‘The Big House’ follows thirteen people as they live and work as their ancestors did in Strokestown House in Roscommon.
Following on from the success of ‘The Tenements’ on TV3, a new four-part documentary series will see Bryan Murray on a journey to discover the controversial history of ‘The Big House’ in Ireland. The series will tell the story of the servants of these lavish mansions, without whom would not have functioned properly.
Producers of the series managed to trace the descendants of the original house staff by digging through the Strokestown Park archive. The descendants will head to Strokestown Park in Roscommon to live and work exactly as their ancestors did.
We meet the Massey family from Hill of Down, Co Meath whose relative was the last butler at Strokestown Park House. PJ Massey has vivid memories of Butler Massey and is proud of this working heritage. The Frederick family from London has strong bonds to Strokestown as many of their female relatives worked at the house, while The Watters family’s connection to Lissadell House in Sligo dates back generations.
Not much is known about this invisible work force who left little to no trace of their existence and this social experiment will attempt to shed light on a hidden history that until now has never been looked at.
‘The Big House’ was produced by Big Mountain Productions and was co-funded by the BAI. The first episode airs tonight on TV3 at 21:00.
To watch a preview for ‘The Big House’, click the video below.
