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Celebrating 300 years of Women and the Yorkshire Country House
Seven linked exhibitions held throughout Yorkshire in 2004
Participating houses: Brodsworth Hall, Burton Constable, Castle Howard, Harewood House, Lotherton Hall, Nostell Priory, Temple Newsam.
Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Where did the real power and influence lie in the great houses of Yorkshire? Contrary to popular opinion, maintaining these huge households was never exclusively a male preserve, very often the social, domestic and artistic identity of these houses was determined by the women who lived and worked in them. The Maids and Mistresses exhibition highlighted the lives and achievements of the female occupants of these establishments.
Mistresses, cooks, scullery-maids and governesses all played vital roles in the daily routine of a great house. The exhibition facilitated an exploration of life above and below stairs, with new research, which examined the role of women as both decision-makers and workhorses. This offered a unique opportunity to present the country house in an entirely new guise, allowing the female occupants of these houses to be heard and understood fully for the first time.
Attractions on display ranged from the great art collections to the more prosaic items of everyday life, such as recipe books, linen and undergarments, as well as letters and journals that reveal the inner lives of these great women many on display to the public for the first time.
Each house installed exhibition panels telling various stories, and developing a range of themes around the Maids & Mistresses subject.
[Please note that you can still see 'The Women of Castle Howard' exhibition at Castle Howard in the Exhibition Wing. Please contact Castle Howard for further details.]
Exhibition guides accompanied the displays in each house. They were provided free of charge to each visitor, and together made a beautiful souvenir of the collaborative venture.
Each house supplemented their exhibitions with events and educational activities, which included musical events, theatrical re-enactments, creative workshops, and specialist lectures and talks.
A publication also accompanied the exhibition, including essays from each of the participating houses:
The publication was edited by Ruth Larsen, whose research work at the University underpinned this project. Ruth completed her PhD in 2004 and is currently Lecturer in History in the Faculty of Arts Design and Techonology at the University of Derby.
'Women and the British Country House, 1650-1900' Interdisciplinary Conference
In addition to the exhibitions hosted at the seven country house venues, an interdisciplinary Conference entitled 'Women and the British Country House, 1650-1900' was hosted by the Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies at the University of York and Castle Howard.
This three-day conference brought together research from both the academic and heritage communities and considered the current approaches to the study of women and the British country house.
Conference themes included the roles women played in the family, in social and political arenas, and in the design of both the domestic interior and the landscape. The position of women as servants or employers was highlighted, as was their representations in literature and art. Female experiences of charity, religion and travel were also explored.
Speakers included Elaine Chalus, Mark Hallett, Deborah Kennedy, Lawrence Klein, Ruth Larsen, Judith Lewis, Christopher Ridgway, Amanda Vickery and Susan Whyman.
Although 2004 has been and gone the Partnership recognises that the topic of women and the country is far from exhausted.
