Harewood House ( , ) is a country house in Harewood,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England. Designed by architects John Carr and

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...

, it was built, between 1759 and 1771, for Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood, a wealthy

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

plantation and slave-owner. The landscape was designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown and spans at Harewood. Still home to the Lascelles family, Harewood House is a member of the

Treasure Houses of England The Treasure Houses of England group is a heritage consortium. It was founded in the early 1970s by nine of the foremost stately homes in England still in private ownership, with the aim of marketing and promoting themselves as tourist venues. ...

, a marketing consortium for ten of the foremost historic homes in the country. The house is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and a number of features in the grounds and courtyard have been listed as Grade I, II* and II.

History

Early history

The Harewood estate was created in its present size by the merging of two adjacent estates, the Harewood Castle estate based on

Harewood Castle Harewood Castle is a 14th-century stone hall house and courtyard fortress, located on the Harewood Estate, Harewood, in West Yorkshire, England (Grid Reference SE 322457). Harewood Castle is a grade I listed building. History The castle was ...

and the Gawthorpe estate based on the Gawthorpe Hall manor house (not to be confused with the

Gawthorpe Hall Gawthorpe Hall is an Elizabethan country house on the banks of the River Calder, in Ightenhill, a civil parish in the Borough of Burnley, Lancashire, England. Its estate extends into Padiham, with the Stockbridge Drive entrance situated ther ...

near

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

in Lancashire). The properties were combined when the Wentworths of Gawthorpe, who had inherited that estate from the Gascoignes, bought the neighbouring Harewood estate from the Ryther family. The combined estate was subsequently sold to the London merchant Sir John Cutler in 1696, after whose death it passed to the Boulter family. They in turn sold it to the Lascelles in 1721.

The Lascelles family

In the late seventeenth century members of the Lascelles family purchased plantations in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

, and the income generated allowed Henry Lascelles to purchase the estate in 1738; his son, Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood, who was a wealthy plantation and slave owner, built the house between 1759 and 1771 to replace Gawthorpe Hall, the original manor house on the estate. Edwin initially employed the services of John Carr, an architect practising in the north of England and previously employed by a number of prominent Yorkshire families to design their new country houses. The foundations were laid in 1759, with the house being largely complete by 1765. The fashionable

submitted designs for the interiors, which were approved in 1765. Adam made a number of minor alterations to Carr's designs for the exterior of the building, including internal courtyards. The house remained largely untouched until the 1840s when Sir Charles Barry was employed by

Henry Lascelles, 3rd Earl of Harewood Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal ...

, the father of thirteen children, to increase the accommodation. Barry added second storeys to each of the flanking wings to provide extra bedrooms, removed the south portico and created formal parterres and terraces.

20th century

In 1922, Henry Lascelles, Viscount Lascelles married Princess Mary, the only daughter of

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

. Initially living in the nearby

Goldsborough Hall Goldsborough Hall is a Jacobean stately home located in the village of Goldsborough, North Yorkshire, England. It is a member of the Historic Houses Association. The house itself is a Grade II* listed building. The Hall was built for Sir Ri ...

, the couple moved permanently into Harewood House on the death of Henry's father in 1929. During the Second World War, the house acted as a resident convalescent hospital but by the late 1940s, the Princess Royal and her family had moved permanently back to Harewood, where the house and gardens were regularly opened to the public and regularly holding concerts connected with musical establishments including the

Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra The Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra (YSO) is an orchestra based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was first active from its establishment in 1947 until its demise in 1955, and then revived in 2021. Initially based in the Leeds Town Hall, it is no ...

and the Leeds Musical Festival, of which the Princess was

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

. On 28 March 1965, she was walking the grounds of Harewood when she suffered a fatal heart attack. Her elder son, Lord Harewood, the 7th earl, succeeded his father in 1947, and resided at Harewood. He was director of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

and later of the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...

; nearer to Harewood, he was a member of the Leeds Music Festival's executive committee and a patron of the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra's concerts. Since 1947 the estate's Dower House, which lies outside the estate boundaries, has been leased out for use as an independent school.

21st century

The house is the family seat of the Lascelles family, and home of David Lascelles, the eighth

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form '' jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particula ...

. The house and grounds have been transferred into a trust ownership structure managed by Harewood House Trust and are open to the public for most of the year. Harewood won a ''Large Visitor Attraction of the Year'' award in the 2009 national ''Excellence in England'' awards.Harewood House website. ''Harewood Card Newsletter. Autumn/Winter 2003-04'
Harewood.org
. Retrieved 1 December 2006. Harewood houses a collection of paintings by masters of the Italian Renaissance, family portraits by

Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depen ...

John Hoppner John Hoppner (4 April 175823 January 1810) was an English portrait painter, much influenced by Reynolds, who achieved fame as a brilliant colourist. Early life Hoppner was born in Whitechapel, London, the son of German parents – his moth ...

and Sir Thomas Lawrence, and modern art collected by the 7th Earl and Countess. Changing temporary exhibitions are held each season in the Terrace Gallery. Catering facilities in the house include Michelin-starred fine dining. As well as tours of the house and grounds, Harewood has more than of gardens, including a Himalayan garden and its stupa, an educational bird garden, an adventure playground and the historic All Saints' Church with its alabaster tombs. From May 2007 to October 2008 the grounds contained Yorkshire's first planetarium, the Yorkshire Planetarium. The

Leeds Country Way The Leeds Country Way is a circular long-distance footpath of 62 miles (99 km) around Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is never more than 7 miles (11 km) from City Square, Leeds, but is mainly rural with extensive views in ...

passes through the Harewood Estate, to the south of the house and lake, as does the route of The White Rose Way.

