Sarah Steele
Sarah Steele is a leading expert on Yorkshire jet and runs her own business devoted to designing and crafting this unique gemstone. She is married to David and they have three grown-up children. Sarah lives in York.
What’s your first Yorkshire memory? It isn’t a very happy one, I’m afraid, because it’s of the children’s ward in York County Hospital when I was a very young child. I suffer from asthma, and I used to be hospitalised and placed in an oxygen tent quite regularly. It was a very open-style, old-fashioned ward with a (to me) terrifying matron.
What’s your favourite part of the county – and why? Swaledale, for its incredible geological variety, which ranges from the iconic limestone pavements through to the scree slopes and the top of the hills and all those wonderful dry stone walls. And also for all the warm-hearted annual shows in villages like Muker and Reith, where I spent so many happy days on craft and gemware stalls.
What’s your idea of a perfect day, or a perfect weekend, out in Yorkshire? I love caves, so a day of exploration deep inside the earth is a source of pure joy for me. It’s not just the amazing geology, but there’s also the folklore to enjoy as well, because some of them have such bizarre names – like the Devil’s Tongue, Witches Finger and the Wedding Cake. As a child, my parents were always taking us on days out to walk the Cleveland Way, which, back then, always seemed a chore. But now, I recognise that it probably inspired me in my choice of career.
Do you have a favourite walk, or view? From the East Pier in Whitby and out along the beach to Saltwick Bay, where you’ll find the old alum quarries. We look out for jet brought in by the turning tides, as it’s the only way that you can collect it these days. There used to be over 300 jet mining places in this part of Yorkshire, but that’s illegal now.
Which Yorkshire sportsman, past or present, would you like to take for lunch? I was lucky enough to be at a lunch in Scarborough one day, where
I was placed next to Dickie Bird. He was charming, very funny, and delivered story after story, so I’d love the privilege of having him to myself, to hear a lot more of the same.
If you had to name your Yorkshire ‘hidden gem’, what would it be? What else but Whitby jet? People still link it with mourning, and in particular with Queen Victoria popularising it after the death of her husband, but the use of jet can be traced all the way back to the Bronze Age, and I have visited communities all over the globe where it is still worked by craftspeople whose heritage goes back thousands of years.
If you could choose somewhere, or some object, from or in Yorkshire to own for a day, what would it be? Our museum in Whitby has one of the best collections of jet artefacts in the world, but the stand-out piece for me is the chess table made by John Sherwood. He started it in 1895, and apparently he intended to offer it as a gift to Victoria, in celebration of her Diamond Jubilee. But he was such a perfectionist that it took a full four years to complete. It was once described as “the crowning triumph of the jet age”.
What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity? Our geology.
It shapes our land and also our cultural heritage. I don’t believe that you will find a comparable range of stone anywhere else in Great Britain.
Do you have a favourite restaurant, or pub? The House of Trembling
Madness on Stonegate in York is always fun. And how could I possibly leave out the Magpie Cafe in Whitby for its amazing fish and chips?
Do you have a favourite food shop? The good old Whitby Co-op, which does its very best for its customers. It may not be North Yorkshire’s answer to Fortnum & Mason, but it does us locals pretty well.
How do you think that Yorkshire has changed, for better or for worse, in the time that you’ve known it? There are certainly far more opportunities for women than there were when I was growing up, and there is a far stronger awareness of both our culture and our heritage. It’s good to see the county promoting itself far better than it used to, and, yes, there is a sense of positivity in the air.
If you had to change one thing in, or about Yorkshire, what would that be? Travelling. It would be wonderful if I didn’t have to drive to Leeds-Bradford or Newcastle airport to get flights to London and then onwards to the wider world. Why don’t we have a truly international airport somewhere closer? Even getting over to Manchester is quite an effort on a cold winter’s day.
Who is the Yorkshire person that you most admire? For being a woman in a world entirely dominated by men, it’s got to be St Hilda of Whitby. I work very close to the steps that lead up to the Abbey and I think of her every day, challenging the men around her, and showing them that they didn’t have a monopoly on ideas.
Has Yorkshire influenced your work? Yes indeed, and both my work and my life. Jet fascinates me, this wonderful material that was made from Jurassic driftwood being in the right place at the right time. It has affected industry, and played a significant part in the life of people from our ancestors of the Bronze Age until the present day. You say the word “jet” to people and they immediately reply “Queen Victoria”. Well, believe me, she is only a small part of its extraordinary history.
Name your favourite Yorkshire book/author/artist/CD/ performer.?I know he isn’t from Yorkshire, but Bram Stoker and not just for his classic Dracula, but for his deep understanding of nature, the environment and all its colours and shades. He was a man of the theatre, of literature, and of the world around him.
If a stranger to Yorkshire only had time to visit one place, it would be? Where else but Whitby, a town which still has individuality and which, in its own way, does things that keep it traditional but is also forward-looking and innovative.
It is only a matter of time when walking the streets of Harrogate before you stumble across one of its many art galleries. There are around a dozen clustered within a short walking distance in the town centre and together they’re helping Harrogate establish a reputation as a centre for art in the North. Some, Walker Galleries and McTague of Harrogate, to name just two, have been part of the furniture here for decades. Others, like Messums and Watermark, opened their doors in a year that saw the global coronavirus pandemic leave many high street businesses struggling to survive.
“There have always been a good handful of galleries in the town,” says Paul McTague, who opened McTague of Harrogate, on Cheltenham Mount, in 1981. “But over the last ten years, it has become a really good centre for art.
“The nice thing is there’s all sorts of different styles and periods of art that people specialise in so there’s a really good cross section. Even in times like this, people are still opening up galleries. Harrogate has become a bit of a destination (for art).”
Location was key for Liz Hawkes, who opened Watermark Gallery on Royal Parade with her husband Richard, an acclaimed paper conservator, in February last year.
They launched their gallery online five years ago and began searching for physical premises after the success of a number of pop-up events, including a three-month temporary exhibition in the town.
“Harrogate has always had a tradition of art and culture,” says Liz. “It’s a hugely attractive place and I think location is really important.
“Yorkshire is so varied in the countryside and what it offers that it attracts a lot of brilliant artists,
IN FRAME GAME:
Main picture, Richard McTague in RedHouse Originals; top left, Helen Sutcliffe at Sutcliffe Galleries; above left, Liz Hawkes at Watermark; above second left, Scarlett Stewart at 108 Fine Art; centre, Richard with his uncle Paul McTague.