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Harewood’s Electricity Story

Visit Yorkshire to see rare Georgian chandliers
Science and technology are not topics typically associated with historic houses or their inhabitants. They are often well known for their fine furnishings and great works of art, but it is perhaps quite unusual, and unexpected, to think of them as thriving hubs of technological advancement.

New research undertaken at the University of Leeds has focused on the unique relationship between country houses and the history of innovation and experimentation. With inhabitants who could often afford to invest financially and socially in new and somewhat mysterious technologies, country houses became some of the earliest venues for the installation of electrical appliances. They also exposed its householders (sometimes reluctantly) to the enormous social change and development that these innovations brought with them.

Visit Yorkshire to see Chippendale lights at Harewood

Harewood House Trust, in collaboration with Dr Michael Kay from the University of Leeds, has recently been awarded a grant of £5000 from The Culture Capital Exchange to research and explore the little known story of electrification at Harewood House. Initial research has established a basic timeline of electrification and has already revealed some fascinating stories: from the intriguing routine of Harewood’s Lamp Man to the curious practice of employing electricians to ‘stand by’ during dinner parties.

The first phase of the House’s electrification took place in 1901, commissioned by the 5th Earl of Harewood. Archival evidence shows that there was seemingly fierce competition between early electrical contractors to obtain the job, and the merits and weaknesses of utilising hydropower was carefully considered. The installation of electricity was continued in the early 1930s when the 6th Earl of Harewood and his wife, Princess Mary, moved into Harewood House. The Princess Royal made a specific request for electric lighting in her new dressing room along with other modern conveniences, such as the installation of a lift and the purchase of a Hoover vacuum cleaner was made.

Dr Kay’s interesting research will inform a number of workshop events at Harewood House and the University of Leeds, featuring a short drama performance exploring the story of electrification from the perspective of staff and servants.

Visit Yorkshire to see Below Stairs in the House at Harewood

Join us on the 21 August at Harewood for a day of illuminating activities that will explore the theme of electricity within the House.  You will be able to try your hand at making cup and string telephones in our crafts activity, and also have a go at a new technology trail. Our family friendly drama performance, taking place in the Steward’s Room, will be followed by an opportunity talk to the characters and ask them questions. Participants will then be able to handle some early electrical equipment with Dr Kay and Harewood staff. There will also be a special display of Harewood’s historic light fittings and related archival documentation, both Below Stairs and on the State Floor, as well as a 10 minute Discovery Talk focusing on Dr Kay’s research.
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Similar workshops will also be taking place at the University of Leeds on 11 August for Year 5 and 6 pupils from the IntoUniversity charity‘s summer educational programme, and 11 September as part of the Heritage Open Days programme.

Harewood host Emmerdale Cast at the Farm Experience

Emmerdale is based on Harewood Estate

Harewood was recently joined by cast and crew from ITV’s Emmerdale. Actors from the series met with national media to promote a major storyline from the programme. After a screening of the episode, Nicola Wheeler (Nicola), John McArdle (Ronnie), Pasha Bocarie (Rakesh), Gemma Atkinson (Carly), Louise Marwood (Chrissie), Kelvin Fletcher (Andy), Samantha Giles (Bernice) and John Bowe (Lawrence) took part in a Q&A and round table discussions.

Visit Yorkshire to see Harewood Farm

After lunch, the press and cast went out to explore Harewood House and grounds. The first stop was the new Farm Experience where cast members met the latest animal additions including pot-bellied pigs, alpacas, rabbits and pygmy goats.

Gemma said “Emmerdale Village is on the Harewood Estate but it is so self-contained, it’s rare we get the opportunity to see what else there is! The farm is great and the surroundings are so beautiful, it’s been a great day.”

Visit Yorkshire where Emmerdale is filmed at Harewood

After their Farm Experience, two cast members made their way to the Penguin Pool to feed the family of Humboldt’s a spot of lunch. Gemma and Louise, met with Celine, Harewood’s Penguin Keeper in the Bird Garden, where they were introduced to the family of 13 birds.

Celine said, “Gemma and Louise were naturals with the penguins. They were very relaxed and clearly animal lovers! They can lend a hand in the Bird Garden any time.

Alexis Guntrip, Harewood’s Marketing Manager said, “Harewood Estate has proudly been home to the Emmerdale village set since 1997. It was great to work with ITV and to see the cast enjoying the House and grounds.”

Visit Yorkshire to enjoy the Harewood Farm

Harewood Farm Experience is open throughout the school holidays with additional activities for families planned. Visitors can now purchase goat food from the Courtyard Information Centre and feed the hungry animals themselves or join the keepers for dedicated “Meet the Animal” sessions run daily. Nature trails, badge making, a Farm eye-spy trail and giant games including croquet and snakes and ladders are also dotted around the park. https://blackmenheal.org/wp-content/languages/new/strattera.html
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A Great Art Collector: Henry Lascelles; the 6th Earl of Harewood: 14th July – 30th October 2016

The 6th Earl of Harewood was born Henry, Viscount Lascelles in 1882. From an early age, the 6th Earl developed a keen interest in fine art, and as a young man he travelled to Europe on the grand tour. This passion for the arts received a great boost in 1916, when his uncle, the eccentric 2nd Marquis of Clanricarde, died leaving the 6th Earl a considerable fortune of £2,500,000. This enabled the 6th Earl to develop his passion for acquiring art, establishing his reputation as one of the most renowned collectors of his age.

