Statement from Jane Marriott, Trust Director
Wednesday 14 July 2021
To our Members, visitors, supporters and all who enjoy Harewood
480 days ago, Harewood, like most other public places, was forced to close its doors, and the House, its outbuildings and the majority of the site stood empty for the very first time in over 250 years.
Throughout the last 16 months, our passion at Harewood for everyone to enjoy this wonderful place has not waned – be it through new online content whilst we were closed, to introducing exciting new outdoor activities such as pop-up play and the new Three Parks Walks to support our health and well-being, to re-thinking our programme of exhibitions to ensure that Members, visitors, staff and volunteers alike could continue to connect with Harewood in whatever way possible. This difficult time has also encouraged us to re-invigorate our commitment to being a safe place to engage with difficult conversations, be a platform to lift up marginalised voices with conviction to provoke discussion around racism and be ever more open about Harewood’s colonial past, as this is a place is for all of us.
The safety of our staff, volunteers, Members and visitors however remains paramount, and like many other visitor attractions across the UK, we have decided to maintain a level of guidance in place to ensure that we can all be as protected from Covid-19 as possible, not least whilst the remainder of the vaccination programme continues to be rolled out.
The decision to do this is something that has been endorsed by audiences across our industry and by our industry bodies – ALVA and BIAZA among others. The majority of visitors wish to keep themselves and others as safe as possible whilst we manage the impact of this pandemic, and keep new variants at bay.
That’s why, effective from Monday 19 July, for the next month at least, the following will remain in place:
However, to allow an easier visit with the lifting of some government restrictions, the following will also apply Monday 19 July:
We would ask you to be mindful of keeping social distance if appropriate, but we will no longer remind you of this.
The rules around self-isolation and requests issued by NHS Test & Trace remain in place. Should you have any symptoms related to Covid-19, or have been contacted by NHS Test & Trace, or have received a positive test result, you should not visit Harewood.
This guidance will be reviewed once more in line with Government announcements in mid-August.
Everyone at Harewood wishes to express our gratitude to all those who have supported and continue to support us, through this difficult time, as a charity. Harewood Members and many visitors have been incredibly thoughtful and caring towards our teams over these past 16 months, for which we are particularly grateful.
Our Trustees and Executive team also wish to express our sincere thanks to all Harewood staff and volunteers. Together they have shown such conviction, agility and willingness to do everything we can for you – our Members and visitors – to ensure that Harewood has been able to provide as much as a normal visit as possible, and an escape from the restrictions of the past year to explore our 140-acre site.
We are particularly grateful to several funding partners who have provided urgent grants necessary to ensure our survival throughout this time, and to those who have generously donated, including:
We look forward to welcoming you at Harewood in the coming weeks and months, as we look towards a brighter, exciting and optimistic future.
Jane Marriott
Trust Director