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12
Apr
Fox family to make local return for Northern Aldborough Festival
One of the most famous British acting dynasties — the Fox family — is firmly rooted in Harrogate.
The lineage traces back to the Victorian engineer, mayor and philanthropist Samson Fox, who lived at Grove House on Skipton Road and became one of Harrogate’s greatest figures.
His grandson Robin Fox, an actor and theatrical agent, had three sons. Two of them — Edward Fox and James Fox — have had highly successful acting careers while the third, Robert, who died last month, was a theatrical agent. The next generation includes the actors Emilia, Freddie, Jack, Laurence and Lydia.
The Fox family connection is evident throughout Harrogate.
The Royal Hall wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for Samson Fox, who funded its opening in 1903.
The venue contains a Samson Fox box and the family coat of arms features prominently on the ceiling.
The family featured prominently in fundraising efforts for the Royal Hall's reopening in 2008.
The grade two listed venue even staged a play about Samson Fox in 2022 called The Man Who Captured Sunlight, which was named after his invention of streetlights in Harrogate.
Among those watching were Freddie Fox, who is an ambassador for Cuore Chamber Orchestra, which is based at Harrogate’s Royal Hall, and Joanna David, who is married to The Day of the Jackal star Edward Fox.
Joanna, whose long acting resume includes Downton Abbey, Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, is looking forward to her return to the district for this summer’s Northern Aldborough Festival.
She says:
The family is very, very pro-Harrogate. The town means a huge amount to us.
Edward and myself helped out when Lilian Mina started fundraising for the restoration of the Royal Hall, and we were there when the king — who was Prince Charles at the time — opened it. Emilia, Freddie and us did readings to raise money.
My stepdaughter Lucy Fox is even bringing an Elvis impersonator to the Royal Hall in October.
Robert Ogden outside one of the festival venues, St Andrew's Church.
Joanna’s wedding ring was made at Ogden of Harrogate.
It seems fitting, therefore, that Robert Ogden is now the artistic director of the arts festival near Boroughbridge where Joanna will be appearing on June 24.
She and the pianist Lucy Parham will perform I, Clara, which blends the words and music of the German pianist and composer Clara Schumann, who died in 1896. Created by Lucy in 2019 to celebrate 200 years since Clara Schumann was born, it tells her extraordinary life story in her own words.
Joanna describes it as “a tragic story of a remarkable woman”.
Lucy Parham. Pic: Benjamin Ealovega
I, Clara is among the highlights of the festival, which runs from June 18 to 27. The line-up also includes An Evening with Amol Rajan, the pianist Sarah Beth Briggs and a last night outdoor concert.
The annual festival, which brings international artists to Aldborough, is always a highlight of the local summer festival scene.
Joanna says: “It’s wonderful that Robert Ogden is doing this festival because so many people long for live performances of a literary or musical nature instead of scaring at their screens.”
For her, to be performing so close to Harrogate will be an added bonus.
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