Discover the different ways you can volunteer at Castle Howard
The volunteers at Castle Howard play a vital role in preserving this extraordinary family home by engaging with the public and generating interest in local heritage. By joining the volunteer team, you will have the opportunity to meet new people, learn new skills, spend time in beautiful surroundings, experience behind-the-scenes tours and be part of a wonderful team of people.
Find out more about our volunteer roles
(Every day but particularly Fridays and Saturdays)
Welcome our visitors and bring Castle Howard's history to life.
What is a Room Guide?
Room guides have a vital role to play in the daily operations of Castle Howard. From inspiring visitors with the historical collections within the house and grounds to giving a warm welcome to visitors as they make their way around the house. Room guides will be positioned around the house experiencing each room and learning about the collections. Room guides also play an essential part in safeguarding the collections and artefacts.
What’s in it for you?
What’s involved?
This role will suit people who have an enthusiastic and friendly manner, enjoy meeting new people, enjoy operating as part of a team and who are keen to learn. Historical knowledge or in-depth knowledge of Castle Howard is NOT required for this role.
(7 days a week)
As a retail volunteer you will contribute to ensuring that our Gift Shop is a welcoming, inspiring, and commercially successful operation.
What is a Retail Volunteer (Gift Shop)? Our retail department is a vital part of our visitor attraction, allowing us to provide inspiring merchandise that will continue to be cherished long after a visit to Castle Howard. Our retail environment also provides a key opportunity for us to engage in meaningful dialogue, with our colleagues often the last touch point before a visitor leaves the Estate at the end of their day. This is a diverse role based within our House Gift Shop, with varying levels of tasks. You may be involved in preparing new stock for the upcoming season or be assisting and welcoming visitors during a busy day in the Gift Shop. As a retail volunteer you will contribute to ensuring that our Gift Shop is a welcoming, inspiring, and commercially successful operation which ultimately helps preserve Castle Howard for the future. What’s involved? There are a variety of different activities you will have the opportunity to engage in, including:
Who would suit this role? This role would suit anyone who:
How will you benefit?
How will we support you?
Extra information Time commitment: weekly/fortnightly, 10am - 3pm, but hours are flexible to suit you. We are looking for volunteers for weekdays and weekends. This voluntary role runs from March - December every year. What’s next?
(Monday to Friday)
Help the environment by caring for trees in our Tree Nursery.
What is a Tree Nursery Assistant?
The Castle Howard Tree Nursery is a small and relatively unknown area of our Estate, but it has a proud and successful history dating back almost 50 years, and has seen exciting large scale expansion within the last two years. The role of tree nursery volunteer will be very important in supporting our staff with the growing demands of the tree nursery, from the collection of seeds from on the Estate, nursery maintenance tasks, and helping to prepare orders for customers.
A background in horticulture is not required, as the role will receive plenty of support from our friendly tree nursery staff, although a positive attitude to working outdoors, learning about trees and a willingness to learn new things, would be beneficial.
This role will suit people who have an enthusiastic and friendly manner, are keen on learning new skills, and enjoy working as part of a collaborative team. Good general health and fitness will be ideal for this role, as tasks may often involve working outside in cold, wet conditions, being on your feet for long periods of time, and walking on uneven ground. An ability to follow instructions competently and work independently at times would also be a great asset, although training and support will be provided before and during tasks.
Time commitment:Hours are flexible to suit you. We are looking for volunteers on weekdays for this role.
What’s next?
Keep our environment and grounds pristine for visitors and wildlife.
What is a Litter Picking Volunteer?
Castle Howard is a 9000-acre Estate which welcomes visitors year-round to our historic mansion house and grounds. As a Litter Picking Volunteer, you will play a vital role in maintaining the beauty and cleanliness of the Castle Howard Estate. Your efforts will help protect the local environment, support wildlife conservation, and ensure that visitors enjoy a pristine and welcoming landscape.
This role will suit people who have an enthusiastic and friendly manner, enjoy being customer facing and are confident working alongside the general public. This role is outdoors so someone who enjoys being out in all weathers is preferred. Tools and PPE are provided.
