Stories of Guinness

The festival was sparked by the publication of Succession, Arthur Guinness’s book on the early history of the Guinness family, in 2025. Following its release, Lord Iveagh-a regular attendee of EA Festival-invited the festival’s founder, Joanne Ooi, to interview him about the book. What began as a single conversation quickly expanded into a broader exchange of ideas about family history, legacy and place.

That exchange built on a moment of renewed public interest in Elveden dating back to 2023, when Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers staged a landmark sale of contents from the Guinness estate at the Hall. The interest in the auction revealed a wider curiosity - not simply about the objects themselves, but about the story of the house and the family behind it.

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From these converging strands emerged the idea of a festival - not simply to discuss the book, but to situate it within the wider histories and questions it touches: inheritance, empire, architecture, land, and the evolving meaning of the great estate. Elveden Hall, with its layered past and distinctive character, provides a compelling setting for these themes to unfold.

The timing of the festival reflects a growing cultural interest in dynastic narratives and inherited worlds, visible across literature, history and popular media alike. Stories of Guinness responds to this moment by bringing together a programme that is both historically grounded and sharply contemporary in its concerns. 

“From the outset, what struck me was that Elveden is not simply a house, but a lens through which to explore much larger questions - about inheritance, empire, stewardship, and the meaning of legacy,” said Joanne Ooi, founder of EA Festival. “What we’ve tried to create is a day that feels intellectually alive - where these ideas can be explored through conversation, performance and encounter.”

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The programme unfolds across four conversations. It opens with Lord Iveagh discussing Succession, offering a rare perspective on the Guinness brewing dynasty from within. A second session turns to the layered history of Elveden Hall through a wider imperial lens, featuring Sam Dalrymple, whose highly acclaimed book Shattered Lands explores the legacies of South Asian partition. Set against the story of Maharaja Duleep Singh - the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire who inhabited Elveden Hall after Britain’s annexation of Punjab in 1849 - this conversation situates the house within a broader history of empire, displacement and identity.

A third discussion centres on Adrian Tinniswood’s The Houses of Guinness, expanding into a broader conversation about Britain’s great houses with Ben Cowell, Director General of Historic Houses. The final session, An Heir’s Reckoning, brings together biographer Catherine Bailey and novelist Anna Hope to explore the enduring tensions of aristocratic inheritance - whether a burden, a duty, or an opportunity for reinvention.

Throughout the day, guests will also be able to experience Elveden beyond the talks: guided tours of the house, time to picnic in the grounds, and a specially installed display of works by modern British artist Dennis Creffield. Creffield - whose works are held by Tate, the British Museum, LACMA and the National Trust - was commissioned by Arts Council England in the 1980s to draw every medieval cathedral in England. His work will be displayed across the Marble Hall and the Guinness family chapel.

The day concludes in the soaring, Mughal-inspired Marble Hall with Piccante, an operatic cabaret by mezzo-soprano Clare Presland, featuring works by Britten, Weill, Gershwin, and Sondheim.

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Stories of Guinness is conceived as a richly layered cultural experience - one that brings together scholarship, storytelling and performance in a spectacular setting uniquely suited to the themes it explores.

We are proud to support this event alongside Abels Moving Services. Our longstanding association with Elveden Hall, including the 2023 sale, has contributed to bringing the event together.

Visit www.eafestival.com/stories-of-guinness for tickets and further information.

EA Festival | Elveden Hall

Saturday 13 June | 10am-6pm

BOOK TICKETS