2003 'A Fine Soldier' - Sir Charles Chichester (1795-1847): a selection of watercolours and memorabilia - more information to follow
2004 'Maids & Mistresses' -Women in the Yorkshire Country House
Where did the real power and influence lie in the great houses of Yorkshire. Maintaining huge households was never an exclusively male preserve; very often the social, domestic, and artistic identities of these houses were determined by the women wholived and worked in them.
In 1610 Sir Henry granted his mother, Dame Margaret Constable, 'free libertie...at all times...to have accesse into the...great gallerie to walke at her pleasure'. Some 250 years later, it was considered that the mistress and eventual wife of Sir Thomas Aston Clifford-Constable was granted far too much liverty when it was reported that she was 'sacking' the place and had already taken away every object of 'Bigotry and Virtue'. hou
To view a selection of the text panels that accompanied this exhibition in pdf format please click on the link. For information about the publication that accompanied the exhibition please telephone
2005 'A View of the Hall'
Discovering the Country Houses of the East Riding of Yorkshire
Alongside turor - John Mckay - the photography students from Cottingham Adult Education Centre have travelled throughout the East Riding, capturing rich and varied views of country houses: a selection of their work was on display at Burton Constable Hall as part of A View of the Hall project
Supported by Strategic Commissioning Funding from YMLAC (Yorkshire Museums, Libraries and Archives Council) and Leader +
Described as the 'grandest country house in the East Riding', Burton Constable Hall houses a considerable collection of 18th- and 19-century sculpture.
During the 19th century, the Clifford Constables continued to add to the collection: mainly French and Italian works. During 'improvements' to the 18th-century landscape park, they swept away a number of 'garden figures' by Francis Lamb (fl. 1749-56), a little-known sculptor active in Lincolnshire. Unfortunately, they were replaced with 'artificial stone' figures of considerably inferior quality by the Parisian manufacturer and dealer Monsieur Texier
A Country House Sculpture Trail
This year, visitors are invited to discover the art of sculpture by exploring some of finest sculpture collections in the region at Burton Constable, Burton Agnes and Sledmere House. From the 15 th May, there will be a fully illustrated detailed ‘sculpture trail' available (for a modest donation of £1.00), complemented by a host of visitor events including: ‘Chainsaw Mick' - creating sculptural art with a chainsaw; ‘Living Statues' - bringing sculpture to life, workshops in sculpture and creative writing and ‘Family Fun Days'.Inspired by new research into the sculpture collections at three historic houses in the East Riding – culminating in an exhibition, published sculpture trail and comprehensive database, this project will demonstrate to both schools and museums alike just how sculpture collections can be utilized for education. Through a series of artist-lead workshops, a group of students (KS1 & KS2) will have fun creating their own sculpture and explore the inherent qualities of different mediums and forms.
The Burton Constable Foundation, Burton Constable, Skirlaugh,
Registered Charity No.1010121 Registered Museum No. 604
