionally. 61 00:04:21,589 --> 00:04:25,692 They're trying to set this idealistic portrayal of what the 62 00:04:25,712 --> 00:04:27,313 perfect family setup should be. 63 00:04:27,994 --> 00:04:31,016 And that is all tied into how you celebrate Christmas. 64 00:04:33,498 --> 00:04:35,619 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: Before the 19th century, Christmas in 65 00:04:35,679 --> 00:04:37,280 Britain looked very different. 66 00:04:38,181 --> 00:04:40,342 CLARA WOOLFORD: There was a tradition in Britain and 67 00:04:40,362 --> 00:04:43,104 actually across most of Europe, and it was called, which I 68 00:04:43,124 --> 00:04:44,545 really like, it's called Christmasing. 69 00:04:45,026 --> 00:04:48,028 So it's literally making your house ready for Christmas. 70 00:04:48,724 --> 00:04:54,213 It's kind of mixed with a pagan tradition, celebrating the 71 00:04:54,253 --> 00:04:55,154 natural world. 72 00:04:55,715 --> 00:04:59,681 You would be bringing in greenery, very green, simple. 73 00:05:00,786 --> 00:05:03,608 Totally different to when the Victorians start to bring in 74 00:05:04,108 --> 00:05:08,892 some quite garish elements to their Christmas design. 75 00:05:09,292 --> 00:05:11,053 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: Queen Victoria's husband, Prince 76 00:05:11,133 --> 00:05:14,656 Albert, is credited with popularising Christmas trees in 77 00:05:14,716 --> 00:05:15,036 Britain. 78 00:05:15,496 --> 00:05:19,879 But the idea itself was nothing new. Albert had brought an old 79 00:05:19,999 --> 00:05:23,062 ritual with him from his home country, Germany. 80 00:05:24,182 --> 00:05:26,504 CLARA WOOLFORD: Christmas trees are German tradition. 81 00:05:27,064 --> 00:05:29,286 There's definitely this long, long history of bringing 82 00:05:29,770 --> 00:05:34,332 Evergreens into homes in Germany around that festive period. 83 00:05:35,673 --> 00:05:39,434 Really comes to England with Queen Charlotte. So she is the 84 00:05:39,654 --> 00:05:41,175 German wife of George III. 85 00:05:41,935 --> 00:05:46,457 And in 1800, she brings a yew branch into Windsor Castle and 86 00:05:46,457 --> 00:05:47,898 decorates it with candles. 87 00:05:48,998 --> 00:05:52,640 It becomes quite a firmly established tradition in the 88 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:57,022 upper classes of Britain. So it's not something that 89 00:05:57,062 --> 00:05:57,882 everybody is doing. 90 00:05:58,574 --> 00:06:01,256 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: But why did a single image of Queen Victoria, 91 00:06:01,416 --> 00:06:04,579 Prince Albert and their Christmas tree cause such a 92 00:06:04,679 --> 00:06:05,039 stir? 93 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:10,544 No super influencer or celebrity royal family member today could 94 00:06:10,604 --> 00:06:14,307 hope to touch the influence that the couple Victoria and Albert 95 00:06:14,367 --> 00:06:16,128 had in the mid 1800s. 96 00:06:17,209 --> 00:06:19,491 CLARA WOOLFORD: Previously, the royal family were quite 97 00:06:19,711 --> 00:06:23,854 disconnected. What changes is that Queen Victoria and Prince 98 00:06:23,914 --> 00:06:27,517 Albert especially, he really drives this, are very conscious 99 00:06:27,517 --> 00:06:28,178 of their image. 100 00:06:29,518 --> 00:06:32,220 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: Victoria and Albert were a different kind of 101 00:06:32,260 --> 00:06:32,540 royal. 102 00:06:33,020 --> 00:06:35,822 They helped to style a constitutional monarchy. The 103 00:06:35,862 --> 00:06:38,944 role was more separated from politics, and instead they 104 00:06:38,984 --> 00:06:42,926 focused on becoming patrons of charities and institutions and 105 00:06:42,946 --> 00:06:44,107 making civic visits. 