Presented by Dr. Christopher Ridgway

Since the early 18th century there have been over 2,000 accidental fires in British country houses. Ranging from near misses and minor incidents to complete destruction and loss of life, these outbreaks have occurred with astonishing frequency.

In earlier times, open fires and naked flame lighting presented many risks, which, coupled with erratic water supplies and the absence of dedicated fire fighters, meant that a small fire could easily become a major conflagration. But, surprisingly, accidental fires, sparked by multiple causes, have continued well into the 21st century.

Drawing from many episodes over the last 300 years, this talk will examine the impact of fire on country houses, their art collections, and their occupants. What were the causes, how did people respond to the emergency, and what were the consequences?

Dr. Christopher Ridgway has been Curator at Castle Howard since 1985. He has lectured on the estate and its history and collections all over the world and has published extensively. He is the chair of the Yorkshire Country House Partnership, a collaborative research project among the houses of the region; adjunct professor at the Centre for the Study of Historic Irish Houses and Estates at Maynooth University; and sits on the board of the Irish Heritage Trust. In 2019 Ridgway was awarded a UK Heritage Awards, Lifetime Achievement Award. His recent publications include Castle Howard and Brideshead, Fact, Fiction and In-Between (2011); The Morpeth Roll, Ireland Identified in 1841 (2013); George Howard, Lord Howard of Henderskelfe, A Life in Yorkshire and Beyond (2019); and ‘New Walls for Old Pictures’, in Country House Collections: Their Past, Present, and Future (2021), jointly edited with Terence Dooley.