Highclere Castle

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Highclere Castle
Hampshire

Highclere Castle, front façade
Location
Location: 51°19’36"N, 1°21’41"W
Village: Highclere
History
Built from 1839
Country house
Jacobethan ("Jacobean Revival")
Information
Owned by: The Earl of Carnarvon

Highclere Castle is a grand country house at Highclere in northern Hampshire, built in the 'Jacobethan' style in the nineteenth century, but within a park designed in the eighteenth century by Capability Brown. The 5,000 acre estate is about five miles south of Newbury, Berkshire.

Highclere is the country seat of the Earl of Carnarvon, a branch of the Herbert family.[1]

The house is a Grade-I listed building.[2]

Highclere Castle has appeared on television on many an occasion, most famously as the main filming location for the television period drama Downton Abbey.[3] It was also a filming location for the television adaptation of the Jeeves and Wooster stories with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.

The castle and gardens are open to the public during July and August and at times during the rest of the year.

History

Early years

The castle stands on the site of an earlier house, which was built on the foundations of the mediæval palace of the Bishops of Winchester, who owned this estate from the 8th century.[4][5] The original site was recorded in the Domesday Book. Since 1679, the castle has been home to the Earls of Carnarvon.

In 1692, Robert Sawyer, a lawyer and college friend of Samuel Pepys, bequeathed a mansion at Highclere to his only daughter, Margaret, the first wife of the 8th Earl of Pembroke. Their second son, Robert Sawyer Herbert, inherited Highclere, began its picture collection and created the garden temples. His nephew and heir Henry Herbert was created Baron Porchester and later Earl of Carnarvon by King George III.

19th century

View from the path
View from the grounds
Lawn stripes and topiary

The Georgian house was then a square, classical mansion, but it was remodelled and largely rebuilt for the third Earl following a design by Sir Charles Barry[3] in 1839–1842, after he had finished with the construction of the Palace of Westminster. It is in the 'Jacobethan' style and faced in Bath stone,[3] reflecting the Victorian revival of the architecture of the late 16th century and early 17th century, when Tudor architecture was being challenged by newly arrived Renaissance architecture influences.

During the 19th century there was a huge Renaissance Revival movement, of which Sir Charles Barry was a great exponent—Barry described the style of Highclere as Anglo-Italian.[6] Barry had been inspired to become an architect by the Renaissance architecture of Italy and was very proficient at working in the Renaissance-based style that became known in the 19th century as Italianate architecture. At Highclere, however, he worked in the Jacobethan style, but added to it some of the motifs of the Italianate style. This is particularly noticeable in the towers, which are slimmer and more refined than those of Mentmore Towers, the other great Jacobethan house built in the same era. Barry produced an alternative design in a more purely Italian Renaissance style, which was rejected by Lord Carnarvon.[7] The external walls are decorated with strapwork designs typical of Northern European Renaissance architecture. The Italian Renaissance theme is more evident in the interiors. In the saloon, in an attempt to resemble a mediæval English great hall, Barry's assistant Thomas Allom introduced a Gothic influence evident in the points rather than curves of the arches, and the mock-hammerbeam roof.[8]

Although the exterior of the north, east and south sides were completed before the 3rd Earl died in 1849 and Sir Charles Barry died in 1860, the interior and the west wing (designated as servants' quarters) were far from complete. The 4th Earl turned to the architect Thomas Allom, who had worked with Barry, to supervise work on the interior of the castle, which was completed in 1878.

The 1st Earl had his park laid out according to a design by Capability Brown in 1774–1777, moving the village in the process—the remains of the church of 1689 are at the south-west corner of the castle. The cedars of Lebanon are believed to be descended from seed brought to Britain from the Lebanon by the 17th century seed collector Edward Pococke.

20th century

The castle became home to Egyptian artifacts after the 5th Earl, an enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist, sponsored the excavation of nobles' tombs in Deir el-Bahari (Thebes) in 1907.[9] He later accompanied archaeologist Howard Carter during the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922.

In 1969, Henry Herbert, 7th Earl of Carnarvon, became racing manager to Elizabeth II.[10] The 7th Earl was "great friends" with the Queen; she was a "frequent visitor until his death in 2001".[11]

21st century

By 2009, the castle was in dire need of major repair, with only the ground and first floors remaining usable.[11] Water damage had caused stonework to crumble and ceilings to collapse; at least 50 rooms were uninhabitable.[11] The 8th Earl and his family were living in a "modest cottage in the grounds"; he said his ancestors were responsible for the castle's long term problems."[11] As of 2009, repairs needed for the entire estate were estimated to cost around £12 million, £1.8 million of which was urgently needed for just the castle.[11] As of late 2012, Lord and Lady Carnarvon have stated that a dramatic increase in the number of paying visitors has allowed them to begin major repairs on both Highclere's turrets and its interior. The family attributes this increase in interest to the on-site filming of Downton Abbey.[12] The family now live in Highclere during the winter months, but return to their cottage in the summer, when the castle is open to the public.

Details

There are various follies on the estate. To the east of the house is the Temple of Diana, erected before 1743 with Ionic order columns from Devonshire House in Piccadilly. "Heaven's Gate" is a folly about 60 feet high on Sidown Hill, built in 1749 by Hon. Robert Sawyer Herbert (d. 1769). Other 18th century follies that can be found on the grounds of the estate include Jackdaw's Castle and the Etruscan Temple.

