Things to see in the House at Croome

Contemporary exhibitions and installations

With about four-fifths of its collection absent, the House at Croome isn’t necessarily what you would expect from a traditional National Trust property. Instead, rooms, many with beautiful 18th-century plasterwork and fireplaces, are used to present temporary exhibitions and installations continuing the 6th Earl’s legacy of nurturing new talent.

Marcus Coates – Conference for the Birds

7 July 2023 – February 2024

Conference for the Birds by artist Marcus Coates, is a sound and sculpture installation celebrating the lives of birds depicted in Thomas Bewick’s A History of British Birds.

You are invited to sit with the sculptures, created as enlarged facsimiles of Thomas Bewick’s prints, and listen to seven different bird species discussing their lives with each other.

The birds, played by six wildlife experts and Marcus Coates, discuss topics from migration to predation and the challenges they face day to day.

Conference for the Birds was originally commissioned by Newcastle University as part of their Mapping Contemporary Art in the Heritage Experience (www. research.ncl.ac.uk/mcahe) research project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Courtesy the artist and Kate MacGarry, London.

Thomas Bewick: Looking Closely

6 April 2023 - 18 February 2024

Explore the playful work of Thomas Bewick in our Looking Closely exhibition with A History of British Birds and Tales from the Tail-pieces.

Thomas Bewick (1753 – 1828) was an artist-engraver and naturalist born at Cherryburn, Northumberland. He revolutionised print art in Georgian England with his detailed miniature woodblock prints depicting rural life and the natural world. Through his enquiring gaze of animals and birds he was drawn to look closely at shapes, forms and colours in a way that is natural to both artists and scientists.

Thomas Bewick: Looking Closely takes place in the Tapestry Room and the Library in the House.

The display in the Tapestry Room explores Bewick’s career and work, including a chance to see both volumes of his most famous book A History of British Birds which form part of Croome's collection, along with an exploration into five common birds engraved by Thomas Bewick and found at Croome today.

In the Library, Tales from the Tale-pieces shows a collection of Thomas Bewick prints known as vignettes, and often referred to as tale pieces. These were supplementary images inserted to fill blank-space within pages, often bearing no relationship to the contents depicted. An indication of his humour and moral character can be seen through close inspection of the scenes, many offering commentary on important social issues of his time. Yet there is something enduring within the work that make them relevant within contemporary society, functioning as modern-day cautionary tales.