Time commitment: weekly/fortnightly, 3 hour shift minimum, but hours are flexible to suit you. We are looking for volunteers for weekdays and weekends. This voluntary role runs year-round.
(7 days a week during our Christmas Season Nov - Jan)
Help our visitors capture special memories of their day out.
What is a Volunteer Photographer?
At Christmas, we welcome hundreds of visitors every day to our wonderful house and grounds. In this role, you’ll help capture special moments for our visitors by taking photos of families, groups and individuals at key photo points throughout the house. The role involves using visitors own camera or phone to take the photos, so no knowledge of how to use specialist cameras is required. This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of the festive magic at Castle Howard and help create lasting memories for thousands of guests.
This role will suit people with an enthusiastic and friendly manner, enjoy being customer facing and are confident working alongside the general public. An in-depth knowledge of Castle Howard is not required for this role.
Time commitment: weekly/fortnightly, 10am - 3pm, but hours are flexible to suit you. This voluntary role runs during our Christmas Season, Nov - Jan.
Provide the all-important first impression to our visitors arriving by coach.
What is the Coach Welcome Role? Castle Howard Coach Welcomers provide the all-important first impression to our visitors arriving by coach. This role involves warmly and enthusiastically welcoming our Coach Groups by boarding the oach and addressing the passengers, welcoming them to Castle Howard, providing ‘teaser’ information to get them excited for their visit, signposting amenities and handing out tickets and maps. Once the coaches are welcomed, the Coach Welcomer will then head into the Courtyard to welcome arriving visitors, signpost them to where they need to go, answer questions and upsell membership to Castle Howard. The Coach Welcomer does not need to be a ‘history buff’ as this role focusses on engaging enthusiastically with visitors from all walks of life, offering them a world class welcome and contributing to our exceptional visitor experience.What’s involved?
Who would suit this role?
This role would suit anyone who has an enthusiastic and friendly manner, is confident in and enjoys speaking to and meeting new people, is happy to operate as part of a collaborative team and is keen to learn. This is a role especially suited for anyone with experience in or an enjoyment of providing exceptional customer service. Historical knowledge or in-depth knowledge of Castle Howard is not required for this role. You will be provided with all the resources and training you need to fulfil this role.
This role is part of the Ticket Office/Admissions team and is looked after by our Admissions Manager. Two Ticket Office Supervisors are also there to support you. Whilst welcoming coach groups, there are the Visitor Attraction and Security team members who you will work alongside in this room and can offer you support. Extra information Time commitment:
Twice a week, 9.30am -15.00pm, but the hours are flexible to suit you. We are looking for volunteers 7 days per week, including weekends. This voluntary role runs from March/April-October every year, with opportunities to continue volunteering in November and December.
Training/Induction:
As part of your induction, you will spend time with the Admissions team whilst you learn the ropes. You will also receive an information pack, and an opportunity to explore the House and Grounds as a Visitor to be able to make personal recommendations. You will also be trained on our Membership scheme to be able to upsell this to our visitors.
Expenses:
Travel costs to and from Castle Howard for your volunteering shift will be covered (up to a total of 40 miles), including public transport.
Help make our visitors with access needs feel welcome on their day out with us.
What is an Access Champion?
We want to make sure that everyone is welcome at Castle Howard. We recently won the Visit York Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award, and this is party down to our fantastic volunteer access champions. A typical day will involve grabbing a radio and stationing yourself up at the courtyard or down near the house to welcome our visitors and give them information about how best to access the house depending on their needs. You may be grabbing a wheelchair for someone to help them get round the house, helping someone onto our stair lift, or storing a pram for a family going to see Father Christmas! The role is very varied and involves speaking to lots of people and helping them with their visit.
What's in it for you?
This role will suit people who have an enthusiastic and friendly manner, enjoy being customer facing and are confident working alongside the general public. An in-depth knowledge of Castle Howard is not required for this role.
