THIS weekend will see the start of a celebration of the courtyard at Ilkley Manor House.

The Celebrating the Courtyard exhibition will be showcasing over 40 beautiful textile squares created by a local sewing group that capture the beauty of the Manor House's courtyard plants and flower beds.

"As a group of amateur sewers who have been involved with the Lockdown Quilt exhibition at the Manor House, we were keen to develop another project to support the Manor House and the lovely plants and colourful spaces of the Manor House courtyard became the focus of our sewing project for 2021/2. We hope you will enjoy it as much as we have had creating the squares," said Miranda Warren, one of the team of sewers.

The exhibition will be held from June 26 to July 17 and will also provide a chance to showcase the creation of the new medieval garden as well as the courtyard flower beds and the volunteer team who look after them.

Sarah Thomas, chair of the Manor House Trust said: "The courtyard has become an essential extension to the Manor House over the last couple of years. We have been able to use the space for all kinds of activities and the Arts Council grant we received in 2021 has allowed us to bring power out to the space too.

"It is lovely to be able to thank the team of volunteers who have kept the courtyard gardens looking so wonderful as well as marking the work that has been going on over the last few months to create a medieval garden that is situated beside the Manor House.

"More details about the creation of the medieval garden will be published in a later article when the work has been concluded which we hope will be later this summer."

Admission is free and the exhibition will be open 11am – 4pm every weekend.

The mid-14th century stone Ilkley Manor House and courtyard sits within the footprint of the Roman fort, Olicana and was opened by patron, Alan Titchmarsh in April 2018.

The Manor House Trust’s vision is to create an ambitious heritage and creative quarter for the town.

Ilkley Manor House always welcomes new volunteers. Anybody interested in getting involved should email volunteer@ilkleymanorhouse.org

Ilkley Manor House welcomes new supporters and a supporters scheme can be joined at www.ilkleymanorhouse.org