We stayed in Harrogate, so we decided to tour around the Yorkshire area a bit.  First we drove to a few ruins. The first was Knaresborough Castle. It was built in the 1100s and was once where the killers of Thomas Beckett hid.  It was mostly torn down in the 1600s due to Parliment’s orders. You can go inside this section, but it was not open when we were there.  There is a lovely park to enjoy the views and a museum that you can peruse as well.  

The next castle was Spofforth Castle. We entered through a field and went up a small hill to the castle.  It doesn’t look like much from the road, but when we get closer, you can wander around inside and I thought it was pretty neat. It was built in the 14th century.  It was reduced to ruins in the English Civil war in the mid 1600s. 

We arrived at Harewood House right before it opened at 11am.  You have to stop at a gate before you can even see the estate to pay for entry. It was a bit expensive at 18 pounds a person.  There are over 100 acres and there are lots of activities for families.  We saw a lot of children there. There is even a ferry that runs to get you to the other side of the water to a tea house and walled garden.  We were mostly interested in the house itself.  It was a self guided tour that went in a circle through the rooms. They have exhibits of some famous artists in some of the rooms instead of setting it up as it would have been in the past.  It was interesting, but I prefer seeing furniture.  The art collection of this family is quite impressive though. 

You enter the house through the entry hall.  There is a massive statue of Adam that was created in the 1960s. The ceilings and walls were incredible in Harewood House. Every room had new and interesting designs.  This was the first big commission for Chippendale.  Therefore most of the furniture in the pictures was created by him.  There were three libraries in the house. The first had the complete drawings of Lady Canning.  This is the most valuable collection that they possess.  

Princess Mary’s sitting room and dressing room were beautiful. They called her bedroom the East bedroom, not only for the location of the house, but also for the hand painted Chinese wallpaper. It was found removed from one of the other rooms where it had sat for 200 years!  It was restored beautifully because it was not faded by sunlight. 

The most ornate bedroom was kept for visiting royalty.  It was only used a few times and once for a czar of Russia.  The bed was a Chippendale original. The commode (bureau) was the other most important piece of furniture in the room. 

The main library was my favorite.  It was located directly across from entry hall and you could see Adam through the library doors.  They had quite a few modern pictures with King Charles and his family with the family who owned the house. 

The Cinnamon Room was named for the color of the the damask on the walls.  It was originally white and known as the White Drawing Room with giant mirrors. Today it holds two of Joshua Reynold’s famous portraits of women in the family.  Lady Harrington is depicted as Aurora.   The woman in the red military uniform is Lady Worsley, both were step daughters of Edwin Lascelles. Lady Worsley is famous because she left her husband after six years of marriage to marry another in 1781. Her first husband brought her and her new lover to court to sue them for 20,000 pounds.  Lady Worsley testified that she had 27 affairs during her marriage (to prove her worthless of the money), all of which were encouraged by her husband.  He was awarded one shilling.  I love stories like that from so long ago. 

In the Gallery there is an interesting painting by El Greco.  It is right above the fireplace. The lampshades are unique and also made by Chippendale. Of course the ceiling is ridiculous. 

The dining room was opulent and the music room had many examples of musical instruments in its decorations.  You can see it on the walls, floors, and ceiling. 

You are also encouraged to wander through Below Stairs, to see where the servants took care of business. The copper collection was impressive and the number of bells for all the room was daunting. 

The view of the house with the gardens is the view you would see if you were coming to visit.  If you were a servant or delivery person, you would be sent to the back, where we entered.  

Our last stop was Roundhay Castle, which was really just the entry way.  We had a lovely walk through a park, by a pond to get to this ruins and it was nice to be outside for a bit.