MAIDS and Mistresses, a series of linked exhibitions and trails across seven of Yorkshire's great country houses, opens on April 3.

Castle Howard, near York, is among the houses taking part in the celebration of 300 years of women and the Yorkshire country house.

The exhibitions will highlight the lives and achievements of the female occupants during the past three centuries and "show where the power often really lay in the running of these grand establishments".

Maids And Mistresses has been pioneered through the Yorkshire Country House Partnership, a research venture between the country houses and the University of York, supported by grants of £265,300 from the Heritage Lottery Fund's Your Heritage scheme.

The other houses involved are Harewood House, near Leeds; Brodsworth Hall, near Doncaster; Burton Constable, East Yorkshire; Lotherton Hall and Temple Newsam, Leeds; and Nostell Priory, Wakefield.

The exhibitions and trails will draw on new research to show how mistresses, cooks, scullery maids and governesses had a vital hand in the daily routine of a great house.

Maids And Mistresses explores life above and below stairs, examining the role of women as decision makers raising dynasties and workhorses in service.

Leisure pursuits are charted too, with some unexpected accomplishments in science, photography and ivory turning, alongside poetry, painting and music.

At Castle Howard, the mistresses of the house will be "liberated at last from the silent confines of their glamorous portraits" in an exhibition complemented by costumed enactments, educational activities and other events.

Mothers, wives and daughters mingle with cooks, maids and governesses, as you discover who really ran Castle Howard down the centuries in a celebration of the achievements of remarkable women such as Isabella, Countess of Carlisle, a scrupulous household manager and inventive cook; Georgina, 6th Countess, a devoted mother of 12; and Rosalind, 9th Countess, an enthusiastic patroness of the arts.

A free, colour brochure and trail accompanies each house's exhibition, together with activities and events throughout the year. The exhibitions will run from this weekend until the end of October, except at Brodsworth and Lotherton, where they close in September.

Updated: 08:55 Friday, April 02, 2004