2023: A Busy Year!

December prompts us to look back on the year and think about everything that’s been achieved. It has been a busy year indeed, which started strong with our painting conservator Ying Yang conserving five major pictures, including one of King Charles II. In the Large Library, superb progress has been made making book supports for the 3000+ historic books, and other conservation projects have included stabilising Queen Victoria’s cushion, cleaning and mending the 18^th century King’s Bed hangings, and conserving the family’s 20^th century coronation robes. This year’s Exhibition, focusing on the roles of the Dukes of Richmond in past coronations, was very popular with over 5000 visitors who came for a guided tour and afternoon tea. Our new initiative of evening events included our Exhibition launch and private view, plus our painting restoration evening, and these have shown there is a strong appetite for Goodwood’s art and history in the local area. We launched our new House Instagram page, with one reel about taking our historic tapestries down attracting 84.5k views. Acquisitions have been strong this year, with a purchase of a silver-gilt tazza (an ornamental dish), which was commissioned by the 4^th Duke of Richmond and sold off in the Gordon Castle sale in 1938. It is lovely to be able to bring it home after nearly 100 years. We had features in Sussex Life and Discover Britain and were mentioned in Country Life. As we head towards the end of the year, we are busy planning for next year’s season and are looking forward to what it will bring!