York's Georgian Fairfax House pays tribute to generations of benefators in Christmas exhibition A Season for Giving

So in the run up to Christmas, York’s Georgian townhouse Fairfax House is inviting visitors to see it “completely changed” as it pays tribute to the individuals who have contributed to it in those ways.

A Season for Giving, which started on Saturday and continues until January 6, showcases and celebrates those who have given gifts to York Civic Trust through a series of dazzling displays and imaginative installations.

Dr Sarah Burnage, curator, said: “It’s amazing. I’m always find it amazing when people approach us and make an incredibly generous bequest - it keeps us going.”

Fairfax House has been holding a traditional Georgian Christmas exhibition for more than 10 years but this year the team, including assistant curator Rachel Wallis, decided to create something new, showcasing much more of the collection beyond the eighteenth century, as the installations present fresh stories that “encapsulate the house in a wider historical context”.

The exhibition culminates with an installation of more than 400 pieces of Georgian glassware gifted by chemist John Butler, illuminated in the surroundings of the museum’s Saloon.

Before that, visitors can see a 1940s family Christmas where they will learn about Noel Terry, an “amazing benefactor” and “avid collector” of fine Georgian furniture in the 1920s and 30s, who in 1946 was one the four founders of York Civic Trust, and who donated various items to its cause before his death in 1979.

People can then journey back in time to join a “raucous” Georgian Christmas dinner party, where a “sumptuous collection” of Georgian silverware donated by Arthur Smallwood and Leslie Boothman will sparkle in the candlelight.

Dr Burnage said: “The idea for the exhibition came about as a result of lockdown.

“With the museum closed we had time to really focus on our collections and in the process we’ve learnt so much about the generous individuals who bequeathed or lent their precious works to the Trust. They, and their special gifts, are the inspiration for this year’s Christmas display.

“A Season for Giving has enabled us to display works which have been tucked away in storage for years, it has been a real delight to be able to place on them on display all together for the first time.”

Such bequests are made frequently, said Dr Burnage, usually by people who have worked with the Trust for many years or have been involved in the heritage sector.

A Season for Giving runs until January 6, subject to updated Covid-19 restrictions.

The cost of entry is £6, the same as general admission, and tickets can be booked online from www.fairfaxhouse.co.uk.

Visitors to A Season for Giving will leave with a pack of sweet pea seeds - the favourite flower of Noel Terry’s wife Kathleen, whose porcelain collection is also on display.

Dr Burnage said: “Its something to take away, plant them and maybe think about Kathleen or maybe enjoy the scent of them.”

Ticketholders will also get a copy of Made In York, a book about the city’s age of Enlightenment between 1670 and 1830.