106 00:06:44,747 --> 00:06:47,909 And they used their domestic life, a solid marriage that 107 00:06:47,969 --> 00:06:52,091 produced nine children, to create an idealised personal 108 00:06:52,231 --> 00:06:52,892 image too. 109 00:06:52,892 --> 00:06:58,991 CLARA WOOLFORD: They have a kind of personal interest in 110 00:06:59,011 --> 00:07:04,134 presenting their family as the kind of ideal husband and wife 111 00:07:04,294 --> 00:07:08,196 with their children, the kind of family that they want to 112 00:07:08,516 --> 00:07:10,717 encourage their subjects to be. 113 00:07:11,257 --> 00:07:13,519 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: They may have been appearance conscious, but 114 00:07:13,559 --> 00:07:16,760 Victoria and Albert's private passion for each other was 115 00:07:16,940 --> 00:07:17,601 authentic. 116 00:07:19,242 --> 00:07:23,644 CLARA WOOLFORD: They did have a real genuine relationship. Her 117 00:07:23,684 --> 00:07:28,158 diaries are full of references to basically how gorgeous she 118 00:07:28,218 --> 00:07:29,679 thinks Albert is. 119 00:07:31,700 --> 00:07:35,381 They're married in 1840 and she does write about not getting a 120 00:07:35,401 --> 00:07:37,362 lot of sleep on her wedding night. 121 00:07:39,103 --> 00:07:42,604 And they're having so many children. She's constantly 122 00:07:42,644 --> 00:07:45,906 pregnant. She's constantly moaning about being pregnant 123 00:07:45,946 --> 00:07:49,367 because she feels that that impacts their sex lives and 124 00:07:49,407 --> 00:07:50,908 that's very important to her. 125 00:07:53,469 --> 00:07:56,838 They know they're young and attractive and popular. They 126 00:07:56,878 --> 00:07:59,460 know that they have this Victorian idea of all these 127 00:07:59,501 --> 00:08:02,984 children, but they definitely publicise it as well. 128 00:08:07,728 --> 00:08:10,770 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: In the 1800s, the Industrial Revolution's new 129 00:08:10,850 --> 00:08:14,213 technology had brought with it the dawn of the mass media. 130 00:08:14,894 --> 00:08:17,817 People hungrily devoured the new wave of up-to-the-moment 131 00:08:17,897 --> 00:08:20,919 newspapers and lifestyle magazines illustrated with 132 00:08:21,079 --> 00:08:23,782 eye-catching images that jumped out of the text. 133 00:08:25,142 --> 00:08:28,725 Victoria and Albert used this media revolution to position 134 00:08:28,745 --> 00:08:32,568 themselves as 19th century mega-influencers. 135 00:08:33,289 --> 00:08:36,872 CLARA WOOLFORD: How they managed to create this mass influence is 136 00:08:36,892 --> 00:08:41,776 that they're using mass media. So newspapers are really 137 00:08:41,856 --> 00:08:43,137 prevalent during this period. 138 00:08:43,157 --> 00:08:46,681 We suddenly get a proliferation of illustrated papers as well. 139 00:08:46,721 --> 00:08:49,283 So there's the London Illustrated News, the Graphic, 140 00:08:49,603 --> 00:08:54,202 but everybody has access to them in a way that wasn't previously 141 00:08:54,262 --> 00:08:54,522 there. 142 00:08:54,522 --> 00:08:58,283 They're in lending libraries, people are reading in pubs. You 143 00:08:58,323 --> 00:09:00,884 have five different editions of the same paper in one day. 144 00:09:00,944 --> 00:09:03,845 People are consuming mass media in a way that's quite 145 00:09:04,085 --> 00:09:05,285 recognisable to us. 146 00:09:05,986 --> 00:09:08,926 Victoria and Albert are trendsetters. People are 147 00:09:08,986 --> 00:09:13,688 following what she's wearing, what is he reading, where are 148 00:09:13,668 --> 00:09:16,229 they visiting, people copying that lifestyle. 149 00:09:17,049 --> 00:09:18,849 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: Against the backdrop of Victoria and 150 00:09:18,889 --> 00:09:22,271 Albert's popularity with the British public, and the new age 151 00:09:22,271 --> 00:09:27,434 of mass media, printer J. L. Williams creates his 1848 wood 152 00:09:27,474 --> 00:09:30,836 engraving image of the young royal family decorating their 153 00:09:30,916 --> 00:09:31,596 Christmas tree. 154 00:09:33,157 --> 00:09:34,658 CLARA WOOLFORD: The wood engraving, which is also 155 00:09:35,618 --> 00:09:39,801 beautifully coloured as well, so it's a really rich image. It 156 00:09:39,841 --> 00:09:43,943 appears in print in its black and white form in the London 157 00:09:43,963 --> 00:09:47,425 Illustrated News, but it also becomes a kind of big, splashy 158 00:09:47,665 --> 00:09:50,710 front pager of celebrating Christmas at home with the 159 00:09:50,730 --> 00:09:51,691 royals. 