Earlier this year, a remarkable new exhibition brought Ancient Egypt to life in an unexpected setting – across the architectural landscape of Yorkshire. Resurrecting Ancient Egypt: A Monumental Yorkshire Journey, which ran until spring at the recently renovated Champney Treasure House, offered a striking retrospective that blended local heritage with global fascination.
Curated by renowned Egyptologist Professor Joann Fletcher, the exhibition invited visitors to explore Yorkshire through a new lens, tracing the echoes of Ancient Egypt in the county’s buildings, monuments, and decorative arts. At its heart was a series of atmospheric black and white photographs by Huddersfield-based Kyte Photography, capturing Yorkshire structures influenced by Egyptian design.
From the grand follies of Castle Howard to the imposing columns of Leeds’ Temple Mill, and even an Egyptian-style reservoir valve house perched above Hebden Bridge, the images are both familiar and surprising. Alongside these architectural tributes were memorials to past tragedies, which provided a sombre reminder of how Egyptian forms have long been used to symbolise permanence and remembrance. Together, they formed a powerful story about how Egyptomania has shaped not just art and culture, but the very fabric of everyday life in Yorkshire.
The Enduring Allure of Egypt
The exhibition tapped into a fascination with Ancient Egypt that remains as potent today as it was during the Victorian age. From big-budget blockbusters to modern docuseries, Egypt continues to leave its mark on popular culture. A recent example is Bradley Walsh: Egypt’s Cosmic Code, a 2025 Apple TV series that follows the presenter as he journeys to the land of the pharaohs to investigate age-old questions about the pyramids, the Sphinx, and theories surrounding the supernatural.
That same allure is echoed in contemporary fashion and entertainment. Designers frequently return to Egyptian motifs – draped linen silhouettes, layered jewellery, and the dramatic use of kohl eyeliner – for inspiration, fusing ancient aesthetics with modern trends.
Meanwhile, in the digital realm, the Egypt theme is heavily present in the world of casino online gaming, with titles like Queen of the Pyramids standing out. Featuring Playtech’s unique 3-4-4-4-3 reel setup, it is often a featured title at leading platforms alongside the similarly themed Book of Dead and Cleopatra, as well as other history-inspired slots such as Gold Rush Cash Collect.
This continued presence across diverse creative spheres reinforces why Resurrecting Ancient Egypt felt both timeless and timely. It was an exhibition that mirrored our enduring obsession with a civilisation that still sparks wonder. Professor Joann Fletcher, in her notes on the exhibition, also highlighted its deeper aim, to uncover the surprising and often overlooked ties between Ancient Egypt and Yorkshire, some of which stretch back nearly 2,000 years.
Fletcher, who is an Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of York, held two public talks to complement the exhibition in March and April. Ancient Egypt in Yorkshire explored everything from local Egyptian artefacts to the UK’s only full-sized replica Egyptian temple, while The Yorkshire Path to Tutankhamun traced the region’s links to the discovery of the boy king’s tomb and the global phenomenon of ‘Tutmania’ that followed.
When Egypt Came to Yorkshire
Resurrecting Ancient Egypt offered more than a visual spectacle; it was a richly layered journey through time, place, and imagination. By revealing Yorkshire’s unexpected links to one of the world’s oldest civilisations, the exhibition invited visitors to see their surroundings differently and demonstrated the lasting power of Egypt to inform and intrigue.
