We are delighted to announce the winner of the 2024 Historic Houses' Collections Award, in partnership with Dreweatts.
The award was established in 2022 to honour the creators, owners, curators, researchers, and conservators dedicated to preserving, enhancing, restoring, and interpreting the remarkable and meaningful objects displayed in historic houses across the country. Their work allows the public to appreciate these artefacts and the stories they convey.
The winner of this year's award is Grimsthorpe Castle!
Grimsthorpe has been the seat of the Barons Willoughby de Eresby since 1516. The collection comprises items of nationally important furniture, paintings, china, sculpture, objects d'art, books and armour all ranging in date from the 16th century to the present day. The Willoughby family were awarded the hereditary office of Lord Great Chamberlain in 1626, an office they continue to share with other families today. Due to this role, several items in the collection have royal provenance and were received by the Willoughby family through the system of perquisites. One of the rarest items in the Grimsthorpe collection is a 17th-century silk doublet and trunkhose, which underwent extensive conservation for exhibition this year. The castle’s impressive heritage and conservation efforts demonstrate the evolving role of historic homes in engaging new and modern audiences.
Will Richards, Deputy Chairman at Dreweatts, said, “Dreweatts are proud, once again, to be supporting Historic Houses and to be playing a part in recognising the importance of historic collections in our collective history and the dedication that it requires to secure them for future generations. The judges were hugely impressed with this year’s winner, Grimsthorpe, in particular, the discovery, careful restoration, and display of an important element of the collection – as well as the sheer variety, inherent interest, and beauty of the wider collection.”
We are delighted to present a grant of £4,500 to further improve interpretation and display of this marvellous collection.
Recent work on the collection at Grimsthorpe Castle, highlights the importance of ensuring that correct environments for display still allow them to tell new stories. It has centred around conserving and exhibiting a silk doublet and trunkhose dating from 1600 to 1605. These probably belonged to Robert Bertie, 13th Lord Willoughby de Eresby (later 1st Marquess of Lindsey) and may have been worn by him to the coronation of James I in 1603.
The provenance and extraordinary survival of this costume make it a rare and important historical text. The ensemble was previously displayed at the V&A in the 1990s and was included in Janet Arnold’s seminal work Patterns of Fashion.
However, when it is considered in the context of Grimsthorpe and the status of the Willoughby family in the late Tudor and early Jacobean period, it assumes additional historical resonance. With reference to other items in the Grimsthorpe collection (paintings, books, archival letters), this very personal item becomes a central tool in successfully interpreting the character and preoccupations of Robert Bertie, and informs our understanding of him as one of the most influential military leaders of his time. We have been able to reimagine elements of our collection in terms of martial inheritance and authority.
The doublet was rediscovered in 2019 in poor condition and partially conserved, the treatment having been started and abandoned in the early 2000s. It required extensive but sympathetic conservation before it could be exhibited alongside the trunkhose. The treatment was expensive, but the team were awarded a grant towards the cost by the Pilgrim Trust.
Once the doublet was conserved and stabilised, it was concluded that the friable costume could only safely be exhibited in optimum environmental conditions. It would require a bespoke display case which was far outside the budget. Fortunately, again they were awarded a generous grant by Tru Vue Acrylics and the Institute of Conservation. This allowed them to create two identical display cases, complete with UV acrylic lids and built-in environmental controls, in which to display safely both the doublet and the trunkhose. Although the costume was exhibited this summer for only eight weeks due to their fragile nature, the bespoke cases will be used for displaying other sensitive collection items in future exhibitions.
The judging panel were so impressed with the shortlist for this award that they also wished to give honourable mentions to three runners-up. Special recognition was also given to:
Diana Boston's care for her mother's international important collection of patchworks at The Manor, Hemingford Grey.
EDI work and collaborations with contemporary artists, The Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor.
Kirsty Archer Thompson, Abbotsford, the Home of Sir Walter Scott for her online courses, imaginative interpretation, and more.
We asked five leading experts in the worlds of curation, collection and creation, to set out to find collections —of all shapes, sizes, and types. They were on the look-out, not for the ‘best’ collection, but rather for the most compelling story of custodianship. A special thanks goes to:
All the collections in Historic Houses member places are unique, priceless, and inseparable from the individuals and families who have brought and kept them together. Each year our judges will choose a collection that best exemplifies the way that those who care for our independent heritage:
We look forward to working with Historic Houses in 2025, exploring and recognising more collections!
Film shown by permission of Historic Houses
Sign up for auction alerts and our monthly newsletter to receive expert analysis and insights from our specialists and keep up-to-date on forthcoming auctions, valuation days and previews.