Harewood at Night

Having spent most of my adult life thus far galavanting around other countries and just returning to Leeds recently, I can’t believe I never went to Harewood House as a youngster. Not a school trip, a family outing, nothing. God, I was a deprived child. Back in my day, it was called Harewood, now apparently, it’s pronounced Haaaarwood. Who knew? Anyway, when I was given the chance to check out the stately home during the nationwide initiative, Museums at Night, I jumped at it.

Museums at Night gives you the chance to, as the name suggests, see various museums, you know, at night. So at 6.30pm, I got off the number 36 bus (I always arrive in style) and started the 17 mile walk down the driveway to the house. (Technically, it’s actually only one mile but still, ladies, let this be a lesson to you – don’t wear heels to Harewood. I mean, I can do it but that’s ’cause I’m a seasoned high heel walking professional, but it’s not for the faint of heart.) In all seriousness though, it is a lovely walk, particularly on this evening under the hazy sunshine, sheep grazed, very proper looking chaps played cricket.

Arriving at the house, I was met by Sue Sharpe, one of the tour guides. Sue is a delightfully charming woman, clearly very passionate about Harewood and had she had the time, I could have talked to her for hours. An absolute wealth of knowledge, there appears to be nothing she doesn’t know about the house and its history. As we strolled through the main gallery of the house, Sue shared some of her feelings on what makes it so special.  ‘It is museum status, but it is a lived in house and you can feel that,’ she says. ‘Sometimes, when I’m giving tours, I get a prickly feeling that the people from the past that I’m talking about are here with us. They walked in the rooms we walk in, they looked in the mirrors we look in and it just makes the history so close to us.’

As I strolled through the various rooms, I couldn’t agree more with Sue. The experience is just overwhelming. For this special event, there was a classical pianist playing in the music room, then as you moved through to the main sitting room and drawing room, you were greeted with the sounds of Glen Miller. Seemed like a slightly odd choice, but it turns out that during the second world war, Harewood House was actually used as a convalescent home and the soldiers would have dances in that room every friday night (Glen Miller being one of their favourites to boogie to). The main gallery was used as a hospital ward during that time. The very impressive Chinese cabinets in the drawing room which are usually closed, were opened for this one off event, revealing that they’re even more intricate inside.

The story of the Chinese wallpaper in the East Bedroom is a particularly fascinating one. It was originally in one of the upstairs bedrooms but taken down during the 1840s as that style wasn’t as popular at the time. It was rolled up and put in a work shed, rediscovered by some workmen years later. It was cleaned and rehung in 2007, this time in the East Bedroom on the main level. The wallpaper tells a story all the way around and really needs to be seen to be believed.

All in all, everything from the history, to the decor, to the stunning views are absolutely breathtaking at Harewood. This event was a great chance to learn about some of the finer points in more detail. My only hope is that it’s not just a one off, annual event. As much as it was ‘Museums at Night’, this was a rare, very fine and sunny evening – it would be great if they did it again in the autumn and winter, lighting the house from the outside, perhaps have fires burning in those wonderful fireplaces – it would be a whole other experience to see it in that light.

What probably should have been mentioned ahead of time though, is that the last bus back to Leeds leaves at 8.05pm. I missed that bus and was stranded in Harewood, surrounded by Range Rovers and Jaguars – it was hellish I tell you. Don’t worry, I made it out alive, but if you’re planning on staying later, perhaps take camping gear and some snacks.