Town To Country Move Is Work Of Art For Gallery

Watermark Gallery, which is having to leave its Harrogate home after five years, is launching a new arts initiative with the historic Swinton Estate in the Yorkshire Dales.

The gallery is vacating its premises on Royal Parade, Harrogate at the end of its lease this month as the landlord has other plans for the building and it is now searching for a new permanent location.

But in a new venture, it is launching a series of arts-themed events at Swinton Park, near Masham in North Yorkshire with its Grade II listed castle hotel set in 200 acres of gardens and parkland at the heart of the 20,000 acre Swinton Estate. It has been owned by the Cunliffe-Lister family since the 1880s and is currently run by Mark Cunliffe-Lister and his wife Felicity, the Earl and Countess of Swinton.

The first of the events will be a three-day, pop-up art gallery staged in the estate’s Coach House, beginning on November 29 with others planned for 2025.

Liz Hawkes, owner of Watermark Gallery, said:

“It is quite a wrench leaving our home of the last five years but we have exciting plans for the future of the gallery. We have a very loyal following and want to ensure they can still access works by the talented artists we support whilst we search for a permanent new location so we are delighted to have the opportunity to launch this initiative at Swinton.”

Felicity Cunliffe-Lister added:

“We are always looking for new ways to enhance the experience of guests and visitors to the Estate and I am sure they will enjoy the opportunity to experience art within our glorious surroundings.”