Margaret Wilson, Visitor Experience Team Member, Harewood House Trust

I trained in Art & Design then specialised in Textiles about 40 plus years ago in Manchester. I worked for a number of years, did some freelance work then became interested in Art Therapy after seeing an exhibition of Art & Crafts made by prisoners and people with learning disabilities.

I retrained to become a teacher and started working with adults with learning disabilities and it just went on from there to working at an organisation called Converge based at York St. John University.

Converge offer creative courses to adults recovering from mental illness and is run in partnership with the Occupational Therapy course.

Creative courses include Art, Crafts, Creative Writing, Drama, Music, Gardening and Dance to name a few.

What role do you think art and crafts play in promoting mental well-being?

Creativity in any form helps promote mental well-being. It can alleviate depression, stress and anxiety. It can help take the focus away from negative thoughts and improves brain productivity.

At Converge people were able to develop new skills in a supportive educational environment. The freedom to be creative, challenge yourself and discover new abilities was highly encouraged. As many people were also isolated the social connection with other people on courses was highly important to their mental well-being.

Artwork courtesy Margaret Wilson

Can you tell me about one of your favourite projects and why it holds a special place for you?

A project I was involved with recently at Converge was about “Belonging.” It brought up a lot of thoughts and discussion about what this means to different people. We used art journaling as a way to express this individually and it is a particular favourite method of mine because it is quick and spontaneous.

I have experienced traumatic events in my own life and during those times found doing art journaling and crafts a way to deal with my emotions and relive the stress I was under.

In my craft work I enjoy using left over pieces of wrapping paper, magazines, wall paper, buttons, garden wire, wood pieces and wool. It’s a challenge to turn these items into something new!

Artwork courtesy Margaret Wilson

What is your favourite Harewood spot?

Whilst I really enjoy volunteering on the State Floor, my favourite room is the old kitchen with all the lovely old copper pans and moulds.

I love this room because this is where a lot of hard work took place. The deep marks on the central table are evidence of this.

My great grandmother was in service and worked as a kitchen maid so that’s why I can relate to it. I wonder if it’s ancestral voices!

Arabeschi Di Latte, Social Kitchen in the Old Kitchen, Drew Forsyth

The surface of the table in the centre of the Old Kitchen dates to when the House was first built.

It is made of beechwood and it is still possible to see the scars of over 250 years of use.

Today, it’s being used to showcase Arabeschi Di Latte, Social Kitchen for Create/Elevate.

A series of ceramic sharing dishes created in collaboration with ceramicist Jo Woffinden, the pieces are hand built using stoneware clay with a blue slip finish. The surface colour is reminiscent of sugar paper, a reference to the source of Harewood’s historic wealth from sugar plantations. 

Entry to Harewood Biennial 2024: Create/Elevate is included with admission to Harewood.

Harewood Biennial 2024: Create/Elevate celebrates the power of craft to inspire and bring people together to imagine new worlds. It introduces the work of sixteen British and international artists, designers and collectives, including four new commissions, which are presented across Harewood House and its Gardens.

As part of Biennial season, we’d also like to share the hidden craft stories of Harewood and take a look into the vibrant world of art and craft through the eyes of our dedicated staff, volunteers and Members.

Each individual we feature is a testament to the transformative power of creativity and the positive impact it can have on our lives and communities.

Through their stories, we hope to inspire you to find your own creative spark.

Craft Feature #1: Julie Cross

Julie is an award-winning artist living in Yorkshire, and a member of our Visitor Experience team. She is a figurative, expressionist painter who focuses upon female figures and faces to highlight some of the essentials of human existence.

We are overwhelmed by her talent and wanted to share how her creative journey began – it’s a surprising story!

Craft Feature #2: Margaret Wilson

With over 40 years of experience in Art & Design, specialising in Textiles, Visitor Experience team member Margaret Wilson reflects on her career teaching adults with learning disabilities and the positive impact creativity can have on mental wellbeing.

Craft Feature #3: Angela Leathley

Whilst volunteering at Gayle Mill, in Wensleydale, Angela discovered hand made felting which in turn led to rug making.

Angela’s main material is second-hand wool coats, primarily sourced from charity shops. Taking great joy in transforming something practical and serviceable into a re-purposed item of beauty, Angela is sure to maintain its practical function.

Claire Cox, Head of Development, and Rachel Crewes, CEO of Harewood House Trust, with Samantha Webster and Caroline Pullich, Partners at NFU Mutual.

