Now in its 19^th year, the Harewood Volunteer Programme continues to go from strength to strength. In 2016, over 18,000 hours were given by volunteers, supporting Harewood House Trust. With over 200 returning volunteers, the programme, and importantly the people who give their time, are an integral part of the charity.

Each year, all Harewood’s dedicated volunteers attend a Welcome Day as Harewood House once again prepares to open its doors on 24^th March. The atmosphere is always fantastic as old friends and new gather together to preview what’s in store for the forthcoming year. This year, a focus on our Victorian heritage awaits with rare objects owned by Queen Victoria on display alongside costumes from ITV’s Victoria series.

Of the 200 volunteers who regularly give their time, over half are based in the House where they play a vital role welcoming visitors. They cast a watchful eye over the rooms they are caring for making sure that our visitors, members, coach groups and schools get the best out of their time in the house.

Mary Cook has volunteered in the house for over 13 years. Mary said, “I started volunteering after a friend recommended Harewood to me. 13 years later, I’m still enjoying meeting visitors and learning from them.

When you start volunteering at Harewood there isn’t a prerequisite to know everything but as you spend time in each room you gain more and more knowledge. After volunteering at Harewood I’m always buzzing and my mind is full of all the interesting people and fellow volunteers I have met that day.”

Harewood’s Volunteer Programme extends far beyond the House with volunteers giving their time all year round in the Gardens, Bird Garden and Farm Experience. As a licensed zoo, Harewood’s Bird Garden supports students each year through the volunteer opportunities it offers. Many choose to use their time at Harewood to support further education and career ambitions in zoology and animal welfare.

With 120 acres of formal grounds including the Terrace, Himalayan Garden and Walled Garden, help and support from our dedicated band of garden volunteers is invaluable ensuring the grounds and gardens always look at their very best.

Alan Skedd, is in his 10^th season as a Garden Volunteer. Alan said, “Volunteering is useful, productive and satisfying. I get pleasure from seeing how my efforts make a difference and I hope to continue volunteering until age and my health allows”.

Head Gardner, Trevor Nicholson said, “Our garden volunteers play a vital role in maintaining the grounds supporting with weeding, pruning and other tasks which can be endless in a place as large as Harewood.”

Every department from Marketing to Education values the important role that volunteers have in the Trust. At a time when the demand for volunteers is at an all-time high, we know that we are incredibly lucky to have the support and help of so many dedicated people.

To volunteer at Harewood, is to experience one of Yorkshire’s most beautiful houses and landscapes, and to be part of a very special team. Many volunteers return season after season, renewing friendships and deriving satisfaction knowing they have contributed to history of this great house.

If volunteering at Harewood is something that would appeal to you it is not too late to sign up before the House and grounds open on March 24^th. There are many opportunities from the Bookshop which is entirely run and managed by volunteers, to the Shuttle Bus which was responsible for transporting over 21,000 people around Harewood in 2016.
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To join the scheme or if you have any questions simply contact the Volunteer Coordinator on volunteer@harewood.org or visit our website.

Harewood House Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of a new Trust Director, Jane Marriott. Jane joins Harewood from Yorkshire’s award-winning art gallery The Hepworth Wakefield, where she has held the position of Managing Director and formerly Deputy Director since August 2014.

Jane has successfully managed new commercial and fundraising initiatives as well as the reorganisation of The Hepworth Wakefield to help enable the gallery to deliver the long-term goals in its business plan and to achieve excellence in the learning and exhibitions programmes.

Jane has been the driving force behind significant capital redevelopments, launching The Hepworth Riverside Gallery Garden, a major new public garden designed by Tom Stuart Smith, due to open in 2018. She has significantly increased visitor numbers to the gallery and introduced a major new public events programme and projects supporting The Hepworth Wakefield’s five anniversary in 2016, including the launch of ‘The Hepworth Prize for Sculpture’, a major £30,000 biennial prize for contemporary sculpture .

Before joining the gallery Jane was the Director of Development and Director of the Royal Academy Trust at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) in London, and a key member of the Executive Committee which provided strategic leadership and direction to the organisation. Following her promotion to Director at the Royal Academy Trust she doubled the annual revenue contribution and raised over £37million for one of the most significant capital campaigns in the Academy’s history.  She also directed the opening of the Keeper’s House and launched the RA’s first ever international strategy in South East Asia.

A History of Art graduate and qualified arts marketer, Jane is a trustee of The Reading Agency, a Fellow of the RSA and a regular speaker at international conferences.

Jane said, ‘It has been a privilege working closely with Simon Wallis and the Board to lead The Hepworth Wakefield through its success over the past few years and contributing to the gallery’s role within Wakefield and its national and international presence. I’m delighted to be taking up the prestigious role of Director of Harewood House Trust and to continue my role in contributing to the growing role of culture and heritage in the region. Harewood House, built in the 18th century, has superb art collections, contemporary art exhibitions, an award-winning educational department, a renowned Bird Garden and over 100 acres of gardens. I look forward to playing a pivotal role in helping to develop and grow this ambitious organisation.”
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David Lascelles, Earl of Harewood commented, “I am absolutely delighted that Jane Marriott has agreed to become the new Director of Harewood House Trust.  I’m a huge fan of the Hepworth in Wakefield and the work that Jane has done there over the past couple of years has been a very important part of its success. All of us at Harewood look forward to welcoming her here in the New Year. Exciting times ahead!”