Time commitment: weekly/fortnightly, 10am - 3pm, but hours are flexible to suit you. We are looking for volunteers for weekdays and weekends. This voluntary role runs year round. What’s next?
Help the plants in our Garden Centre thrive and help members of the public with all their plant care needs
What is a Garden Centre Plant Care Volunteer?
Our Garden Centre is a vital part of our visitor attraction, allowing us to provide plants and gifts that will continue to be cherished long after a visit to Castle Howard. Our retail environment also provides a key opportunity for us to engage in meaningful dialogue, with our colleagues often the last touch point before a visitor leaves the Estate at the end of their day. This role is based within our Garden Centre, with varying levels of tasks. You may be involved in getting the outdoor plants looking healthy and beautiful, helping price up new stock and making sure the shop is looking tidy and enticing to customers. As a retail volunteer you will contribute to ensuring that our retail space is a welcoming, inspiring, and commercially successful operation which ultimately helps preserve Castle Howard for the future.
This role will suit people who have an enthusiastic and friendly manner, enjoy being customer facing and are confident working alongside the general public. We are looking for people who have a passion for plants and gardening and already have a good base of knowledge on the subject. An in-depth knowledge of Castle Howard is not required for this role. Being comfortable with the level of physical fitness required to help with retail deliveries, including carrying boxes of stock would be beneficial.
Time commitment: weekly/fortnightly, 10am - 3pm, but hours are flexible to suit you. We are looking for volunteers 7 days a week. This voluntary role runs year round. What’s next?
Welcoming visitors into our historic mansion house.
What is a House Meet & Greet Volunteer?
As a House Meet & Greet Volunteer, you will be one of the first friendly faces visitors see when they enter Castle Howard. You’ll help create a warm welcome, answer questions and make sure visitors know where to go and what they can see during their visit. You might be helping hand out audio guides, bringing visitors wheelchairs or helping them up our stairlift. You will also help safeguard our collection by making sure visitors are aware of the rules when they enter the house.
You’ll be based within the House Entrance and will help visitors feel comfortable and confident as they begin exploring this historic building.
This role will suit people who are friendly, enthusiastic, and enjoy working with the public. You don’t need prior knowledge of architecture or Castle Howard—just an interest in welcoming visitors and chatting to people from all walks of life!
Time commitment: weekly/fortnightly, 11am - 2pm, 7 days a week, but hours are flexible to suit you. This voluntary role runs for the whenever the house is open, April - October and Mid Nov - early Jan.
Register your interest
Are you looking to improve your team’s wellbeing while giving back to nature? At Castle Howard you can get out in the fresh air guided by one of our resident experts, there are over 9000-acres to the Castle Howard Estate, with lots of opportunities for companies to get involved in our outdoor conservation projects. Activities can include wildlife conservation, tree planting, land management such as invasive species removal, weeding, mulching and garden maintenance, seed collection and coppicing. We can also adapt this for people who may find this type of work challenging.
For the day, we provide the following: • Tea and coffee on arrival • Transport to working site from Castle Howard (if applicable for our outdoor projects) • A safety briefing from our Head of Natural Environment • Appropriate PPE inc Gloves and tools for any outdoor activities • Access to our welfare space known as The GatehouseThis is priced from £40.00 per personCatering You are welcome to bring your own packed lunches, you can purchase food from one of our catering outlets, or we can provide a catered lunch in one of our private event spaces.The day typically runs from 9:30am – 3.30pm. A rough itinerary for the day is as follows: 09.30: Arrival at Castle Howard, Tea and Coffee 10.00: Head to outdoor project site and commence activity 13.00: Lunch - return to Welfare area if required. 14.00: Head back out to project area to finish activity or additional activity.Additional activities that can be booked for the afternoon session are as follows: • Self-guided house and gardens tour • Grounds only self-guided tour • Talk by Resident Experts (including Curatorial Team or Natural Environment Team) Volunteering is available Tuesdays and Thursdays.
We want your experience of volunteering to be as welcoming and enjoyable as possible, so we will:
You can contact us by email: volunteer@castlehoward.co.uk. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
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