NFU Mutual Agents and their staff at the Boston Spa & Harrogate agency recently nominated local charity Harewood House Trust, to receive a donation of £6,509 from NFU Mutual’s national £1.92million ‘Agency Giving Fund’.

The leading rural insurer launched this fund, now in its fifth year, to help local frontline charities across the country. The Agency Giving Fund forms part of NFU Mutual’s £3.25m funding pledge for both local and national charities in 2024, to assist with the ongoing recovery from the pandemic and to help tackle the impact of the rising cost of living.

To ensure these donations reach all corners of the UK and are directed to where they’re needed most, all NFU Mutual Agencies, with more than 280 offices nationwide, have been given the opportunity to nominate local charities to receive a share of the fund.

The UK charity sector has faced unprecedented challenges due to the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing cost of living crisis. Harewood House Trust is an independent educational charity as is amongst those that have been affected.

Thanks to the support of NFU Mutual and the Harewood Estate, Harewood House Trust will launch a new nature safari experience sharing fabulous views over the lake, woodlands and parkland.

Young girl and adult looking at the wildlife below the bridge in the Himalayan Garden, Tom Arber

The funding will go towards providing transport and opening up access to hard-to-reach areas, giving visitors a chance to spot some of the incredible array of wildlife. Harewood is home to amphibians, butterflies, and insects, not to mention the large population of red kites and deer who call Harewood their home. This initiative will ensure that more people can experience the natural beauty and diverse species that thrive in these areas.

Caroline Pullich, Managing Partner at NFU Mutual Boston Spa Agency covering Yorkshire, said: “We’re extremely proud to have nominated Harewood House Trust for this donation and are delighted to be able to support the vital contribution they make to our community. NFU Mutual’s Agency Giving Fund was first created in 2020 in response to the pandemic, and this ongoing support is helping to change lives, providing both emergency support and building long-term resilience.”

Claire Cox, Head of Development at Harewood House Trust, added: “We are so grateful to the Boston Spa & Harrogate Agency of NFU Mutual, for nominating us for a donation from the NFU Mutual Agency Giving Fund. Thanks to this support, we can provide safari transport that will enable visitors and school groups to easily explore more of the landscape. This will also benefit those audiences in receipt of Universal or Pension Credit and other benefits who are using our new £2 day ticket. The safari will be an opportunity for everyone to learn about the incredible natural environment at Harewood and what we are doing to protect it for future generations.”

Harewood House Trust welcomes the creation of the Heirs of Slavery group, which includes David Lascelles, the Earl of Harewood, and other people whose ancestors profited from transatlantic slavery.

Harewood House Trust is an independent educational charitable trust established in 1986.  The Trust works to maintain and develop Harewood House, Gardens and Grounds, the historic home of the Lascelles family, for the public’s benefit. The charity, which is also an accredited museum, uses all the funds raised from visitor admission to keep the site open, to engage with Harewood’s local communities and to run a diverse programme of exhibitions and events, which are enjoyed by over 250,000 people every year. Given that Harewood House was built using profits from the Transatlantic trade in enslaved people, this programme has for a long time strived to open up conversations about this history and its ongoing impact around the world. Harewood House Trust welcomes the Heirs of Slavery’s statement and hopes that the group’s creation will continue to progress these conversations.

Since the charity’s creation, Harewood House Trust has maintained links with the Lascelles family. This has included generous donations from the family and working collaboratively with them on several projects. Harewood House Trust is grateful for their support of the charity’s projects and looks forward to further collaborations in future. The Trust will continue its work to be open about Harewood’s history; to make Harewood a welcoming, inclusive place for all; and to raise awareness of the local, national and global movements that seek restorative justice for enslaved people and their descendants.

These projects include:

• The Trust’s Open History series highlights the site’s past with the exhibition Bertie Robinson: The Footman from St Vincent and Black History walks with Leeds-based Heritage Corner.
• In the Missing Portraits series, the Trust is creating exhibitions to accompany portraits of Black sitters, commissioned by the Earl and Countess of Harewood to diversify the House’s historic art collection. The first portrait is of Leeds community activist and founder of Leeds Carnival Arthur France and the second will be of the actor and writer David Harewood, whose ancestors were enslaved on Lascelles plantations.
• In 2007 Harewood hosted a wide range of events to commemorate the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade. The highlight was performances of Carnival Messiah in a big top near Harewood House. Carnival Messiah is inspired by the music of Handel’s Messiah, performed Caribbean Carnival style and featuring Carnival performers from Britain and from Trinidad.

A full list of Harewood House Trust’s projects that engage with the site’s history can be found here.