New: Objects from the collection

The Stricklands have lived at Sizergh for over 750 years, so it’s no surprise that the castle is home to a large and diverse collection of over 2400 objects. Each item gives us a glimpse through time, telling the story of the family’s faith, tastes and even royal connections. With items varying from Australian boomerangs, shields and spears to a lock of King James II’s hair, every month we’ll add something new to the list to give you an idea of the weird and wonderful items in our care.

Flemish tapestry depicting Antony and Cleopatra meeting
Sizergh   Cumbria

March 2019

The tale of Antony and Cleopatra may be a seductive story of power, manipulation, war and death, but at Sizergh, the couple face a very different battle. The Meeting of Antony & Cleopatra is one of a set of five 17th-century Flemish tapestries that still hang in the Library today. It is in urgent need of specialist conservation, which in total will cost £77,000, and is at the centre of Sizergh’s fundraising this year. Cleopatra is known for her extravagances. She bathed in donkey milk daily and drank a huge pearl dissolved in vinegar - the sort of luxury a Queen with a net worth estimated at $95.8 billion is able to indulge in!

sizergh paintings
Sizergh   Cumbria

April 2019

This month, our Project Curator Georgina has selected her favourite painting in the collection. “Sizergh is known for its impressive portraits of the Strickland family, but this easily forgotten work is the oldest painting we have at Sizergh, and for me, the most beautiful. An oil on board, painted in 1574, it sits in a relatively humble frame. Depicting the darkness that fell at midday, the foreboding skies, the darkened sun and the crescent moon, this composition is packed full of symbolism and allegory. It hangs in the Boyton Bedroom, and is a wonderfully preserved reminder of the Catholic faith carried with the family through eight centuries of history.