Highclere Park, Newbury, Berkshire, RG20 9RN
Description
Highclere Castle is the film location for the hugely successful Downton Abbey, which has been nominated for four Golden Globes.
Highclere Castle is one of England's most beautiful Victorian Castles set amidst 1,000 acres of spectacular parkland. The Carnarvon family has lived at Highclere since 1679, and the current Castle stands on the site of an earlier house, which in turn was built on the foundations of the medieval palace owned by the Bishops of Winchester for some 800 years.
Early years
An Iron Age Hill Fort dominates the landscapes at Highclere and an early Anglo-Saxon charter suggests people have lived here for some 1300 years. A few maps and outlines remain from that time but records are better kept from Georgian times.
Georgian and Victorian Times
Major rebuilding works were carried out in the late 18th and early 19th centuries by the Carnarvon family and the old brick and freestone house was converted to a classical Georgian mansion within a pastoral setting. The major transformation, however, was just about to happen.
In 1838, the 3rd Earl of Carnarvon brought in Sir Charles Barry to transform his home into a grand mansion which would impress the world.
It was a time of energy and change. The young Queen Victoria had just come to the throne, and the whole decade witnessed innovation in politics and cultural life.
The new “Highclere Castle” dominated its surroundings in a most dramatic way. No wonder Benjamin Disraeli's first words on seeing Highclere were "How scenical! How scenical!".
The structural work on the interior of the Castle was finally completed in 1878. Once built, the Castle became a centre of political life during the late Victorian era.
The 20th Century
In many ways Highclere Castle epitomised the confidence and glamour of the Edwardian period in the first few years of the twentieth century. Visitor books record the house parties full of politicians, technological innovators, Egyptologists, aviators and soldiers.
During the First World War, Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon, transformed the Castle into a hospital, and patients began to arrive from Flanders in September 1914. She became an adept nurse and a skilled healer and hundreds of letters from patients and their families bear testament to her untiring work and spirit of generosity.
The Castle returned to a private home and in 1922 the 5th Earl of Carnarvon and Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, the first global world media event.
Following the death of the 5th Earl, his son, who then became the 6th Earl, returned to Highclere where he lived until 1986. During the Second World War, the Castle briefly became a home for evacuee children from north London.
The current (8th) Earl and Countess of Carnarvon live
partly in the Castle and partly nearby but remain closely involved in
the Castle's day to day life and future.
Opening Times
Please contact Highclere Castle for the latest opening times.
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