Name: Members-Only Preview and Talk: The Franklin Collection
Start: 2026-03-12T18:00
End: 2026-03-12T18:00
Location: Hillsborough Castle

Skip the event ticket details and go to event summary.

When

12 March 2026

18:00 - 19:00

Ticketing information

Tickets available to book on 02 February.

Members go free. Pre-booking required.

All attendees must be named Historic Royal Palaces members holding a valid membership. Please present your membership card alongside your ticket at the entrance.

Free (advance booking required)

An event exclusively for Historic Royal Palaces members.
A member preview of the Franklin Dining Room, displaying objects exploring Benjamin Franklin’s visit to Hillsborough Castle, marking 250 years since American independence.
An exclusive talk with Castle and Collections Manager, David Orr.

This year marks 250 years since America declared independence from Britain. Hillsborough Castle played a unique part in the events leading up to that moment, having welcomed Benjamin Franklin only a few years before. To mark this anniversary, we are creating the Franklin Dining Room at Hillsborough Castle and want to invite our members to a special preview evening to mark the opening of this new collection of objects.

Through a partnership with the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, which Benjamin Franklin founded, we will be displaying some original correspondence from Franklin about his visit to Hillsborough, along with a contemporaneous portrait of Franklin, and his chess set.

You will be among the first to see this remarkable collection of objects, and to hear insights into their significance in a short talk from our Castle and Collections Manager, David Orr.

Benjamin Franklin's visit to Hillsborough Castle

In 1771, Benjamin Franklin spent four days at Hillsborough Castle as a guest of Lord Hillsborough who was at that time Secretary of State for the Colonies, now America, in George III's Government. The two men did not get along as they completely disagreed on British policy towards America but to Franklin's surprise, the visit went extremely well. Lord Hillsborough was the perfect host who showed every attention to Franklin's comfort during his stay. More surprising still, for the first time he was sympathetic to Franklin's point of view on how the colonies were governed and even asked him for his advice.

Although the visit went well, this meeting of minds was not to last. When back in London, the two men clashed again on American matters and their relationship descended into open animosity. Franklin returned home to press for independence from Britain, subsequently becoming one of the key drafters of the US Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Find out more about Benjamin Franklin's visit.