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.

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 5^th 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 6^th 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.

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.

The fourth annual Antiques & Fine Art Fair at Harewood opens from Friday 11 September until Sunday 13 September 2015 in The Marquee in the grounds of Harewood House, Harewood, near Leeds in West Yorkshire LS17 9LQ, organised by The Antiques Dealers Fair Limited and supported by Knight Frank’s Harrogate office. Antiques Fair ticket holders will have the added advantage of access to Harewood’s grounds and ‘below stairs’, as well as a special ticket price offer to visit the House’s state rooms and current exhibitions, over the three days of the Fair.  Harewood members will receive free entry to the Fair and free parking. Antiques Fair tickets cost £5 each on the door or in advance.

An exquisite array of fine art and antiques will be for sale, including silver, antiquities, jewellery and watches, paintings, clocks and barometers, glass, traditional and country furniture, books, English and Continental ceramics, contemporary and 19th century sculpture, objets d’art and much more. The majority of the high calibre dealers, convening at The Marquee at Harewood from around the country, are members of the British Antique Dealers’ Association or LAPADA The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers, the two main UK bodies governing the antiques trade.

Local silver dealers, Jack Shaw & Co from Ilkely offers a wide selection of silver, including pieces made in York: a set of three Victorian meat dishes, £6,750, a seal top spoon, c1650, £1,875 and a George III cruet set, £2,250.  Malka Levine brings an impressive pair of Sheffield plate wine coolers, c1820, priced at £4,800, as well as a pair of Mappin & Webb silver vases, 1925, with a price tag of £1,200.

Olde Time has a diverse collection of clocks and barometers. One highlight is a cast bronze elephant clock surmounted by a figure blowing a shell, 16½” high, c1860, £12,950, possibly by Miroy Frères, Paris.  The elephant’s trunk is raised, which is a sign of good luck, and it stands on an ormolu rococo base.

TV personality and antiques dealer Mike Melody of Melody Antiques, from Chester, deals in oak country furniture, including a matched set of six ash and elm Lancashire  spindle back chairs, c1830,  priced at £1,495 for the set and a late 19th century Orkney  chair, £975.  S&S Timms Antiques has an exceptionally rare Queen Anne period walnut miniature chest on stand, with original brassware, raised on cabriole legs, c1710, £14,500 and a Queen Anne walnut wing back armchair, c1710, £9,500.

With this being the year commemorating the Battle of Waterloo 200 years ago, a Baccarat crystal glass paperweight of bottle form with a sulphide inclusion of Napoleon, c1840

£1,600 is fitting and to be found on Mark J West’s stand. Jewellery and precious objects from T Robert include an 18ct gold and platinum calibrated emerald, diamond and natural pearl Belle Epoque necklace, c1910, £4,450  and  an exceptional lacquer and multi-gem set Shibiyama double sided table screen, c1880, £1,850. Other jewellery specialists exhibiting include Plaza with designer pieces and Anderson Jones.

Paintings include Owen Bowen’s A Yorkshire Farmhouse, £1,850 from Ashleigh House Fine Art. Bowen (1873-1967) studied at Leeds School of Art and was elected to the Staithes Group in 1904. He painted landscapes in and around Leeds and in Northumberland.  Harry Sutton Palmer’s watercolour of River Ure and Vale of Mowbray near Ripon measures 20¼” x 14½” is priced at £3,800 from Baron Fine Art.

In addition, Tim Phelps of T L Phelps Fine Furniture Restoration will be on hand to advise and show examples of his work. Tim Phelps has worked on restoration of Chippendale furniture at Harewood House.  Advisers from Wilson Mitchell & Co Ltd, a partner practice of St. James’s Place Wealth Management, will be happy to discuss investments with their clients and other interested visitors.

The Olympic Torch arrived at Harewood yesterday in style, medieval-style!

On Day 2 of the Yorkshire leg of its journey through Britain, the Torch was led down the main drive to Harewood House by a mounted knight in full armour on Hawthorn, a Friesian stallion to celebrate the upcomingMedieval Faire.

Three runners took turns in carrying the torch down the drive, Jonny Johnston, Roy Leinster and finishing with Janet Baker presenting the torch to HRH Princess Beatrice of York and Lord & Lady Harewood who greeted the Torch on the front steps of the House along with an army of Harewood staff and visitors.

The press turned out in force, the Yorkshire Post have a great video on their website, view it in this page or go to their website here.

12 schools from across the region were also at Harewood, performing their responses to the Olympics, with a selection of sporting, dance and musical performances. HRH Princess Beatrice took the time to meet the children as they were preparing to perform in front of the House.

The winning school on the day, as judged by Stephen Davidson the High Sherriff of West Yorkshire and his wife Carol, was Highfield Primary School, Moortown. Their winning performance was created and performed by Mr Brassil’s Year 5 class, and was called “Olympic Play”. The judges loved the variety of their piece, and the pupils won an annual pass for the school to visit Harewood once a month for a year.

David Lascelles, Lord Harewood said: ‘As an educational charitable trust, we’re keen to encourage and involve children in our celebrations and it was inspirational to see their interpretation of what the Olympics means to them through their superb performances.  This is a moment in time for all of them and it’s been a pleasure to welcome Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice to be a part of our day today to celebrate the Torch’s arrival.’

Further images can be found on our Facebook page…