Simon in the guise of John Jewell

‘I was held…!’
‘The addition of the ghost was wonderfully atmospheric’
‘We were lucky to see a Stag appear as if on cue too – it was brilliant!’

Some of the comments following artist Simon Warner’s latest Theatrical Tour as part of on-going Medieval Harewood events this Summer…

Medieval Harewood Theatrical Tours

Simon Warner is a Yorkshire based photographer and performance artist. Simon will be conducting unique walking tours of Harewood’s medieval history enhanced with an audio experience, a real experience of Medieval Harewood!

Theatrical Tour dates: 17th July, 1st August, 14th August & 3rd September.

There’s still time to book for Simon’s last Theatrical Tour on 3rd September, book now to avoid disappointment!

Read more and book…

This summer, explore Medieval Harewood with us…

Find out more on our Medieval Harewood webpages…

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! 

We made the news in the Independent’s heritage section with our all-new event spectacular the Harewood Medieval Faire…

If came thee hither, what-ho an event we had!

If you missed it, look out for e-updates to be the first to get your tickets for next year’s event! …And don’t forget, Medieval Harewood continues this summer with artists’ works & finds from the Gawthorpe dig, ceramics & stained glass workshops, and Castle, dig and theatrical tours.

Read more and book workshops & tours and online…

Student archaeologists on trail of Yorkshire gem’s hidden past

Archaeologists from the University of York are revealing intriguing traces — hidden for more than two centuries — of the forerunner of one of Yorkshire’s great country houses.

In the shadow of Harewood House, a team of undergraduate students is carrying out the painstaking task of unearthing the remnants of Harewood’s predecessor, Gawthorpe Hall, which was demolished in 1773.

After carrying out exploratory digs and geophysical surveys over the last two years, the student archaeologists are spending three weeks uncovering the layout of the Hall of which only two contemporary illustrations survive.

Education sessions will allow school groups to explore the excavation, get their hands dirty digging and talk to the archaeologists. Workshops, lectures and public tours of the dig as well as exhibits of finds will be a feature of Harewood’s Medieval Festival on 16th and 17th July. You’ll also find out more about Harewood All Saints’ Church (founded in 1116), the 12th century Castle and medieval village of ‘Harwood’ [then spelt without an ‘e’]. Visit our Medieval Festival event webpage for details.

The archaeologists have already discovered a wealth of artefacts including a coin dating from the early 15th century, an 18th century chamber pot, decorative glassware and wine bottle fragments, decorative pins and a thimble as well as a range of ceramics from the medieval period up to the 18th century, which will help us to tell the story of how the family lived, how the hall was decorated and much more besides. The students have also unearthed a flint arrowhead dating back to pre-history.

Dr Finch said: “As well as providing a much longer history of Harewood that stretches thousands of years back into prehistory, the archaeology will give us a unique insight into the impact the Caribbean sugar industry and slavery had, not just on the fortunes of the Lascelles family, but on English landscape and society as a whole over two hundred years ago.”

David Lascelles said: “So much of what we know of Harewood’s history focuses on Harewood House and who has lived there. The excavation being done by York University students is helping to fill some of the gaps of that earlier history and – we all hope – answer some of the questions about Gawthorpe. We’ll be re-creating medieval Harewood in a digital “fly-by” to be shown as part of our Medieval Festival event in July, revealing a landscape without Harewood House and before Capability Brown’s intervention.”

Dr Finch headed a team from the University of York which travelled to Barbados last month to investigate the old Lascelles plantations, some of which still operate as sugar plantations with historic houses and factory buildings still surviving. Artefacts discovered there will be added to those found at Gawthorpe to create a new teaching resource based in Barbados and Yorkshire.

Education Sessions for Schools

Bookable education sessions will allow school groups to explore the excavation, get their hands dirty digging and talk to the archaeologists. Contact our Learning department for details on 0113 218 1043 or email.

To read more about our upcoming Medieval Festival, visit our What’s On pages here.

For more information about the University of York’s Department of Archaeology visit their website here…

You can also visit the dig to see the archaeology in action. Click here to read more…

Keep up with the progress of the archaeology team on their blog or facebook…
You can see finds from the Dig in the Terrace Gallery as part of our Summer exhibitions programme. Click here to read more…

This summer, explore Medieval Harewood with us…

Find out more on our Medieval Harewood webpages…

In April this year Harewood will become the field-study school for the whole University of York Department of Archaeology. Over 80 students as well as the University of York archaeologists will be digging the site of ‘Gawthorpe’ the medieval manor house that stood on the site before the current Harewood House was completed in 1771.

Education sessions will allow school groups to explore the dig, get their hands dirty digging and talk to the archaeologists. Workshops, lectures and public tours of the dig as well as exhibits of finds will make up part of our Medieval Festival event taking place on Sat 16th & Sun 17th July so join us then to find out more!

Visit our What’s On webpages for details of all our forthcoming events…