How many people did it take to run the country estates of Yorkshire?
Hundreds of thousands by the end of the 19th century, when over half the county was part of estates controlled by landowners: parkland, farms, villages, towns, churches and, surprisingly, industrial developments, as well as the great houses themselves.
This year a series of interlinked exhibitions and activities across 4 of Yorkshire’s major country houses explore the lives of the men and women who worked and lived there – the relentless labours (and occasional leisure) of the armies of estate workers…from farmers to foresters; miners to mole-catchers and many, many more, who created the Yorkshire landscape and culture we know today.
Work and play were indivisible in many respects on the estates – although whether the activity was ‘work’ or ‘play’ depended very much on your social position! And of course, before state provision of education and health care was dreamt of, it was the country house estate that provided church, education, charity, old age care and on special occasions, entertainment, as well as employment, to those that lived within its bounds – truly a ‘cradle to grave’ responsibility.
Through previously unseen photographs, archive material, models, restorations, oral histories, each house focuses on its own unique stories, giving fascinating insights into these busy lives and their impact on the land on which they worked.
About the Yorkshire Country house Partnership
The Yorkshire Country House Partnership was founded as a collaborative venture between the University of York and seven country houses in Yorkshire. For details of current membership please see Partners.
The aim of the Partnership is to bring together various areas of curatorial and academic expertise, and to embark on a programme of structured research into the country houses of the region, investigating their history, collections and archives.
Principal areas of focus include architecture, gardens and landscapes; collections and archives; the families who lived and worked on these estates, and the intellectual world of the country house.
For further information:
An essay by Dr Christopher Ridgway and Dr Allen Warren, YCHP co-chairs, entitled Collaborative Opportunities for the Study of the Country House: The Yorkshire Country House Partnership, was published in Historical Research, vol. 78, no. 200 (May 2005).
The Partnership has been, and is, involved in the following projects:
