Press Centre

For any PR enquiries relating to the family, the Holkham Estate and its related businesses, please contact Perowne International, 31 St James’s Place, London, SW1A 1NR telephone: 0207 078 0295 or email holkham@perowneinternational.com
High resolution images can be obtained by using our image library or by contacting Holkham Marketing Department Tel: 01328 713103 or please contact us by email.
Photography taken for any commercial use must have prior written consent from the Holkham Estate.

21st May 2019 - Surprise Award for Estate Forester

Press Release from the Royal Forestry Society

A forester from the Holkham Estate in Norfolk received a surprise award when members of the Royal Forestry Society (RFS) from across the country visited the Sotterley Estate in Suffolk as part of a five-day tour of East Anglia.

Freddy Futter, 68, who lives in Holkham, Wells-next-the-Sea, was presented with an Award by RFS President Andrew Woods, recognising his 40 years working on the Holkham Estate’s 870 hectares of woodland while on the visit to the Sotterley Estate – work which has included helping to extract fine hardwood timber.

Head forester Harry Wakefield said: “Freddy has been an asset to the Holkham forestry department over the last 40 years. His experience, pride and knowledge of the woodland has been invaluable.”

Freddy said: “The day was very enjoyable and informative. I have to say that I was overwhelmed and very much surprised to be given the award and I would like to thank Harry and the Holkham forestry team for their support.”

Approximately 500 hectares of the woodland is contained within Holkham Park. A further 145 hectares is within Holkham National Nature Reserve and the balance is dispersed across the estate. The forestry team focuses on delivering the best hardwoods and softwoods wherever they occur while managing woodland to preserve and enhance the historic landscape.

For further details contact: Wendy Necar, RFS Communications, 01789 841425/ 07973 523168
www.rfs.org.uk. Twitter: @royal_forestry, Facebook: Royal Forestry Society – RFS

17th May 2019 - Headline Acts Revealed For Popular Holkham Country Fair

Press Release from Holkham Country Fair

Holkham Country Fair has unveiled an enviable Grand Ring line-up featuring a number of brand-new headline acts for this summer’s celebration of land, sea and sky on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 July at Holkham Hall.

Opening and closing the Country Fair on both days, as well as taking centre stage for the Children’s March Past will be the City of Norwich Pipe Band who will be kitted out in their resplendent uniforms based on the Prince Charles Edward Stuart Tartan. Visitors will be delighted with the stirring sounds of full pipes and drums.

Taking to the stage for the very first time will be the Broke FMX team. Visitors will be able to watch as the top UK freestyle motocross riders jump 35 feet in the air, pulling aerobatic stunts over gaps approaching 100 feet. Fronted by John Pearson, who commentates whilst performing, these daredevils guarantee a performance to rival other motorbike teams.

Visitors seeking an adrenaline rush will be wowed with Aerobatics from Steve Carver, one part of the Global Stars Formation Aerobatic Team, who will be doing ‘unlimited’ solo aerobatics in his Extra 260. The Atkinson Action Horses (Saturday only) will demonstrate their stunt riding and tricks as well as showcasing the dedicated art of Liberty, and the Inter Hunt Relay will promise a fast and furious horse competition where two teams race against each other over a course of fences and obstacles.

Sarah Green, Organiser of Holkham Country Fair, comments: “At the heart of Holkham Country Fair lies the Grand Ring – a hub of spectacular displays and performances for our crowds to enjoy. This year, visitors to Holkham Country Fair will see a delightful mix of countryside, complimented with another impressive Grand Ring and entertainment line-up. Each year the Ring highlights acts from across the globe and this year’s line-up is one not to be missed.”

Set in the surroundings of Holkham Estate by kind permission of the Earl and Countess of Leicester, the North Norfolk country fair will offer two days of countryside pursuits, rural crafts, displays, food demonstrations, performances and great fun for all the family, including your four-legged friend.

Other highlights across the showground include the return of the Household Cavalry Musical Ride (Sunday only) as well as CJ’s Bird of Prey, the Mounted Games of
Great Britain and Allcomers’ Dog Racing.

Fairgoers will also be able to indulge in hundreds of trade stands to impress even the most dedicated shopper, a Fine Food Village full of with tasty treats, a Cookery Demonstration Theatre showcasing local Norfolk talents and showground events to take part in or simply watch and get inspired.

Sarah concludes: “2019 is already looking to be our best Fair yet with such a superb array of countryside attractions and non-stop entertainment over two days amongst beautiful surroundings. We look forward to welcoming visitors – returning and new – in July.”

