Temple Newsam is a Tudor-Jacobean house with grounds landscaped by Capability Brown, in Leeds. The house and estate are owned by Leeds City Council and open to the public. The estate is made up of much woodland, (the second largest part of the Forest of Leeds) many areas of which join on to the surrounding estates of Leeds. There are facilities for sports including football, golf, running, cycling, horse-riding and orienteering. There is also a park for children to go and enjoy themselves in. The house has recently undergone substantial restoration to its exterior. There is an established programme of restoring rooms back to known previous configurations, reversing the numerous intrusive installations and modifications that took place during the building’s “art museum” phase. There are substantial holdings of fine and decorative art which are Designated by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport as being of national significance. Temple Newsam House is one of Leeds Museums and Galleries sites, and has an international reputation for scholarship and research, unusual in a local authority museum service. The Home Farm, open to the public, has a barn built in 1694 and is the largest working rare breeds farm in Europe, and only one of 16 nationally approved by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Breeds include Gloucester, Kerry, Irish Moiled, Red Poll, White Park, British White, Beef Shorthorn and Belted Galloway cattle; Kerry Hill, Whitefaced Woodland and Portland sheep, and Golden Guernsey goats. The house is a Grade I listed building, defined as a “building of outstanding or national architectural or historic interest”. The stables are Grade II listed, and ten separate features of the estate are Grade II listed, including the Sphinx Gates and the Barn.
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