Visit Masham

June 16, 2019

Sculpt – Dramatic Art in Sacred Spaces

126 days. 7 artists. 7 churches (Healey, Masham, Mickley, North Stainley, Snape Castle Chapel, Well and West Tanfield. 1 trail of discovery from 25th May – 28th September 2019.
A free and exciting art event for the whole family. Follow the trail through beautiful countryside discovering dramatic art installed in historic churches. Sculpt is a new kind of art experience. Seven inspirational artists were asked to answer the brief “A Response to Space”. They have been asked to deliver drama, work on a large-scale, install captivating sculptures that everyone can understand and show how contemporary art can take centre stage and engage through the audacity of the work. There’s a treasure hunt for children at each church. Sculpt is dramatic art, not passive and this is the first event of its kind in the UK. It takes place at the same time as Yorkshire Sculpture International, making Yorkshire the top destination for sculpture in the UK in 2019.
www.yorkshire-sculpture.org/ https://www.artinthechurches.co.uk/

June 14, 2019

“Temporary” Closure of Post Office

Masham is currently without a Post Office. The nearest is now the one in West Tanfield open 9am to 1pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 12.00 noon on Saturday. A larger range of services is available at Bedale & at Ripon.

May 22, 2019

HISTORIC PARKLAND OPENED TO WALKERS

The Swinton Estate has opened up 200 acres of historic Parkland to members of the public with four exclusive walks on the iFootpath website and App. Walkers are able to access eight miles of private paths in return for a nominal charge that also includes printed maps of the routes and a souvenir packet of wild seeds.

The contribution supports the vital conservation and sustainability of the Grade II listed Parkland, landscaped by William Danby in the 1760s, and accompanies the Estate’s ongoing investment in restoring its buildings and features. The Parkland was left to grow wild for 25 years prior to current owners, Mark and Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, buying the castle back into the family in 2000.

Only accessible to guests of Swinton Park hotel until now, the new Parkland walks feature a summer flower meadow, four acre walled garden, bird hide and children’s play area and offer spectacular views of the lakes and gardens, follies and bridges, standing stones, waterfalls and moorland Dales. The walks can be accessed via the Estate Shop and entry costs £5 per person, £2.50 per child or £12 for a family of four. Under fives go free and all dogs are welcome as long as they are kept under control. An annual pass is also available for £50, which includes a free guest. The iFootpath App is available for £1.99. Guests of Swinton Park hotel and Swinton Country Club & Spa members will continue to enjoy complimentary access.

iFootpath also features another six walks on the wider Estate, which can be accessed free of charge. Furthermore, Swinton offers over 50 miles of public footpaths and permissive access to the woodlands at Druid’s Plantation, Nutwith and Ellington Firth. Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, Proprietor of the Swinton Estate, commented, “We are passionate about the conservation and accessibility of the Parkland in equal measure and want to make sure that everyone can participate in the continued preservation and enjoyment of this beautiful space for years to come.”

Swinton Park, Masham, Ripon, Yorkshire HG4 4JH. Tel: 01765 680900 www.swintonestate.com

Masham Tennis Club Adult Coaching

New for 2019 Mashamshire Tennis Club are offering one hour Adult Coaching sessions that will be open to Members and Non-Members and will run alongside the existing Intermediate and Junior sessions. In all there will be 10 sessions, starting on Friday 3rd May until 5th July. All standards welcome. If you’ve always wanted to return to tennis, or to pick up a racquet for the first time, then why not sign up for this coaching with Chris Worwood our Professional Tennis Coach. All sessions will take place on Fridays, with Adult sessions running from 6pm.
More information/application forms available from the Mashamshire Community Office, the Tennis Club Hut (during club sessions) or on our website: www.mashamshiretennisclub.co.uk.

April 16, 2019

Countdown to Sculpt!

Sculpt is a major new free art event taking place from 25th May to 28th September 2019 in seven churches centred on Masham. The seven international and innovative artists are creating individual and unique, site-specific sculptures for especially chosen, beautifully located churches in the Yorkshire Dales. North Stainley, West Tanfield, Well, Snape, Masham, Healey and Mickley will each have a site-specific artwork installed by a top international artist. Exciting, theatrical, family-friendly and perhaps shocking installations will be found in each off-the-beaten track church, whilst also offering art for everybody in rural communities. It offers all the ingredients for an enriching, educational and stimulating visit to buildings that form an essential part of the fabric of British culture, but that are often neglected or ignored. The trail is about 26 miles and depending how many times the visitor stops off at all the cafes and pubs along the route should take about two hours to complete.

