New art installation at Wentworth Castle to honour vaccine pioneering Yorkshire aristocrat

A new art installation in South Yorkshire has been unveiled in honour of a Yorkshire aristocrat who helped to pioneer vaccinations.

Lady Mary Montagu helped to introduce the smallpox vaccination to England 300 years ago, but her role in the eradication of the disease is barely mentioned.

Her legacy has now been honoured by Paul Slater and Katrina Whale who have created a trail of colourful sculptures in Wentworth Castle Gardens, near Barnsley.

Jenny Rudd, a guide at the castle, said that the parallels can be drawn between Lady Mary and the current global pandemic.

She said: "It's extraordinary the contemporary relevance of it, really, with it being the 300th anniversary of inoculation being introduced into Britain.

"And we have a global pandemic and a mass vaccination programme, so she couldn't have more contemporary relevance really."

The artwork is scattered through the gardens at Wentworth Castle.

Paul and Katrina said: "We've been working on this for about a year and the work developed along the side of the pandemic, so it became more and more evident that those parallels were there.

"To a point now where it almost feels like it was meant to be. The work really dies dovetail with the story of Lady Mary."

The art installation will go on tour around the region when it is displayed at Cannon Hall and the Elsecar Heritage Centre later this year.