US-born Viscountess Julie Montagu reveals how she’s trying to save her lavish stately

A Viscountess has detailed the ways in which she’s trying save her lavish stately home after losing £250,000 this year amid the coronavirus pandemic.

US-born Julie Montagu and her husband Luke, Viscountess and Viscount Hinchingbrooke, have been running Mapperton, in Dorset, with the help of their three sons aged between 19 and 13.

The 48-year-old has had to embrace savvy new business ideas to keep her manor house and the family’s 15 acres of Italianate gardens afloat – including virtual tours and yoga classes.

Usually boasting 200 visitors a day in high season, the estate was only able to reopen its gardens on the weekend and still lacks the usual tourists from abroad and elderly guests that it relies on. 

‘Mapperton costs around £200,000 a year to run, but this year we’ve lost around £250,000,’ Julie said, speaking to The Times.

Julie Montagu, Viscountess Hinchingbrooke (pictured in 2016), 48, has detailed the ways in which she’s trying save her lavish stately home after losing £250,000 this year amid the ongoing pandemic

Julie pictured with her husband Luke, Earl of Sandwich, and children William, Emma, Nestor and Jack at Mapperton House – the family’s magnificent Jacobean pile in Dorset

The weddings and conferences that usually help keep the houses running have been cancelled, while cafes and gift shops remain closed – plus Julie’s yoga retreat, which the trained teacher started running last year, had to be scrapped. 

Julie, who is known thanks to her role in the now defunct reality series Ladies of London, is now relying on donations from those who watch her virtual tours of the estate.

Having hosted An American Aristocrat’s Guide to Great Estates on the US Smithsonian Channel, the experienced presenter offers weekly online tours of Mapperton alongside her in-laws, either the Earl, 77, or Countess, 78 of Sandwich. 

‘It’s entirely a family affair: Luke does the filming, our 13-year-old son, Nestor, does the sound recording, and people love it because it’s so personal,’ Julie explained. 

The 48-year-old has had to embrace savvy new business ideas to keep her manor house (pictured) and the family’s 15 acres of Italianate gardens afloat – including virtual tours and yoga classes

‘We’ll show an old Tudor door hidden behind Georgian panelling and say, “This used to be Nestor’s favourite hiding spot,” and the camera will swing to Nestor, who’ll say, “Yes, it was!”‘