The installation preparations are well under way causing logistical challenges as to how to install such innovative artwork in these precious buildings. Jon Gabb will be installing a work called ‘Wonder and War in Heaven’ in Snape Chapel. The name is derived from the decayed ceiling fresco in the chapel, painted by Antonio Verrio in about 1707 (famous for his ceiling in Burghley House). This is now a relic, partly due to damage caused when the chapel was used to store grain and hay. Jon’s work will extrude the spirit of the fresco into the space of the chapel in a dramatic way, with the use of knotted cords, coloured in the same vibrant colours as would have been in the fresco before its decay and representing the colours of heaven. Jon’s work will reach out from the past to connect with the contemporary, with triangular forms holding the cords, symbolically held down with bags of grain, representing the connecting of heaven with earth. This major installation will entirely fill the chapel and take a week to install using bamboo scaffolding to hold the cords in place.

Art in the Churches is a new initiative to re-engage with churches through the introduction of cultural events. It is supported by the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, who is taking the position of patron. As well as offering opportunities for education and community involvement, there is also a treasure hunt to engage children at each venue. Sculpt is dramatic art, not passive, and this is the first event of its kind in the UK. It takes place at the same time as Yorkshire Sculpture International, making Yorkshire the top destination for sculpture in the UK in 2019.

This art project has been made possible with the generous support of the Arts Council, the Jerusalem Trust, All Churches Trust, Skipton Hire Centres and the Himalayan Garden.

Harriet Hill, artist at St Michael’s Church, Well says ‘My installation work responds to the specifics of each new space. Opportunities to work with unknown and varied environments are essential for experimentation and the progression of my ideas. Having lived half my life in a rural community I am excited about the challenge of making art in this context; to address the significance of the church both as an architectural structure and as a socio-political centre point, historically and today.’

For further information, please visit www.artinthechurches.co.uk

October 12, 2015

New Masham Apron For Sale

Start your Christmas shopping early at Mashamshire Community Office. We have now added an apron to our range, using Rob Blade’s iconic image of all things Masham – sheep, bridge, breweries, curlew, St Mary’s Church and a Masham Leaf. One size fits all and very easy to post in time for Christmas. The apron costs £9.00 with all proceeds helping to run the Community Office. The office is open Monday-Saturday, 10am-3pm.
Mashamshire Community Office, 7 Little Market Place, Masham, HG4 4DY. Tel: 01765 680 200. Email: info@visitmasham.com . www.visitmasham.com

September 21, 2015

PRIVATE ISLAND FOR HIRE IN YORKSHIRE

There are many things Yorkshire offers its visitors and now it can add a private island to the list.
Now available for hire by the half or full day, The Island at Swinton Park, near Masham, is set within 200 acres of heritage parkland and is surrounded by a chain of five lakes. It features a small house furnished with a table and chairs that can be transformed with fairy lights, flowers and candles or rugs, blankets and board games, according to the occasion. Food can be arranged from the Swinton Park kitchens, including ciabatta rolls with smoked pork, roasted farm ham and piccalilli and homemade scones. Bespoke barbecues can also be organised and a fire pit provides additional warmth on chilly days.
The Island is reached on foot via pathways that pass Coffin Pond, Lily Pond and on to Top Lake, where guests cross the water by a hand-operated cable ferry.
Prices start from £250 for half-day private hire of The Island. Each additional hour charged at £50. For further information please visit: www.swintonpark.com
Owned by the Cunliffe-Lister family since the 1880s, Swinton Park is a four AA Red Star luxury castle hotel set within a spectacular 20,000-acre estate outside Masham in North Yorkshire. Swinton Parkland is a Grade II *listed Historic Park and Garden which forms part of the Swinton Estate. It is home to Swinton’s five lakes and a herd of roughly 100 fallow deer, including ten stags.
Recently listed in the Trip Advisor 2015 Hall of Fame, other facilities include 31 rooms and suites, the award-winning Samuel’s Restaurant, a cookery school, a ‘glampsite’ and nine-hole golf course. The Country Club & Spa is due for completion this winter.