House

I would not exceed the limits of expense that I have always set myself. Let us do everything properly and well, mais pas trop.

Edwin Lascelles to Robert Adam

When Edwin Lascelles started building Harewood House in 1759 he wanted nothing but the best for his new home. He employed the finest craftsmen of the time: York-born architect John Carr, fashionable interior designer Robert Adam, England’s greatest furniture maker Thomas Chippendale and visionary landscape gardener Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. As you walk round the House, you can see Renaissance masterpieces, exquisite family portraits by Reynolds, Gainsborough, Lawrence and Richmond, as well as a fine collection of Sèvres china, among many other delights.

Explore the House with our digital room guide, click here for more details.

Did you know?

Enlighten me

There are over 400 light bulbs on the State Floor at Harewood. Approximately 120 hours per year is spent changing light bulbs, which is roughly 2.5 hours per week.

To me! To you!

It takes 6 people to move a carpet in the state rooms and 10 people to lift one.

Copper up

There are 250 pieces of copper in the Old Kitchen. It takes a team of volunteers around 50 hours in the winter to clean and polish them.

Who owns Harewood House?

Harewood is an independent charitable educational trust set up to maintain and develop Harewood, its collections and grounds, for the public benefit. This includes the House, collections and 100 acres of gardens and grounds.