ONE of Sussex’s most significant and colourful cultural sites is already seeing a rise in interest thanks to the latest BBC period drama.

Head of curatorial services at Charleston Darren Clarke told The Argus that the country house was already reaping the benefit from renewed interest in the Bloomsbury Group following the airing of new BBC show Life In Squares.

The show focuses on the complicated love lives and convention defying lifestyles of Charleston owners Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant as well as frequent guests to the house near Firle, which included Virginia Woolf, Maynard Keynes, Clive Bell and Lytton Strachey.

Mr Clarke said: “We have already noticed a big increase in visitors, we have had a lot more than in the same week last year.

“Most of the time we carry out guided tours with only ten people going round at one time so the extra numbers we can accommodate are quite small but we have started additional tours to make sure we have more capacity.

“We are expecting August to be much busier this year and visitors are advised to book in advance to avoid disappointment although we are open until November so people can try later in the year if they don’t succeed in August.

“It’s our centenary next year of Vanessa and Duncan coming to Charleston so we are hoping that increased interest can continue for the next two or three years.”

The first of the programme’s three parts aired on BBC2 on Monday night and subsequent shows will feature scenes filmed at Charleston last September.

The revived interest in the Bloomsbury Group dovetails conveniently with an online fundraising campaign for renovation work at the decorative country home.

An Artfund campaign aiming to raise £25,000 to restore the “crumbling” painting, “severe” water damage and damaged plaster in the spare room has already hit 65% of its funding target within a week thanks to the generosity of more than 140 donors.

Artist Vanessa Bell painted the previously white washed walls in 1936 with spectacular decorations creating “a dazzle of colour and light”.

Mr Clarke acted as a consultant on the series and said the creators had done well to “recapture the spirit” of the famous artistic group.

He said Charleston, which attracts 21,000 visitors a year, would feature heavily in the final episode although filming on location was limited because of the strains that films crews would have had on the “fragile” house.

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