Popular culture

Artist J. M. W. Turner visited the house and painted the outdoor landscape in watercolour around 1797–8. The house was used as a filming location for the 1991 comedy film ''

King Ralph ''King Ralph'' is a 1991 American comedy film written and directed by David S. Ward and starring John Goodman, Peter O'Toole, and John Hurt. The film is about an American who becomes the unlikely King of the United Kingdom after an electrical ac ...

''. Since 1996, part of the estate has been developed as the village in the ITV soap opera ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, ...

'', which had been based in two different Yorkshire villages since its inception 24 years earlier. Rock musician Elton John performed two concerts in the grounds in 1999. The popular show ''

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

'' from ITV starring Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes has filmed at Harewood House. On 1 July 2006, Irish vocal pop band

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...

held a concert for their Face to Face Tour supporting their album Face to Face. Harewood House was used as a filming location for the 2019 ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...

'' film in November 2018. The house was the location for BBC's ''Mary Berry's Country House at Christmas'' with

Mary Berry Dame Mary Rosa Alleyne Hunnings (; born 24 March 1935), known professionally as Mary Berry, is an English food writer, chef, baker and television presenter. After being encouraged in domestic science classes at school, she studied catering at ...

, broadcast on Christmas Day 2018.

Harewood Bird Garden & Farm Experience

The Bird Garden at Harewood House has a small collection of exotic bird species, of which more than 5 are listed as vulnerable or endangered by the IUCN. It is a member of the

British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) (formerly the Federation of Zoological Gardens of Great Britain and Ireland) is a registered charity and the professional body representing over 100 zoos and aquariums in Britain and ...

(BIAZA). Birds that can be seen in the garden include

Humboldt penguin The Humboldt penguin (''Spheniscus humboldti'') is a medium-sized penguin. It resides in South America, its range mainly contains most of coastal Peru. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Magellanic penguin and the Galápagos pen ...

Chilean flamingo The Chilean flamingo (''Phoenicopterus chilensis'') is a species of large flamingo at closely related to the American flamingo and the greater flamingo, with which it was sometimes considered conspecific. The species is listed as near threatened ...

s, Duyvenbode's lories and macaws.

Gallery

File:Harewood House is open today. - geograph.org.uk - 1578547.jpg, The main entrance to the Park File:Harewood Castle 01.jpg, The entrance front File:Harewood House - West Yorkshire, England - DSC01576.jpg, The centre of the entrance front File:Entrance Hall - Harewood House - West Yorkshire, England - DSC01580.jpg, The Entrance Hall File:Harewood House The Old Library.jpg, The Old Library File:China Room - Harewood House - West Yorkshire, England - DSC01615.jpg, The China Room (Originally Study) File:Princess Mary's Dressing Room - Harewood House - West Yorkshire, England - DSC01713.jpg, Princess Mary's Dressing Room File:Harewood House The East Bedroom (34788973284).jpg, The East Bedroom File:Harewood House Lord Harewood's Sitting Room (35518118191).jpg, Lord Harewood's Sitting Room File:Harewood House The State Bedroom.jpg, The State Bedroom File:Harewood House The Spanish Library (34841193814).jpg, The Spanish Library File:Harewood House The Main Library (35314769140).jpg, The Library File:Yellow Drawing Room - Harewood House - West Yorkshire, England - DSC01902.jpg, The Yellow Drawing Room File:Cinnamon Drawing Room - Harewood House - West Yorkshire, England - DSC01908.jpg, The Cinnamon Drawing Room File:Gallery - Harewood House - West Yorkshire, England - DSC01996.jpg, The Gallery File:Harewood House The State Dining Room (35685450376).jpg, The Dining Room File:Harewood House The Music Room.jpg, The Music Room File:Main Staircase - Harewood House - West Yorkshire, England - DSC02060.jpg, The Main Staircase File:Bathroom - Harewood House - West Yorkshire, England - DSC01714.jpg, A bathroom File:Harewood House-14302673050.jpg, The Kitchen File:Harewood House IMG 1802 - panoramio.jpg, The terrace and parterre in front of the south façade Image:The Old Stables.JPG, The Old Stables Image:Harewood Lake.JPG, The lake Image:Harewood cascade.JPG, Harewood House cascade Image:Harewood stepping stones.JPG, Stepping stones below the cascade Image:Harewood Castle.jpg, The recently preserved

, as seen from the northeast File:Emmerdale village by John Turner.jpg, Exterior purpose-built village set built by

ITV Studios ITV Studios is a British multinational television production and distribution company owned by the British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadca ...

in 1997, used for the production of ''

'' since 1997.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Houses completed in 1771 Gardens in West Yorkshire English gardens in English Landscape Garden style Grade I listed buildings in Leeds Grade I listed houses Country houses in West Yorkshire Tourist attractions in Leeds Bird parks Historic house museums in West Yorkshire Lascelles family Gardens by Capability Brown Charles Barry buildings