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Harewood House was built in the 18th century by Edwin Lascelles, one of the wealthiest men in England. Edwin, as well as his father, and subsequent generations of his family, were Caribbean sugar merchants and actively exploited thousands of enslaved African people to make their business profitable.

Whilst their trade was abhorrent, both Henry and Edwin were shrewd businessmen, and in 1738, using enormous profits made from the Transatlantic trafficking in enslaved people, they purchased the combined estates of Harewood and Gawthorpe.

Edwin wanted nothing but the best for his new home and employed the finest craftsmen of the age to create it. York-born architect John Carr was commissioned to design the House in the Palladian style, inspired by classical architecture. Robert Adam, a scottish architect was asked to design the interiors working in his signature neo classical style.

England’s greatest furniture maker, Thomas Chippendale, was responsible for furnishing the House resulting in his largest and most lucrative commission worth over £10,000. With Lancelot “Capability” Brown, visionary landscape gardener, approached by Edwin to design the surrounding gardens and grounds. No expense was spared. The result was one of the grandest and most fashionable country houses in England.

Over the centuries, the House has been amended and added to by generations of the Lascelles family, reflecting the taste and needs of the time. It has been an English gentleman’s country house, a Victorian family home, a royal household and a wartime convalescent hospital (twice).

Today, Harewood House Trust, the educational charity that runs Harewood House, Gardens and Grounds for the public benefit, strives to acknowledge and remember this abhorrent history and the individuals and communities impacted by slavery and all other forms of injustice.

Using our platform as a cultural institution, we actively celebrate and collaborate with a diverse range of individuals and groups to ensure that Harewood House is an ally for all artists, collaborators and audiences who have faced discrimination and inequality.