Chatsworth House Trust appoints new director to lead global growth ambitions

Jane Marriott joins the Chatsworth House Trust following a six-year stint as director of the Harewood House Trust, caring for a similarly historic country house in West Yorkshire.

She said: “Chatsworth has a great reputation, with an outstanding collection of art, established learning programme and strong exhibitions that together represent a visitor offering to rival any national institution in the UK. Chatsworth also has an incredible reach with more than 600,000 annual visitors, meaning there is huge potential to engage with, and have a positive impact on, a wide and diverse audience.

“Through a shared commitment to learning and programme at the heart of the organisation, designed to maximise the incredible collections of art, decorative arts and gardens, we have the potential to reimagine Chatsworth's role within the UK's cultural economy.”

She added: I look forward to working with the family and the team at Chatsworth to widen our reach and demonstrate value to our communities as a charitable trust, whilst protecting this vital piece of our national heritage for generations to come.”

During her tenure at Harewood House, Jane oversaw a significant increase in charitable income and visitor engagement driven by new and innovative programming such as the Harewood Biennial exhibition showcasing contemporary artists and makers.

Jane’s professional expertise in the arts and heritage sector now stretches back 25 years, starting as assistant curator at Art Gallery New South Wales, Sydney, before joining the team that launched Tate Modern in London in 2000.

She later went on to become the youngest female director of the Royal Academy Trust and director of development at the Royal Academy of Arts, where she spearheaded a £36million fundraising campaign for building projects and established an international fundraising operation in Hong Kong.

Prior to Harewood, Jane served as deputy director and then managing director of the Hepworth art museum in Wakefield where she led the creation of a new garden and launched the Hepworth Prize for Sculpture, among other projects which earned the institution the Art Fund’s Museum of the Year title in 2017.

All that experience will be valuable as she arrives at Chatsworth with a remit to find creative ways to reach and engage new audiences in the UK and globally.

She is also tasked with increasing the social impact of the trust's activities, overseeing the Devonshire Collections of art, artefacts and archives across its various sites, and building the trust’s financial endowment to ensure an ever more secure future for the heritage assets under its stewardship.

Lord Burlington, chairman of the Chatsworth House Trust, said: “I am delighted to welcome Jane to Chatsworth. The trust was set up by my grandfather in 1981 to look after the house, collections, garden, woodlands and park for the long-term benefit of everyone.

“Jane's experience and achievements in the arts, culture and heritage arenas make her the perfect person to lead an ambitious new chapter of growth and development for the charity. There is a great deal of excitement around this appointment, we look forward to working closely with Jane and we wish her every success.”

Support your Derbyshire Times by becoming a digital subscriber. You will see 70 per cent fewer ads on stories, meaning faster load times and an overall enhanced user experience. Click here to subscribe.