160 00:09:51,691 --> 00:09:55,998 And it has a huge impact. So suddenly the middle classes, 161 00:09:56,139 --> 00:10:01,852 anyone that can afford to aspire to this kind of ideal is doing 162 00:10:01,892 --> 00:10:02,012 so. 163 00:10:02,673 --> 00:10:06,354 So they're starting to bring in trees, the little handmade 164 00:10:06,434 --> 00:10:09,595 decorations or things that were being bought between the 165 00:10:09,636 --> 00:10:10,016 couples. 166 00:10:10,056 --> 00:10:13,037 So Albert and Victoria bought each other Christmas decorations 167 00:10:13,477 --> 00:10:14,938 that had special meanings to them. 168 00:10:15,538 --> 00:10:19,280 That sort of tradition was also copied, but then you've got the 169 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:23,041 mass market and the mass industrialisation of the 19th 170 00:10:23,041 --> 00:10:25,742 century where you can suddenly buy Christmas ornaments. 171 00:10:26,262 --> 00:10:28,783 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: One of the key and quite alarming 172 00:10:28,964 --> 00:10:33,205 decorations was to create a starry light effect using real 173 00:10:33,325 --> 00:10:37,827 candles tied to the tree with ribbons, what could possibly go 174 00:10:37,968 --> 00:10:41,689 wrong? 175 00:10:41,689 --> 00:10:46,171 One newspaper talks of a lucky escape. "Panic at a Workhouse" 176 00:10:46,171 --> 00:10:49,092 writes the coventry evening telegraph in 1891. 177 00:10:49,092 --> 00:10:52,714 A lighted candle fell from the tree and ignited the toys and 178 00:10:52,794 --> 00:10:56,143 wool. The children ran out screaming. Beyond the loss of 179 00:10:56,123 --> 00:10:59,805 the toys and the partial burning of the tree, no damage was done. 180 00:11:00,406 --> 00:11:03,588 CLARA WOOLFORD: They have looser health and safety concerns, I 181 00:11:03,608 --> 00:11:04,288 think, than us. 182 00:11:04,948 --> 00:11:06,769 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: Middle class people in Britain could now 183 00:11:06,829 --> 00:11:09,871 afford to have a royal German tradition in their homes. 184 00:11:10,531 --> 00:11:13,793 And trees began appearing in public places like town squares, 185 00:11:14,314 --> 00:11:17,355 as well as being donated in places in need of cheer, like 186 00:11:17,415 --> 00:11:18,076 workhouses. 187 00:11:19,256 --> 00:11:22,198 As well as taking off in Britain, the US got the 188 00:11:22,218 --> 00:11:23,659 Christmas tree bug too. 189 00:11:25,707 --> 00:11:29,569 A version of the image of the royal family and their tree made 190 00:11:29,589 --> 00:11:33,531 it into the influential monthly publication Godey's Lady's Book, 191 00:11:34,052 --> 00:11:36,193 and the fashion for Christmas trees was set. 192 00:11:37,413 --> 00:11:40,495 One American businessman recognised the potential for the 193 00:11:40,515 --> 00:11:42,756 market for Christmas tree baubles. 194 00:11:43,397 --> 00:11:47,139 Round glass baubles originated from the German mountain village 195 00:11:47,179 --> 00:11:47,719 of Lauscha. 196 00:11:48,359 --> 00:11:51,941 The American businessman first imported artisanal baubles from 197 00:11:52,041 --> 00:11:55,043 Germany and later more cheaply mass-produced ones. 198 00:11:55,767 --> 00:11:59,008 The trinkets were extremely popular with customers and at 199 00:11:59,028 --> 00:12:01,690 Christmas stores were transformed to show them off. 200 00:12:03,670 --> 00:12:06,071 You may have heard of the businessman who helped bring 201 00:12:06,131 --> 00:12:09,353 Christmas baubles to the mass market, if you can remember a 202 00:12:09,393 --> 00:12:13,635 certain high street shop. His name was Mr. Frank Woolworth. 