Restored London Lodge, Highclere

London Lodge at Highclere was built in 1793 in brick, but in 1840 it was dressed in Code stone with wings added. It is a Grade II* listed building.[13]

The hybrid holly Ilex x altaclerensis (Highclere holly) was developed here in about 1835 by hybridising the Madeiran Ilex perado (grown in a greenhouse) with the local native Ilex aquifolium.

Use as location

  • 1982: It was seen as the home of a wealthy gentleman that Mr Fortescue visited seeking money in the 1982 film starring Michael Palin, The Missionary.
  • 1987: Shots from both the interior and exterior were used as the imposing Mistlethwaite Manor in the Hallmark Hall of Fame's 1987 version of The Secret Garden.[14]
  • 1990–1993: Totleigh Towers, in the TV version of Jeeves and Wooster, was represented by Highclere Castle.
  • 1991: The exterior appeared as Lord Graves's house in the film King Ralph.[15]
  • 1992: It was portrayed as the home of the 23rd Earl of Leete in Jim Broadbent and Mike Leigh's 1992 mock biopic A Sense of History.
  • 1999: The salon provided a main interior location for Stanley Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut.[16]
  • 2001: The exterior appeared as the Raichand mansion in the Bollywood blockbuster Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.
  • 2001: The interior and exterior were used as the imposing Mistlethwaite Manor in the movie Back to the Secret Garden.
  • 2002: The saloon appeared in the 2002 remake film The Four Feathers.[17]
  • 2004: Used in Agatha Christie's Marple as Rutherford Hall in the episode "4:50 From Paddington"
  • 2006: John Legend's 2006 music video for "Heaven Only Knows" features the castle.
  • 2007: Location for the Countryside Rocks concert to raise funds for the Countryside Alliance, featuring Bryan Ferry, Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Steve Harley and Kenney Jones.[18]
  • 2010–2015: It has been the main setting for the television period drama Downton Abbey, as a result of which The Tatler referred to the area around Highclere as "Downtonia".[19] The castle's great hall and several bedrooms are used for filming while the rest of the sets are built in a studio in London for ease of transporting filming equipment.

Outside links

 ("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Highclere Castle)

References

  1. ↑ Highclere Castle. "Highclere Castle". highclerecastle.co.uk. http://www.highclerecastle.co.uk/index.html. 
  2. ↑ Highclere Castle - British Listed Buildings
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Dickson, Elizabeth (January–February 1979). "Historic Houses: The Splendors of Highclere Castle". Architectural Digest. http://www.architecturaldigest.com/decor/2012-03/highclere-castle-downton-abbey-article. Retrieved 2 January 2013. 
  4. ↑ Highclere Castle. "Highclere Castle & Gardens". highclerecastle.co.uk. http://www.highclerecastle.co.uk/highclere-castle-gardens.html. 
  5. ↑ Philip Davis. "Highclere Bishops Palace". gatehouse-gazetteer.info. http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/English%20sites/3978.html. 
  6. ↑ Henry Russell Hitchcock (1958) Architecture: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (Pelican History of Art), London, Peguin Books, p.73
  7. ↑ Roger Dixon and Stefan Muthesius. Victorian Architecture. Thames and Hudson 1978, pp.39–40
  8. ↑ "Highclere Castle, Earl of Carnarvon, Egyptian antiquities, State Rooms". Highclerecastle.co.uk. http://www.highclerecastle.co.uk/about-us/the-state-rooms.html/. Retrieved 30 September 2012. 
  9. ↑ A letter from Gaston Maspero dated 14 October 1907, contained in the archives of Maspero in the library of the Institut de France says, "You have been kind enough to say to me that you could find a man who knows Egyptology to survey my works. Have you thought to anybody? I will leave the question of payment in your hands but I think I would prefer a compatriot" (Manuscripts 4009, folios 292–293). On 16 January 1909, Carter wrote to Maspero, "Just a word to tell you that Lord Carnarvon has accepted my conditions. He will be there (in Egypt) from 12 February to 20 March. I have to thank you again..." (Manuscripts 4009, folio 527) - from Elisabeth David.
  10. ↑ Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, p. 698
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Harris, Paul (5 August 2009). "Can Highclere Castle be saved? Historic home is verging on ruin as Lord Carnarvon reveals £12m repair bill". Daily Mail (London). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/property/article-1204285/Can-Highclere-Castle-saved-Historic-home-verging-ruin-Lord-Carnarvon-reveals-12m-repair-bill.html. Retrieved 18 February 2013. 
  12. ↑ Eccles, Louise (26 December 2012). "How TV's hit period drama saved the REAL Downton Abbey". Daily Mail (London). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2253200/How-ITVs-hit-saved-real-Downton-Abbey-Visitors-surge-funds-repairs-crumbling-stately-home.html. Retrieved 9 October 2015. 
  13. ↑ London Lodge, Highclere - British Listed Buildings
  14. ↑ Williams, George (29 November 1987). "Filming 'Secret Garden' was a nightmare". McClatchy News Service. .
  15. ↑ King Ralph UK filming locations.
  16. ↑ Mcdermott, Kerry (30 March 2013). "How Stanley Kubrick transformed genteel Highclere mansion into Hollywood hothouse because of his fear of flying". Daily Mail (London). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2301064/How-Stanley-Kubrick-transformed-genteel-Highclere-mansion-Hollywood-hothouse-fear-flying.html. Retrieved 1 April 2013. .
  17. ↑ The Four Feathers UK filming locations.
  18. ↑ Cheal, David (22 May 2007). "Rock's aristocrats show their class". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/3665294/Rocks-aristocrats-show-their-class.html. Retrieved 15 August 2015. 
  19. ↑ The Tatler, January 2011.
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