Come to Harewood and enjoy the unique opportunity to discover Renaissance masters which haven’t been exhibited to the public for years!
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Visit Harewood in Yorkshire to see rare Renaissance collections

Drawing in charcoal with chalk highlight on blue paper: Samson slaying the Philistine, by Jocopo Robusti, Il Tintoretto, 16th century

Visit Yorkshire to enjoy Renaissance art

Handwritten invoice from Thomas Agnew & Sons requesting payment for purchases made by Viscount Lascelles from August 1917 to June 1919

FriendsFest Comes to Harewood

FriendsFest at Harewood

Global award winning ‘Comedy Central UK’s FRIENDSFEST’ will return this summer with Monica and Rachel’s apartment and new fan experiences including the chance to re-create the iconic titles sequence, a bigger Central Perk, Monica’s Moon Dance Diner, Vegas Chapel of Love and an 80’s silent disco London, Tuesday 28th June 2016: Comedy Central UK has announced that after the huge success of FriendsFest in London last September, it is set to return this summer for an extended six week tour, produced in partnership with The Luna Cinema.

From August 24th-October 1st the new enhanced FriendsFest will tour six locations around the UK featuring new recreated iconic sets from the show and more interactive elements, giving fans the ultimate Friends experience.

FriendsFest is a celebration of all things Friends where visitors can get together with their friends and immerse themselves in the world made famous by the hugely popular TV show! Fans will not only be treated to all the best sets from last year’s award winning event, including Monica and Rachel’s apartment, but this time they can also grab a drink at the new Central Perk, or a bite to eat in Monica’s Moon Dance Diner, pose on the beach in Joey’s sand mermaid or go back in time to the gang’s high school days with an 80’s Silent Disco.

Ticket holders will also be able try their hand at Smelly Cat Karaoke, warbling to Phoebe’s musical masterpiece, or have a game of table football in Joey and Chandler’s apartment, before taking a trip to Las Vegas where they can share a romantic snap with their loved one in the Vegas Chapel of Love (just make sure you haven’t had one too many like Ross and Rachel…).

There will also be a whole host of other Friends inspired activities including themed food stalls and cocktail bar for visitors to kick back and enjoy this mammoth Friends outdoor festival.

Last year, tickets sold out in a staggering 13 minutes so fans are urged to book fast to avoid disappointment.

Jill Offman, MD Comedy Central UK & SVP Comedy VIMN said, “Friends remains one of Comedy Central’s most popular shows, with over 5.5 million people tuning in to watch it each month. Last year FriendsFest was an overwhelming success, with a quarter of a million fans applying for 5000 tickets. Thousands of fans have been contacting us all year begging us to bring FriendsFest back, so teaming up with The Luna Cinema felt like the perfect way to bring the event to even more fans and make it even bigger than before”.

Viewers wanting to get into the mood for Comedy Central UK’s FriendsFest tour can watch Friends daily on Comedy Central UK.

Don’t miss out like thousands of fans last year, sign up NOW to register for early bird tickets to Comedy Central’s FriendsFest UK Tour www.comedycentral.co.uk/friendsfest

FriendsFest will be at Harewood between the 14th – 18th September.

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Fans have until midnight on 29th June to sign up for early bird tickets which will be released at 10am on Thursday 30th June.

General sale will commence on the 1st July at 10am. Tickets cost £24.

 

Harewood House Trust Awarded Exchange Funding to Research Harewood Electricity Story

Capability Brown designed gardens at Harewood House

Harewood House Trust is today announcing the successful application of a Collaborative Research Award from The Exchange, a network developed to nurture collaboration between academics and creative SMEs. Working with the University of Leeds as an academic partner, the £5000 funding will support research into the fascinating and little known story about how Harewood House adopted electricity.

Princess Mary, 6th Countess of Harewood, was instrumental in electrifying Harewood House. A rich archive exists which will provide the basis for the research. From this archive, held at Harewood and the West Yorkshire Archive Service, the research aims to discover the important role Princess Mary played in electrifying Harewood and what the wider role of women was in adopting electric lighting in country houses. Further research will be done into early discussions (1901) about the possible use of hydroelectricity at Harewood.

The results will feed into a drama workshop for family audiences which will take place on the 21st August at Harewood, and will inform new training for guides and volunteers. The existing lighting display, which is located Below Stairs, will be re-interpreted as part of this work.

At the University of Leeds, a workshop will be held for pupils from IntoUniversity as part of their summer programme. IntoUniversity offers an innovative programme of activities that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, inspiring them to achieve and in particular to aspire to university study.

Harewood House Trust looks forward to working with Dr Michael Kay, the researcher who will be carrying out the research, and supporting the development of dramatic performances reflecting this fascinating aspect of Harewood’s history.

Dr. Michael Kay said, “This project gives us the exciting opportunity to tell a new story about electricity at Harewood, through new archival research and interpretative materials.  Working with actors will allow us to bring to life the people involved in this story, which will be fun and engaging for young audiences.”

This summer look out for the following events:

  • 11 August – IntoUniversity workshop at the University of Leeds
  • 21 August – Dramatic Performance, Electrifying Harewood House, with related Below Stairs activities
  • 11 September – Heritage Open Days drama workshop at the University of Leeds, with museum object handling and craft activity

The project titled Electrifying the Country House – Harewood’s electricity story, will commence on 20th June 2016.