VW Festival are pleased to announce the charity they will be supporting in 2014 will be the DOGS TRUST.

Along with this they have managed to arrange a number of Doggie related activities including Displays to Music, Dog Show and Agility Displays.  They are hoping to include activities that you can enter your own favourite pooch in too!  More details to follow as arrangements are finalised! Keep an eye on their website, www.vwfestival.co.uk, or their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/vwfestival.

Herbie Hospital in Leeds are busy working their magic on this years giveaway VW Beetle which will be raffled to raise money for this amazing charity!

Raffle tickets will be exclusively available to buy at the show which is on the 16^th and 17^th August 2014.

Olympic medallists Alistair and Jonny Brownlee delighted at Macmillan involvement

Professional Sports Group is delighted to announce Macmillan Cancer Support as the Title Partner of the 2014 Brownlee Tri series. Launched in partnership with Olympic Gold and Bronze medallists Alistair and Jonny Brownlee last year, the Brownlee Tri has expanded to two events in 2014 and will now be known as the Macmillan Brownlee Tri. As part of the agreement, Macmillan will have over 300 competitors raising money to help ensure that no-one has to face cancer alone. Alistair and Jonny Brownlee are set to make an appearance at both events.

The first Macmillan Brownlee Tri will take place at the iconic National Trust property of Petworth House and Park in West Sussex on 15th June, with the second held in the brothers’ home county of Yorkshire at Harewood House on 21st September. Both events will host sprint and super-sprint competitions for individuals, with prizes for youth and adult categories, and also a sprint relay. Whether you are a seasoned triathlete or taking on your first ever race, there really will be something for everyone.

Alistair and Jonny Brownlee said: “We’re delighted that such a fantastic charity has chosen to partner with the Brownlee Tri. Triathlon is a great way to get active and competing for Macmillan Cancer Support provides the perfect motivation. Petworth House and Harewood House are two brilliant locations for a triathlon and we hope as many people as possible will join us.”

Triathlon Team Manager at Macmillan, Hayley Short said: “Macmillan Cancer Support is thrilled to be the new title partner for the Brownlee Tri Series. We are dedicated to providing high quality triathlon events to our supporters and the title of Macmillan Brownlee Tri reflects our commitment to providing iconic events which encourage more people to take up this exciting sport and experience triathlon, whilst helping us ensure no-one faces cancer alone.”

The Macmillan Brownlee Tri promises to deliver a fantastic triathlon experience for competitors of all ages and abilities with two beautiful venues, exciting courses and entertainment villages packed with food stalls and a range of activities for spectators. Competitors will also enjoy free training plans from TriTrainingHarder, fantastic goodie bags and prizes from Boardman, Huub and adidas, and an exclusive triathlon insurance discount with TriathlonGuard.

For more information about getting involved, visit www.macmillanbrownleetri.com and look out for updates through Twitter @Brownleetri or www.facebook.com/brownleetriathlon

It gives us great pleasure to welcome you to our new website. After several years of dedicated service we decided to retire our old site and upgrade to what you see today.

There’s an endless supply of fascinating content here at Harewood. Our ambition for the new harewood.org is to inspire great days out through bright imagery and accessible information. From medieval history to adventure playgrounds there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Our hope is that this new website will appeal to families, art collectors, gardeners, wildlife fans, film makers, foodies and everything in between. We want you to access information about Harewood that interests you, when you want it, how you want it.

The art and collections at Harewood make up a significant part of the educational charitable trust. Our hope is that the new website will allow experts and novices alike to see how incredible the collections here really are. From Thomas Chippendale to Lord Linley, JMW Turner to Sidney Nolan, Harewood has a long history of art patronage that we want to share. We will be updating and managing this information continuously as collections change and develop.

The Bird Garden is a firm favourite with our visitors. Our new-look website aims to give Harewood’s exotic and native species a platform. Conservation is at the heart of that message and we plan to develop this content further as we go through the year.

A special thank you to Piper and Sam from Approach for all their efforts in creating this site. The team has worked hard to build what you see today and we have a great many ideas for future development. We’ve tried to ensure everything is accurate however if you do spot an error please email website@harewood.org.

We hope that you like the progress so far. If you do, recommend the website to a friend and help us shout about all things Harewood!

Tell Us What You Think:

If you have time we’d love to know what you think of the new site. We have five quick questions to ask on a brief survey you can access here.

The Yorkshire Post were here at Harewood today to photogrpah a new rose named ‘Yorkshire Princess’ in honour of HRH Princess Mary. Our Craft Gardener Helen Fletcher is shown with the rose in the Yorkshire Post piece.

We are introducing the new rose called ‘Yorkshire Princess’, dedicated to HRH the Princess Mary, Princess Royal, who lived here at Harewood for more than 30 years, to coincide with our Royal Harewood exhibition in this Diamond Jubilee year, .

Resembling an old-fashioned rose, this beautiful, but modest groundcover or patio rose, has a slight sweet scent, and is white with a delicate Orient Pink centre. Flowering throughout the summer, it is suitable for planting in rockeries, at the front of borders or alongside paths in cottage gardens, and will shortly be planted here at Harewood to commemorate the Princess’s contribution to the Gardens.