Advanced, Vice President and weekend camping tickets are now on sale at an early bird rate until 27 May 2019.

Set in the surroundings of Holkham Estate, the Grand Ring itinerary runs daily between 10.45am to approximately 6pm promising non-stop entertainment and several firsts for the Country Fair too.*

For more information or to book tickets visit www.holkhamcountryfair.co.uk

* The Grand Ring timetable is subject to change.

7th May 2019 - Popular East Anglia Event Celebrating Rural Life Returns to North Norfolk this July

Press Release from Holkham Country Fair

Early bird tickets are now on sale for the much-loved biennial Holkham Country Fair, which is returning to Holkham Hall on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st July 2019 to celebrate land, sea, and sky.

Set in the surroundings of Holkham Estate by kind permission of the Earl and Countess of Leicester, this north Norfolk Country Fair will offer two days of countryside pursuits, rural crafts, displays, food demonstrations, performances and great fun for all the family, including your four-legged friend.

Sarah Green, Organiser of Holkham Country Fair, comments: “Holkham Country Fair is back and raring to go! This event really does offer something for everyone. With high octane entertainment in the Grand Ring, hundreds of trade stands to impress even the most dedicated shopper, a Food Village filled with tasty treats, a Cookery Demonstration Theatre showcasing local Norfolk talents and showground events to take part in or simply watch and get inspired, we promise you a jam-packed weekend on 20th and 21st July, celebrating the rural lifestyle.”

This year the Grand Ring boasts an impressive line-up including two new displays taking to the centre stage. For the first time, Holkham Country Fair will welcome Atkinson Action Horses who will demonstrate their stunt riding and tricks as well as showcasing the dedicated art of Liberty. Visitors will also be wowed with Aerobatics from Steve Carver, one part of the Global Stars Formation Aerobatic Team, who will be doing ‘unlimited’ solo aerobatics in his Extra 260.

The country fair will also see the return of the Household Cavalry Musical Ride as well as CJ’s Bird of Prey, the Mounted Games of Great Britain and Allcomers’ Dog Racing.

Created in 1977 by the late 7th Earl of Leicester Edward Coke to educate children of all ages about the countryside, Holkham Country Fair prides itself on retaining this core focus and permits children (14 and under) free admission to the event.

Sarah concludes: “2019 is already looking to be our best yet with such a superb array of countryside attractions and non-stop entertainment over two days amongst beautiful surroundings. We look forward to welcoming visitors – returning and new – in July.”

Advanced, Vice President and weekend camping tickets are now on sale at an early bird rate until 27th May 2019.

For more information or to book tickets visit www.holkhamcountryfair.co.uk

Local Charity Launches 25th Anniversary Appeal

Press release from The Benjamin Foundation.

2019 marks the 25th anniversary since The Benjamin Foundation was established. To mark this milestone the Norfolk and Suffolk based charity has announced plans for a high-profile, visually appealing, engaging and, most importantly, family friendly celebration, and they are appealing for the public to get involved.

They plan to create a dramatic art installation called Flight for Youth which will feature up to 25,000 glazed pottery butterflies glazed in one of the charity’s four distinct colours – pink, purple, orange or red. The public are being invited to purchase a butterfly but before taking receipt of their commemorative piece the butterflies are being used to create two dramatic and high-profile art installations, at The Assembly House and Holkham Hall.

The charity is also inviting schools, care homes and other groups and organisations to purchase unglazed butterflies, which they can design and decorate themselves using acrylic or enamel paint. The decorated butterflies can then be loaned back to the charity for inclusion on one of the installations at the Assembly House or Holkham Hall. Participants can then visit the installation and see their butterfly in situ.

Colin Lang MBE, Special Projects Manager who has created the appeal said: “We hope this presents an engaging, creative, fun and low-cost activity for your students, with plain kiln fired butterflies just £12 each. Groups could even create a competition or a fun Easter activity around the butterflies.”

Flight for Youth also aims to raise funds to continue the work of The Benjamin Foundation, so the charity is appealing to companies in the region to get behind the campaign through sponsorship. They are delighted that many companies have already pledged sponsorship, including Norwich High School for Girls, who are headline sponsors.

The Benjamin Foundation was founded in 1994 by Richard Draper and his wife Vanessa, following the death of their son Ben and for 25 years the charity has been helping people across Norfolk and Suffolk. Tony Ing, Chief Executive of The Benjamin Foundation says: “Twenty-five years is an important milestone for any organisation. It marks an opportunity for us to celebrate and reflect on where we have come from, what we have achieved and what our priorities are for the next quarter century.”

