The curtain will soon close on Wray Castle’s first ever exhibition which celebrates the lives of two influential women from its history.
Following research into the Dawson family who built the castle in the 1840s, the exhibition sheds light on the life of Margaret Dawson, the daughter of a Liverpool gin merchant, her inheritance and the crucial role she played in the construction of the castle. It also explores the early years of Beatrix Potter, who holidayed at Wray Castle as a teenager and celebrated her sixteenth birthday there. In her younger years, the children’s author and illustrator was a talented scientist, conducting research in the field of mycology (the study of fungi) and the exhibition uncovers the difficulties she faced getting credit for her work at the time.
Visitors can play a huge ‘Silk Stockings and Social Ladders’ board game in the drawing room, listen to interview clips about life as modern women from members of the Cumbria Girly Book Club, and (should they feel inclined) leave their own contribution in the final exhibition room.
‘The Women of Wray Castle: Convention and Control’ exhibition runs at weekends, 10am-4pm, until the end of November.