The House


Discover 500 years of history in this beautiful country mansion famous as the birth place of Lord Darnley, notorious husband of Mary Queen of Scots.

Temple Newsam House is a truly impressive Tudor-Jacobean mansion described as one of the best stately homes in Britain and beautifully restored to its former glory. Explore rooms filled with fine and decorative art treasures, catch the latest exhibition or uncover the secrets of the past residents.

Watch the video below for an overview of the history of the house!

 

 

Learn more about our collectionshttps://www.leeds.gov.uk/museumsandgalleries/Pages/Explore.aspx, Discover the Secret Lives of Objects blogLearn more about our collections<div class="ExternalClassD9208631516949CE851F175FA40F91F6"><p>​Temple Newsam is celebrated for its wonderful collections of fine and decorative arts, especially paintings, furniture, silver, ceramics, textiles and wallpapers. The collection has been built up since 1923 when the estate was bought from the Hon. Edward Wood (later the Earl of Halifax) by the city of Leeds and developed as a country house museum, to restore the house and its fine collections to its earlier glory.  Despite the sale of many of the furnishings in 1922, the basis of the contents of Temple Newsam today is still the family collection. This has been added to over the years and now makes up one of the finest publicly owned collections of English decorative art outside London.  In 1997 the collections were designated by the Museums and Galleries Commission as being of pre-eminent national importance.</p> <p> </p></div>
Tours at Temple Newsam Tours at Temple Newsam <div class="ExternalClass1D031415EF5F48E189EDC344B827E26C"><p>​The House offers a number of tours to help you unearth the history and the secrets of this fantastic stately home. From introductory tours and special rooftop tours, to hidden tours of the secret passageways – you can explore every inch of this magnificent house. </p> <p><strong>Discovery Tour</strong><br>Join one of our friendly tour guides for a taster of the history of Temple Newsam. Free with normal admission to the House, every Thursday at 11am – 11:45am, all welcome.<br><br><strong>Rooftop Tour</strong><br>Marvel at the view and hear about the changing face of the landscape over the centuries. Numbers are limited and only available for over 10s. There are some steep staircases and the tour will only go ahead weather permitting. Tours run on selected Thursdays during spring and summer at 2.30pm & 3.30pm. Tours last approx. 30 minutes and cost £6 per person, booking is advised please call 0113 336 7460.<br><br><strong>Gruesome Newsam</strong><br>Selected Wednesdays during August between 2pm - 2.45pm.<br>Discover all the grisly, ghastly and ghostly secrets of Temple Newsam House in this guided tour of the House. Tours run throughout the year and booking is advised.  Please call 0113 336 7460. Suitable for ages 7+ and the tour costs £3 for adults and £1.50 for children.<br><br></p></div>
History of the HouseHistory of the House<div class="ExternalClass0888A2C23DD14330A93690F44AAF2D3D">Built in 1518, Temple Newsam House is a Tudor-Jacobean country mansion with grounds landscaped by Capability Brown. Following extensive restoration over 40 interiors now display one of the most important collections of fine and decorative arts in Britain which were designated as being of pre-eminent importance in 1997 – the first country house to be recognised in this way. It is a treasure house of outstanding collections including furniture, ceramics, textiles, silver and wallpaper. The collections also show how the house was used as a family home, which was once birthplace to Lord Darnley, notorious husband of Mary Queen of Scots. <br><br>The House captures over 500 years of history and this is key to the visitor experience, here in the House we endeavour to bring the House to life by telling the stories of the families who lived here and people who worked here, through all art forms including digital, music, theatre and fine art. In 2014 Temple Newsam House worked with a theatre company to devise a transcript involving the characters of the House. The project entitled Tales of Temple Newsam, tells stories of the people that have lived in the House in the past and explores the social boundaries of upstairs downstairs living. </div>
Family Fun at Temple Newsam HouseFamily Fun at Temple Newsam House<div class="ExternalClassA3291C973FA24B7FB6586AEAA7EB78D4">Here at the House, we host a number of headline events throughout the year, from our Spooktacular Halloween event, to our 500 Years of Christmas weekend complete with magical Santa’s Grotto.  <br><br>Explore the House and our latest exhibition with our activity sheets or join us in school holidays for regular organised trails, crafts and activities. Visit <a href="/schoolholidays">www.leeds.gov.uk/school holidays</a> to see what’s going on. ​</div>