Collections
If you are looking for inspiration for a great day out why not visit some of these varied and fascinating collections
Stately Homes | Best of British | Renaissance Art | Outdoor Setting | Historic gardens | Textile and costume collections | Artists' homes
Stately Homes
Fairfax House | |||||||||
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Built and furnished as a dowry for Anne Fairfax in 1762 and restored to its former glory in the 1980s, this magnificent Georgian townhouse is considered one of the finest and best-conserved of its kind in England. Brimming with decorative flourishes and artistic treasures, it houses the Noel Terry collection of English furniture and clocks, as well as collections of dining room silver, glass and porcelain. The elegant dining room is laid ready to entertain a distinguished party of guests, whilst the kitchen shows evidence of festive preparations. The shop sells antiques and Fairfax House’s own published books.
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Georgian House | |||||||||
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This restored town house of the late 18th century was built at a time when Edinburgh’s wealthy were flocking to the sweeping crescents and stately squares of the new town. Its exquisite collections of china, silver, paintings and furniture (including the ArtFunded ‘Newliston bed’) reflect the domestic life and social and economic context of the period. Experience a taste of elegant, high-society living, contrasted with the 'below stairs' life of the household staff. The National Trust for Scotland runs a lively programme of events at Georgian House.
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Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery | |||||||||
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A Grade 1 listed Jacobean town house and garden, lived in by the Tullie family from at least the 16th century until the 19th century. Behind the handsome classical façade in red and yellow sandstone are wooden panelled rooms, a great oak staircase and large fireplace. The modern buildings on site house extensive collections of fine and decorative art, human history and natural sciences, and an underground gallery. Take a break in the award-winning family friendly restaurant between activities.
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Carlyle's House, London | |||||||||
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In the 1830s London’s artists, poets and writers began to gather in the then unfashionable neighbourhood of Chelsea. Scottish poet Thomas Carlyle and his wife Jane (a renowned ‘woman of letters’) lived here at 24 Cheyne Row, a literary shrine and a favourite gathering place of Dickens, Tennyson and Browning, among others. The kitchen, dining room, bedroom and soundproofed study are furnished with original pieces and two ArtFunded portraits adorn the walls, including a likeness of Carlyle on his 84th birthday, as captured by Helen Allingham.
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Sir John Soane's Museum | |||||||||
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Designed and lived in by the great architect Soane, the museum was also his private showcase. Untouched since his death, the eclectic collections include architectural fragments, Roman and Greek marbles, casts, paintings, sculpture and furniture. Highlights include the Sarcophagus of Seti I and Hogarth’s two great series of paintings: A Rake's Progress and An Election.
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Best of British
Charleston | |||||||||
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Home to Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, Charleston hosted members of the Bloomsbury Group during the first half of the 20th century, including Virginia Woolf and Roger Fry. Wander through the charming farmhouse, where every wall, door and piece of furniture is hand decorated by the artists, and many ceramics, textiles and photographs are on display, alongside paintings by artists of the period including Renoir, Picasso, Matthew Smith and Walter Sickert.
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Pallant House Gallery | |||||||||
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Pallant House’s impressive permanent collection spans the entire 20th century of British art, featuring many seminal works from most prominent artists of the period. The early section features works by Sickert, Ben Nicholson, John Piper, Lucian Freud; Slade School members Augustus John, Matthew Smith, Paul Nash and Wyndham Lewis. The original Queen Anne building is now complemented by a stunning extension, including an elegant restaurant and a small, eclectic shop, making Pallant House an exceptionally enjoyable excursion.
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Penlee House | |||||||||
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One of the strongest strands in the regular exhibitions on display in this Victorian house is work by the Newlyn School and related Lamorna Group. Artists and sculptors from across the UK spent time or settled in Newlyn, near Penzance, attracted by the wonderful light and plentiful supply of fishermen, boats and seascapes as subject matter. Elizabeth and Stanhope Forbes, Walter Langley, Dame Laura Knight and Lamorna Birch, all feature.
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Hunterian Art Gallery | |||||||||
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One of Scotland’s major public art galleries, the Hunterian has an impressive collection of around a hundred paintings, alongside rare prints by the Scottish Colourists, including John Duncan Fergusson, Francis Cadell and Samuel Peploe. The Hunterian also hosts the Mackintosh Collection and the Mackintosh House, the reassembled interiors of the Glasgow home of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret MacDonald.
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Kirkcaldy Art Gallery & Museum | |||||||||
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One of the finest collections of early 20th century British paintings, including Camden Town members Sickert, Gilman and Gore and Scottish Colourists, particularly Peploe.
