Cecil Beaton: A Family Archive
Words & Photographs by Daisy Wingate-Saul
This is my fifth visit to Hawarden Estate in North Wales, and each time I’m delighted by its ever-evolving dedication to creativity and community. Hawarden always feels slightly transformed, whether by a renovation project that brings the west wing of the castle to life for guests to stay in, creative workshops, a festival, a clothing brand or, this time, an exhibition. From the fab farm shop to The Glynne Arms (a gastro pub worth travelling for), Hawarden is a colourful, joyful place where heritage doesn’t sit still.
That same spirit of renewal lies at the heart of its newest project.
Cecil Beaton: A Family Archive offers a fresh perspective on one of the 20th century’s most influential photographers. Set in the 18th-century castle, the exhibition draws on Beaton’s early family connections with the estate. Beaton was the great-uncle of Charlie Gladstone, who now lives in the castle, and he spent time here with his niece, Charlie’s mother, during the interwar years. For the first time, the family opens its private archive, revealing scrapbooks, photo albums, paintings and ephemera that illuminate his creative world.
The exhibition begins in the studio of Gladstone/Hellen, the estate’s newest venture, a British-made clothing and homewares brand founded by Caroline and Charlie Gladstone with creative director and designer Sarah Hellen. Every piece is made in British workshops using traditional methods. The brand’s aesthetic - refined yet playful, rooted in heritage but not beholden to it - feels like a contemporary echo of Beaton’s world. There’s a shared devotion to craftsmanship, beauty and a certain theatricality with their signature bright colours.
Another large part of the exhibition unfolds in the Temple of Peace, once William Gladstone’s library, now transformed with armchairs draped in Gladstone/Hellen’s Welsh-made blankets, Beaton’s scrapbooks filled with photographs of family and icons alike, and striking banners of Beaton’s sister and lifelong muse Baba Beaton - her image among those that came to define the glamour of the 1920s. In this unexpected setting, worlds collide as Gladstone’s restrained Victorian world meets Beaton’s boundary-pushing queerness and creativity. Through the exhibition, Hawarden reframes its own story once again - as a place that embraces expression, experimentation, and change.
Cecil Beaton: A Family Archive runs at Hawarden Castle until Spring 2026, presented by Gladstone/Hellen and Hawarden Estate Holidays. The exhibition is open to guests staying in the castle and by appointment at the Gladstone/Hellen Studio.