For more information about how to GET INVOLVED there are multiple ways to get in touch:

E-mail: colin.lang@benjaminfoundation.co.uk
Call: Colin Lang on 01603 886 933.
Website: https://benjaminfoundation.co.uk/flight-for-youth/
Twitter: @CharityTBF
Facebook: CharityTBF
Instagram: Charitytbf

22nd February 2019 - New Rooms to See in Holkham Hall

• Follow in the young Princess Victoria’s footsteps as history celebrates the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birth.
• Holkham unveils the Venetian Bedroom and the Old Servants’ Hall to the public for the first time.
• Discover how life was lived upstairs and downstairs at one of the UK’s most prestigious stately homes on behind the scenes tours of the servants’ areas, attics and the cellars from April to October.

Holkham Hall in north Norfolk, built in the mid-18th century by Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, is considered a Palladian architectural masterpiece and one of England’s great stately homes. This April Holkham will be opening up two new rooms for visitors to look into for the first time; The Old Servants’ Hall and the stunning Venetian Bedroom, as well as hosting a series of fascinating behind the scenes tours to areas of the hall which are not normally open to the public.

The hall has a grand history spanning the Georgian era to the present day. In 1835 Holkham was visited by a young 16year old Princess Victoria. With 2019 marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria, visitors can learn where the royal party and the Princess’s entourage would have been hosted during their state visit and also see the various state rooms used in the filming of recent docudramas about Victoria’s marriage to Prince Albert.

The Venetian Bedroom
This sumptuous bedroom will delight visitors and art lovers. The bedroom features tapestry panels depicting Venus and Cupid, based on paintings by Francesco Albani. The historically important portraits in this room include Dame Rachel wife of Sir John Croke, school of Marcus Gheeraerts, and Mary, Princess of Orange, daughter of Charles I, school of Adriaen Hanneman. Even today, guests of the Earl and Countess of Leicester are lucky enough to stay in this room with its Spanish travelling bed, rich gilt work, over-mantel and striking Venetian window overlooking the stunning panoramic parkland to the north of the hall.

The Old Servants’ Hall
This room holds its own place in history for its exotic collections. It is home to an extensive and well-mounted natural history collection of over 120 examples of mostly local species, including birds, fish and mammals. Visitors can also expect to see a large billiard table, George II library armchairs, George III tub chair and Georgian tables. The Old Servants’ Hall was last used by the lower servants as their dining room in 1942, soon after the Kitchen Wing and the Chapel Wing (excluding the Chapel) had been requisitioned by the army. From then on, all the servants ate together in the Stewards’ Room.

Offering a further insight into Holkham’s social history, from April through to October 2019, there is an opportunity to enjoy two different behind the scenes tours, accompanied by an expert guide:
Hidden Passages and Servants’ Stairs: Behind the Scenes Tours of Holkham Hall
Taking in the hall’s many hidden passages and servants’ stairs, the curators have delved through the archives to uncover historic documents and personal memories to showcase the various roles at Holkham. Throughout its history, royalty, leading society and political figures of the day have stayed at Holkham Hall, with the servants’ quarters adapting to the foibles of these important guests. History lovers will find out how the army of servants managed to flit between the grand state rooms without being seen and how they serviced the state bedchambers, where royalty once slept. The tour ends with a trip up to the tower rooms and attics in the hall, where visitors can see what sits above the magnificent ceiling of the Marble Hall and hear how it was built.

Cellar Tours of Holkham Hall
Guided tours of the cellars will ensure that visitors are treated to a glimpse of the warren of corridors and chambers serving the hub of the building, from the old bakery and the heating system to the massive wood store ,which highlight the vast amount of maintenance and machinery required to maintain this great house, both past and present.

Visitor season 1st April to 31st October and entrance to Holkham Hall to see the new rooms is available on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays 12noon-4pm*
Standard admission £16 adult, £8 child and £44 family, also includes admission to the Field to Fork Experience and the Walled Garden.
*The Walled Garden, Field to Fork Experience, Courtyard Café and Gift Shop are open daily 10am–5pm.
The specialist tours: Hidden Passages and Servants’ Stairs are available on Wednesdays during the visitor season.
Tickets: £25 adult, £12.50 child - bookable online.
The specialist tours of the cellars of Holkham Hall are available on the first Tuesday of the month, during the visitor season.
Tickets: £25 adult, £12.50 child - bookable online.