Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Yorkshire Sculpture Park lies in West Bretton, on the 200-hectare grounds of Bretton Hall, an 18th-century estate. The parkland once housed a deer park, an ice house and a camellia house, all still visible among the rolling hills. American artist James Turrell turned the old deer shelter into an installation that visitors walk through. The park also contains St Bartholomew’s Chapel, built in 1744 and now restored as an indoor gallery. The park opened in 1977 as Britain’s first permanent sculpture park, building on earlier open-air shows in London parks. It displays work by British and international artists such as Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth. Since the 1990s indoor spaces have been added, including the Bothy Gallery, the underground Bothy Garden Gallery and the hillside Longside Gallery. Longside hosts exhibitions from the Arts Council Collection and runs educational events when shows are not on. Visitors follow paths that lead past follies, landscape features and modern sculptures set against the estate’s historic backdrop. The new visitor centre, opened in 2019, contains a gallery, restaurant and shop. Artists like Andy Goldsworthy have created temporary works inspired by the park’s buildings and natural surroundings. The changing programme means each visit offers a different view of contemporary and modern sculpture.