Ernest Harold Jones —Artist, Excavator, Archaeologist, Egyptologist — was born in Barnsley. A Blue Plaque for him was unveiled on Thursday 14 September — celebrating his life and connection to Barnsley.
Ernest Harold Jones. Image: National Library of Wales.
1.30 – 2.30pm — Barnsley Town Hall
Illustrated talk by Lady Carnarvon, with an introduction and welcome by Professor Joann Fletcher and Sir Stephen Houghton.
3.00-3.15pm — Sackville Street
Unveiling of Blue Plaque to Ernest Harold Jones by the Mayor of Barnsley.
Born in Barnsley in 1877 – his father was the headmaster of Barnsley School of Art – Harold Jones died in Luxor in Egypt in 1911. The Jones family lived in Sackville Street in Barnsley until his father moved to become head of the Carmarthen School of Art.
Harold Jones became a well-regarded artist; his work inspired by what he’d heard of Egypt and the pre-Raphaelite artists who painted Egyptian themes.
He moved to Egypt for health reasons, employed as an archaeological artist and then excavator. He unearthed rings and small objects bearing the name —not known at that time— Tutankhamun, and sparked interest in finding his tomb.
Unfortunately, he died in 1911, before the tomb of Tutankhamun was finally discovered. His funeral was held in Luxor, organised by Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter who went on to discover Tut’s tomb in 1922.