10 large ceramic daffodils from Lowther Castle up for charity auction

The auction forms part of the mammoth fund-raising effort that is Ten Thousand Daffodils at Lowther Castle.

Ten Thousand Daffodils is the brainchild of Dockray-based potter Helen Ratcliffe. It takes the form of a vast installation of ceramic daffodils planted within the gardens at Lowther Castle.

A dedicated team spent months making the ceramic daffodils at Lowther Castle (Image: Lowther Castle)As at the Tower of London poppy event, each of these ceramic daffodils is being sold to raise money for charity.

Indeed, since it opened in late April, more than £300,000 has been raised for six charities, both local and UK-wide.  

Local charities set to benefit from the daffodil sales include ‘Another Way’, ‘Sunbeams Musical Trust’ ‘Friends of the Ullswater Way’ and ‘Ullswater Catchment Management CIC’.

Now more money for a wider range of charitable ventures will be raised through the sale of these final ten.

Some of the larger daffodils for sale in the charity auction (Image: Lowther Castle)The other designers are Jim Lowther - owner of Lowther Castle; Helen Ratcliffe - Ten Thousand Daffodils mastermind; professional potters Jim Robison, William Plumptre and Mary Chappelhow; 7-year-old Matilda Windross of Greystoke Brownies; and 11-year-old Nia Griffiths of Morland Primary School.

One of the daffodils was designed by Rory Stewart OBE who was MP for Penrith and the Border until 2019 and a cabinet minister.

He is the author of ‘The Marches’, an investigation of the landscape and history of Cumbria and the borders on foot and co-presents the RestisPolitics podcast with Alastair Campbell.

“I have chosen to support GiveDirectly, the charity of which I am President,” said Rory.

“The daffodil has been designed to capture the landscape around my old cottage above Butterwick – and in particular the subtle genius of Cumbrian light – and the relationship between the pasture valleys and the wild fells and the sky above – with the lines often reinforced by ancient dry-stone walls.”

Speaking on behalf the charities who will benefit from sales of the daffodils, Jim Lowther of Lowther Castle said: “We are very excited about this event. It will raise a great deal of money for many important causes. And it will also shine an invaluable spotlight on the work that each charity does.”

The daffodils are being sold at an online auction from June 17 to June 24 through H & H Auction Rooms in Carlisle. For more information visit the ten thousand daffodils website.