203 00:12:16,916 --> 00:12:20,598 The way we celebrate Christmas today is largely thanks to the 204 00:12:20,618 --> 00:12:21,378 Victorians. 205 00:12:22,939 --> 00:12:25,220 CLARA WOOLFORD: The Victorians Really invented our modern 206 00:12:25,260 --> 00:12:25,720 Christmas. 207 00:12:25,780 --> 00:12:29,002 Things that we think about as being quintessentially Christmas 208 00:12:29,142 --> 00:12:32,844 items, like the Christmas card. The Christmas cracker was 209 00:12:32,864 --> 00:12:36,406 invented in the 1860s by Thomas Smith. The paper chain that 210 00:12:36,446 --> 00:12:40,048 comes over from Germany in the 1850s. So all these things that 211 00:12:40,108 --> 00:12:41,549 we kind of associate. 212 00:12:41,749 --> 00:12:44,950 Charles Dickens'Christmas Carol really solidifies that because 213 00:12:45,171 --> 00:12:50,273 he captures those traditions and kind of makes a sort of cult of 214 00:12:50,313 --> 00:12:53,275 Christmas with the Victorians as well. They get so into it. 215 00:12:54,007 --> 00:12:56,868 All those kind of trends and copying each other. And it 216 00:12:57,028 --> 00:13:00,549 certainly sets the tone for our Christmases. 217 00:13:01,449 --> 00:13:04,090 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: At Lacock Abbey, it's 11 o'clock. The 218 00:13:04,130 --> 00:13:07,191 Christmas trees are up, adorned and sparkling. 219 00:13:08,251 --> 00:13:12,152 Visitors begin arriving. And the magical midwinter sight puts 220 00:13:12,232 --> 00:13:15,433 smiles of delight on people across the generations. 221 00:13:18,074 --> 00:13:22,035 So why has the Christmas tree remained so prevailingly 222 00:13:22,155 --> 00:13:22,635 popular? 223 00:13:23,771 --> 00:13:25,972 CLARA WOOLFORD: It's sheer size. You're bringing a tree into your 224 00:13:26,052 --> 00:13:30,153 house and it's the focal point for gift giving, for gathering 225 00:13:30,193 --> 00:13:30,813 around it. 226 00:13:30,813 --> 00:13:33,194 You know, you were encouraged to gather around your tree and sing 227 00:13:33,234 --> 00:13:37,375 carols and admire it. I guess it marks the occasion. 228 00:13:38,235 --> 00:13:42,456 That image, I think is- still resonates with us. You know, the 229 00:13:42,476 --> 00:13:45,297 kind of prioritisation of families and Christmas being 230 00:13:45,337 --> 00:13:47,778 something that's celebrated in your home. 231 00:13:48,218 --> 00:13:50,499 It's still very much the big thing is, you know, "when are 232 00:13:50,479 --> 00:14:03,659 you going to put your tree up?" 233 00:14:03,659 --> 00:14:05,501 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: Thank you for listening to this Christmas 234 00:14:05,621 --> 00:14:09,544 episode of the National Trust Podcast. You can see the UK's 235 00:14:09,664 --> 00:14:13,787 tallest Christmas tree, a whopping 42-metre giant redwood 236 00:14:14,148 --> 00:14:15,809 at Cragside in Northumberland. 237 00:14:16,269 --> 00:14:18,671 And there are many other places around the country to see 238 00:14:18,852 --> 00:14:21,874 enchanting Christmas tree displays at the National Trust. 239 00:14:22,795 --> 00:14:26,198 We'll be back in the new year, and I'm excited to share in 240 00:14:26,278 --> 00:14:30,381 Spring 2025 we'll be changing the National Trust Podcast to 241 00:14:30,421 --> 00:14:33,682 bring you more immersive stories in nature, history and 242 00:14:33,723 --> 00:14:34,223 adventure. 243 00:14:35,003 --> 00:14:38,465 Stay on this stream for our new nature podcast, The Wild World 244 00:14:38,625 --> 00:14:42,047 Of, and look out for our new history podcast, Back When. 245 00:14:42,628 --> 00:14:45,449 We'll keep you up to date on the changes here on this channel. 246 00:14:46,150 --> 00:14:48,952 From all of us on the National Trust Podcast, a Merry 247 00:14:49,012 --> 00:14:52,574 Christmas, or however you choose to spend the festive season, and 248 00:14:52,714 --> 00:14:54,535 a very happy new year.