Harewood House in West Yorkshire has recently made the news as the filming location (the setting for Pemberley) in the new Pride and Prejudice miniseries, which is due out on Netflix.
The estate has been the seat of the Lascelles family since 1738, when it was acquired with money earned in the West Indies from the ownership of enslaved people, plantations, ships, warehouses, and their associated goods and crops (as the estate’s website explains). The current owners, aware of the implications of the source of their inheritance, are among the cofounders of the Heirs of Slavery group, which advocates for compensation to address the ongoing consequences of slavery. Whether that is enough to make up for decades of ill usage is a different story altogether.
But Harewood House itself and the surrounding estates are gorgeous, and well worth a visit!
Anyway, as soon as we heard the news, we shifted our plans from visiting Chatsworth (Pemberley in the 2005 movie starring Keira Knightley) and decided to do Harewood House.
As soon as we walked into the house, we came face to face with this massive sculpture called Adam, made of alabaster.
This was followed by a series of drawing rooms, bedrooms, libraries, and studies – all decorated more lavishly than the last.
It was amazing how the rooms were structured – despite the size, they were all built in a way to take advantage of the light and provide grand views of the grounds and the lake outside. Apart from the one-bedroom, which was inside-facing and consequently dark, the rest of the rooms were really bright and airy.
The most interesting rooms were the kitchens though.
Harewood House is famous not just for its beautiful grounds and property, but also for the family’s close relationship with the royal family. Princess Mary – King Charles’ great aunt married into this family, and throughout the house, there are royal references.
When we visited, there was an exhibition of the work of the photographer Cecil Beaton, and seeing these photos in such luxurious and historic surroundings added to the aura. He photographed famous stars – Ingrid Bergman, Marlene Dietrich, and you can see their original photos here, but he was also a photographer of the royal family, and there are some beautiful portraits as well as candids to see. They add to the beauty of the house, giving it a lived-in feel.
As we come out of the house, the back has stunning vistas of extensive grounds, a man-made lake (built for fishing, I think), and deer roaming freely (this we could see from the bus). I would have loved to walk more along the grounds and explore, but due to mum’s walking issues, we decided to just hang around on the terrace, taking photos of the absolutely glorious views.
If you are a fan of the Emmerdale TV series, which I don’t think many will be – it’s a typically British, rural soap that’s been going on for decades. My grandmum used to watch the show, and even she found it a bit slow and sometimes boring. But parts of the show were filmed here, and fans can tour the sets. None of us were fans, so we didn’t bother, instead opting to drive on to have some lunch at Harrogate (fans of Georgette Heyer will remember Harrogate as the famous spa town) and explore more there. There’s a lot to see and do in Harrogate, so that will be fodder for another blog post.
Now that we are done with touring the house, we can’t wait for the web series to start on Netflix 😃😃😃!