Trevor Nicholson, Head Gardener at Harewood House, said: “Princess Mary was a very keen gardener and plantswoman who made a significant impact on the gardens here, introducing many elements of the gardens which our visitors still enjoy today. She was particularly fond of roses and so, to mark this year’s special ‘Royal Harewood’ exhibition, a rose was the ideal way to create a lasting tribute. The pure white petal, soft blush centre and sweet scent give a traditional feel, in-keeping with old-style roses and perfect for a Yorkshire Princess.”

A limited number of Rosa ‘Yorkshire Princess’ will be available to purchase as a containerised shrub from the Harewood plant stall this summer, with new stock arriving in November 2013. You can register your interest by emailing us your contact details, and we’ll send you an update when further stock becomes available.

Bred in Northern Ireland by Dickson Nurseries, it is currently available to pre-order online as a root for potting from their website for delivery in November 2012.

We’ll be officially launching our new rose at the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show, staged at the Great Yorkshire Showground from 14-16 September, you can call the Ticket hotline on 01423 546157 or visit their website for more details of the show.

Our exhibition, Royal Harewood, celebrating the life of the Princess continues until the end of September.

Explore the gardens for yourself, from the breath-taking Terrace overlooking majestic ‘Capability’ Brown landscape, to the exotic plant hunters’ paradise of the Himalayan Garden and the delightful lakeside and woodland paths to the Walled Garden…

Find out more about the Gardens at Harewood…

The details:

Rosa ‘Yorkshire Princess’ – parentage Nice ‘n’ Easy x Regensberg; breeder Colin Dickson, Dickson Nurseries, Co Down; patio/groundcover; hybridised in 2005; blooms in clusters, white with hint of Orient pink; slight sweet scent; height 66cm, spread 65cm; flowers continuously throughout the summer.

Guests were met by the Earl and Countess of Harewood, and were invited to tour the new season exhibitions and artists’ responses in the Church and Terrace Gallery launching a medieval journey of discovery at Harewood which seeks to explore the history of this ancient landscape before the present Harewood House was built…

The evening began with a tour of the Castle, followed by a Pimms reception in the Church to celebrate the completeion of the development project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Churches Conservation Trust.

New works by artists Susan Collins and Eleanor Moreton were on display.

The Church is a hub for Medieval Harewood with the new ‘Medieval Harewood Information Point’ located in the Church Vestry, and guests were keen to explore inside this hidden gem of a building!

Find out about the Church on our webpages…

Guests were then able to view the exhibitions in the House, with the Terrace Gallery playing host to an exhibition of finds from the recent Gawthorpe Hall excavation, as well as new works by artist Diane Howse.

The Gawthorpe excavation itself was open to view, and guests were treated to a hog roast and medieval-style entertainments on the Terrace overlooking the Gawthorpe Dig Site.

You can explore Medieval Harewood this Summer… Find out more on our Medieval Harewood webpages…

This season’s exhibitions can be found in the church, throughout the grounds and in the Terrace Gallery.

Artists Simon Warner, Susan Collins, Eleanor Moreton and Diane Howse have created artistic responses to medieval Harewood;

performance tours, moving image, paintings and photography bring stories alive to evoke Harewood’s fascinating medieval past. In the Terrace Gallery you can also learn more about the newly excavated Gawthorpe Hall.

The Artists…

Diane Howse has responded to Medieval Harewood by photographing and digitally reconstructing the alabaster tombs of Harewood Church. The tombs would have originally been painted in full colour, and if you look closely at the effigies in the church, traces of original pigment can still be seen today. Diane has digitally recreated the colours that may have been used and her photographs give us a visual impression of the human beings that lived at Harewood.

Simon Warner is a Yorkshire based photographer and performance artist. Simon will be conducting theatrical walking tours of Harewood’s medieval history enhanced with an audio experience. Tours will take place on Tues 17th July, Weds 1st August, Tues 14th August & Mon 3rd September.

Places must be pre-booked by phone, visit our event pages for details….

Susan Collins is a film artist and is currently director of the Slade school of Fine Art, UCL. Susan has created a video intervention in the church as well as a moving photograph that can be viewed in full online. It can also be streamed on your smartphone to be viewed while experiencing Medieval Harewood.

Eleanor Moreton has been inspired by the history of sisters Elizabeth and Sibyl de Aldeburgh who became joint heiresses of Harewood Castle in 1388. Her paintings respond to the relationships and power structures between families at Harewood in the medieval period as well as the illuminated prayer books, the Books of Hours, people owned at that time.
Images courtesy of the artists, and Ceri Hand Gallery for Eleanor Moreton.

Medieval Harewood is an on-going project to explore Harewood’s medieval history before the present Harewood House was built. Join us on this journey of discovery as we peel back the layers of history, where a few short miles can cover several hundred years.

Find out more on our Medieval Harewood webpages…

PS!

Harewood Medieval Faire 2013 set to take place Late May Bank Holiday Weekend

Look out for details of next year’s Harewood Medieval Faire which is scheduled for late May Bank Holiday 2013!