A YORK tourist attraction will mark its 250th anniversary with an exhibition of historical jewels.

To mark Fairfax House’s special birthday, the Georgian townhouse will play host to an exhibition of crowns, coronets, tiaras and diamonds.

The collection has been sourced from across Yorkshire and contains pieces from private collections and museums. Most of the treasures have never been on public display, and many will never be on show again.

Crowning Glory particularly focuses on headwear, with a large array of crowns and coronets in the exhibition, including copies of the crown jewels. One of the main attractions is the Fairfax jewel, which was presented to Sir Thomas Fairfax by Parliament and is on loan for the first time from the National Trust.

Hannah Phillip, director of the Castlegate attraction, said: “The challenge when such an anniversary comes around is how to do justice to it. Precious jewels and beautiful jewellery showcased in a lavish and exciting exhibition seem a fitting way to do this.”

The exhibition opens from today and will run until June 23.