The story behind one of history’s most colourful characters – the Yellow Earl – is revealed in an exhibition at The Beacon Museum in Whitehaven.
Hugh Lowther became the fifth Earl of Lonsdale in 1882 and became known as the Yellow Earl because of his fondness for that colour.
Yellow livery for Earl of Lonsdale
His servants wore yellow livery, he had a fleet of yellow motor cars, and a hot house to grow yellow flowers for his buttonhole.
The colour was so important to him that when he founded and became first president of The Automobile Association yellow was adopted as the colour of its livery.
Owner of much of Whitehaven
The Yellow Earl owned much of Whitehaven, its extensive coalfields, along with other assets around the country. He was a sportsman and adventurer who lived an extravagant lifestyle
and spent the family fortune. One of the family homes, Lowther Castle near Penrith, was abandoned as he spent his way through a vast fortune.
The exhibition, at The Beacon Museum in Whitehaven, covers the extraordinary highs and lows of Hugh Lowther’s unusual life. He’s regarded as the person who invented modern boxing and donated the Lonsdale Belts which are still awarded to British champions.
Wide-ranging exhibition
The exhibition is wide-ranging with igloo-making workshops to reflect the fact the Earl visited Alaska and claimed to have reached the North Pole. It has a section on circus skills to reflect how he joined a travelling circus for a year after leaving school.
The story of the Yellow Earl is fascinating and entertaining in equal measure. The Yellow Earl Exhibition captures those qualities. The exhibition runs until June 26.
Award-winning venue
The Beacon is an award-winning venue and last year won Visit England’s “Best Told Story” Award for making visits engaging and interactive. One new attraction is a prime example of that. The virtual reality Mine Experience transports you down into the depths of the sort of coal mine so important in Whitehaven’s rich history.
On its top floor you can enjoy stunning panoramic views over the town and harbour in the Viewing Gallery. Whitehaven’s history is incredibly varied. Did you know the town was the target when, for the first and only time in history, American forces attacked England!
Display for American War of Independence
That happened in 1778 during the American War of Independence and the story is told in one of the many digital displays at the museum.
The Beacon Museum is open from Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4.30pm and from 11am to 4pm on Sundays. It also opens on Mondays during school holidays.
For more information visit The Beacon Museum, Whitehaven or call 01946 592302.