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Renaissance Art
Dulwich Picture Gallery | |||||||||
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Housing one of the world's most important collections of European old master paintings of the 1600s and 1700s, Dulwich Picture Gallery was the first purpose-built art gallery in England. Renaissance highlights include several Titians, including Girl in a Fur Coat, and two outer panels (St Francis of Assisi and St Anthony of Padua) from the predella of the 'Colonna altarpiece' painted by Raphael, probably c 1502, for the Franciscan nuns of Saint Anthony of Padua in Perugia.
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Ickworth House, Park and Gardens | |||||||||
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Visiting Ickworth on a fine autumn day, you will probably find yourself torn between roaming the pristine, splendidly decorated and furnished rooms, and exploring the extensive gardens. Make sure you leave enough time for both. Created by the eccentric 4th Earl of Bristol, the Italianate house holds an impressive collection of Renaissance works by Titian, Gainsborough and Velázquez. The formal gardens give way to nearly 2000 acres of parkland, offering miles of walks. If you really can’t tear yourself away, you can stay the night in the East Wing (now the Ickworth Hotel).
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York Art Gallery | |||||||||
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A treasure trove of paintings from the Renaissance, including Parmigianino’s Portrait of a man with a Book.
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National Gallery of Scotland | |||||||||
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Many of the collection’s finest works were bought with assistance from The Art Fund: Titian’s Venus Anadyomene (Venus Rising from the Sea), ArtFunded in 2003, and Botticelli’s Virgin Adoring the Sleeping Christ Child, ArtFunded in 1999, are just two examples.
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Fitzwilliam Museum | |||||||||
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The university collection includes 16th century masterpieces by Veneziano, Titian, Rembrandt and Van Dyck. Look out for the Fitzwilliam’s regular programme of lunchtime concerts.
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Outdoor Setting
Newstead Abbey | |||||||||
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The ancestral home of Lord Byron, Newstead’s colourful history dates back to the 12th century. Visit the poet’s private apartments (including the bed he brought to Newstead from his student rooms in Cambridge) before exploring the 300 acre gardens. Lakes, ponds and cascades conjure a sense of romantic mysticism as you stroll through the Fern Garden, Rockery, Sub-Tropical Garden, the maze-like Spanish Garden and Japanese Garden. An adventure playground and safari quiz will keep children amused.
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Yorkshire Sculpture Park | |||||||||
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Set in 500 acres of 18th-century designed landscape, this is the UK’s leading open-air gallery for the creation and exhibition of modern and contemporary sculpture. Works by Andy Goldsworthy, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore are complemented by exhibitions and projects in four galleries. Make sure you see The Art Fund-commissioned Deer Shelter by James Turrell.
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Cass Sculpture Foundation | |||||||||
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Set in ancient woodland on the Sussex Downs, with spectacular coastal and rural views, the grounds of the Cass Sculpture Foundation are a haven of peace and tranquillity in which to enjoy the ever-changing display of around 60 sculptures by British artists.
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Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden | |||||||||
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A display dedicated to the life and work of this eminent 20th- century sculptor who worked with equal skill in a variety of different media including wood, stone, bronze and marble. The studio and sculpture garden house a magnificent collection of her pieces and give a moving insight into Hepworth's life.
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Historic gardens
Duff House | |||||||||
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Duff House is a magnificent early Georgian mansion, designed for the 1st Earl of Fife by William Adam, and acknowledged to be his masterpiece. The 2nd Earl Fife developed the surrounding parkland in a naturalistic style in the manner of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown. There are stunning woodland walks for visitors who prefer to meander, with more strenuous options for those looking for a four-mile hike. Free maps, available in the shop, show places of interest through the woods and provide directions to the Bridge of Alvah, a local beauty spot.
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Bramall Hall | |||||||||
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Bramall Hall is a beautiful Tudor manor house with spectacular plaster ceilings, a wonderful 16th-century embroidered table carpet, and fine examples of furniture and paintings from different periods. The house is set in 70 acres of beautiful landscaped parkland, which features two lakes, woodland walks, gardens and a children's play area.
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Audley End House and Gardens | |||||||||
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A fine example of Jacobean architecture, Audley End was furnished by the 3rd Baron Braybrooke, who inherited the property in 1825 and installed his extensive picture collection. The delightful grounds feature a restored 19th-century formal parterre garden, a rose garden, fountains and a walled kitchen garden. The River Cam weaves a leisurely course through the smooth lawns near the house, and families can enjoy a ride through the woodland on a miniature railway.
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Chiswick House | |||||||||
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A key work of Palladian architecture (c1725-9), Chiswick House was designed for himself by the 3rd Earl of Burlington, who sought to create the kind of house and garden found in the suburbs of ancient Rome. Sumptuous interiors contrast with the white exterior, and the classical gardens complement the interior. The grounds are fascinating - look for the unique statuary in the Italianate gardens and the recently restored water cascade.
