Yorkshire Day 2024 Celebrations

By Jessica Alexander, junior warden and chairman of the Yorkshire region

What better way to celebrate Yorkshire Day – 1^st August – than with a visit to the famous Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield on what dawned as wet and stormy morning and turned into a hot and sultry summer’s day.

Our visit began with a fascinating tour of just a small fraction of the huge park, established more than 40 years ago by the local council in the grounds of the Bretton Hall estate.  The estate dates back to medieval times but the current stately home and its extensive grounds, featuring follies around the lake, shady woodland walks, formal gardens and a camelia house was developed by William Wentworth and his descendants in the 17^th and 18^th centuries.

The house is actually being converted into a hotel after many decades as a home to a teacher training college so not part of the Park but many beautiful and intriguing sculptures from 20^th greats such as Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Anthony Caro and Damian Hurst are. Some have been in place for decades, others are installed and remain for just a few months.

Appetites suitably whetted by our walk in the park and careful inspection of a truly varied selection of sculptures, our party then enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea created and charmingly hosted by Great British Bake Off’s Yorkshire star, Rowan Cloughton, who gave everyone and insider view of how the programme gets put together.

All in all, the day was voted a big success, with lots of new contacts made and new information gained in a stimulating, quintessentially Yorkshire environment!