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Osborne House | |||||||||
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Osborne House was a refuge for Queen Victoria and the royal family during the summer months. The interiors are extremely opulent in both architectural design and decoration. In keeping with the house, the terrace gardens were designed in formal Italianate style by architect Thomas Cubitt and Prince Albert himself. Today the gardens still capture the Victorian spirit. The walled garden has been restored and the herbaceous borders include many unusual Victorian bulbs and plants particular to that period. Historic varieties of fruit and vegetables can also be seen.
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Textile and costume collections
National Museum of Costume | |||||||||
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The museum presents a fascinating look at fashion and social etiquette from the 1850s to the 1950s. Wonderful room settings with accessories, furniture and paintings convey a sense of Victorian and Edwardian high-society. Family members are shown wearing elegant evening dresses and gathering for a summer evening party, while members of the Women's Institute are dressed in pre-war tweeds. One room is filled with fashion accessories such as handbags and shoes, plus fans and parasols, which were once an essential part of attire for the well-dressed woman.
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Fashion Museum | |||||||||
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The Museum of Costume was the creation of Doris Langley Moore, a designer, collector and historian, who gave her costume collection to the city in 1963. Today the museum houses over 30,000 items of fashionable dress for men, women and children, dating from the late 16th century to the present day. There is also a very fine collection of decorative gloves on loan from the Worshipful Company of Glovers of London, including embroidered leather gauntlet gloves, knitted silk ecclesiastical gloves and lace gloves.
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Gawthorpe Hall | |||||||||
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Gawthorpe Hall is an Elizabethan house with rich interiors and an important collection of textiles and costume from all over the world. Several rooms display part of an important collection of needlework, lace and costume assembled by the last family member to live here, Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth. She was skilled in the art of embroidery and lace-making, and was eager to impart her knowledge to others through the pieces she collected. These include historical and contemporary textiles and needlework from a variety of global cultures, not intended as museum pieces, but as aids to practical study.
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Tullie House Museum | |||||||||
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A collection of 7,000 items of clothing, accessories and textiles dating from 1720 to the present day, largely of local origin. There are particularly large holdings of women's day and evening dresses, including a rare court mantua gown, and a collection of wedding dresses. The men's collection includes waistcoats together with outerwear, hats, shoes, walking sticks and underwear. There are also around 50 christening robes dating from the 18th century and good examples of children's formal wear, together with Girl Guide, Brownie and school uniforms. An important quilt collection consists of 50 wholecloth and patchwork quilts and coverlets.
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Macclesfield Silk Museum | |||||||||
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The museum tells the story of silk production in Macclesfield. Its costume and textile collection dates from the late 18th to mid-20th century and contains a large selection of women's clothing. There are the beautifully-tailored dresses, bodices and printed handkerchiefs, and some fascinating glimpses of history have been captured in costume, such as wartime underwear made from parachute silk. The menswear collection includes waistcoats, cravats hats and around 400 ties.
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Artists’ homes
Charleston | |||||||||
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Charleston was the home and country meeting place for the writers, painters and intellectuals known as the Bloomsbury Group. The artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant moved there in 1916 and immediately began to transform the house with decorations, painting the walls, doors, furniture and ceramics. The rooms on show form a complete example of the decorative art of the Bloomsbury artists: murals, painted furniture, ceramics, paintings and textiles. Charleston also houses a wonderful collection of works by artists such as Renoir, Picasso and Sickett. Visitors can explore the garden, with its orchard, mosaics, statues and ponds.
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Brantwood | |||||||||
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Brantwood was the home of John Ruskin from 1872 until 1900. The property is beautifully situated and enjoys the fine lake and mountain views. The seven rooms that Ruskin used during his lifetime are open to the public and filled with his drawings and watercolours, together with original furniture, books and personal items. You can also see Ruskin’s medieval manuscripts, Pre-Raphaelite paintings, Turner watercolours, and his fabulous mineral collection. The surrounding views are breathtaking, and you may explore the estate’s 250 acres of gardens, pastures, ancient woods and high moors.
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Gainsborough’s House | |||||||||
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The collection at Gainsborough's House includes fine paintings, drawings and etchings from throughout Gainsborough's career. Around twenty-five oil paintings by Gainsborough are on display, including his earliest known portrait, a magnificent landscape of 1782, and a touching miniature of his wife. The charming town-house has a Georgian façade built by the artist's father and it retains features dating back more than 500 years. There is also a tranquil walled garden.
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Dimbola Lodge | |||||||||
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Dimbola Lodge was the home of pioneering Victorian female photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron. It served as both her home and her studio, and it was here that she photographed the cream of Victorian Society. An audio visual display tells the story of Julia, her photographic processes, the history of photography, and the restoration of Dimbola Lodge Museum. Visitors can experience first hand a mock up of a Victorian studio. They are invited to dress up in Victorian attire and take photographs of themselves, friends and family for free as a souvenir of their visit to Dimbola.
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