If you have ever seen Downton Abbey, you might be familiar with Highclere castle,
but how much do you know about the real castle versus what you have seen on screen?
Hi everyone, ken here welcome to this house. Today we are exploring Highclere castle through historic
photos. Make sure to hit that subscribe button so you never miss an exciting episode of this house.
The grounds upon which Highclere castle sits today were originally gifted to the Church of Winchester
in the year 749 to be used as a deer park. As time went on, the bishops overseeing the park
would build a large house which would become known as Bishop’s Clere. During the English reformation,
in 1551, the estate was confiscated by King Edward the sixth. Over the next century, the estate would
have several more owners until Robert Sawyer, the Attorney General to Charles the second and James
the second purchased the estate in 1679 and passed it down through his heirs. At this time, Highclere
Castle looked vastly different from the castle we now know today. The façade fashioned in the
Georgian style boasted large columns supporting a triangular pediment with a raking cornice. It had
the appearance of a classic mansion, predominantly square in plan with a low pitched roof.
Between 1842 to 1849, the Third Earl commissioned Sir Charles Barry, the designer of the houses
of parliament, to rework the façade and much and much of the interior of Hichclere Castle.
Sir Charles Barry drew upon inspiration from Italian renaissance architecture
to create the eclectic façade with both elements of Jacobean and Italianate architectural elements
blending together to create a more imposing structure. The towers of Highclere Castle are
where we can find the most noticeable influence of the Italianate style as we can directly
compare them to the Jacobean towers of Mentmore Towers which was built around the same time.
The grounds contain several structures and garden temples as they are called. On the
property is also a maple tree that was planted in honor of the British North America Act of 1867
which was drafted at Highclere castle with the first prime minister of Canada, John A Macdonald.
The act was submitted to parliament and led to the formation of the modern day country of Canada.
The interior photos we are about to see were taken while the 5th earl of Carnarvon
lived at Highclere castle in the late 19th century.
The Drawing room, where guests would be entertained, was an eclectic mix of
Victorian era styling with rococo revival incluence. Hand stenciling wrapped around
the edge of the curving ceiling with a large crystal chandelier suspended from the center
of it. Damasque wallpaper was set behind painted portraits and complimented by antique furnishings.
The 300 room castle contained many ornate interiors with some of the purposes of the rooms
being lost to time. As we look at these pictures of the music room, we can see that not much has
changed over time with the space still maintaining the same decorative motifs and millwork.
It might seem hard to imagine that during world war 2, the castle’s rooms were cleared of most
of their furnishings to be replaced with beds to house the children being evacuated from war zones.
Perhaps some of the most iconic areas in the house would include the stair hall,
clad in stone and accented by ornate wood panels finishing out the undersides
of the stairs as they wrap around the walls ascending to the second floor.
The saloon, with skylights overhead, allowed light to penetrate the gothic
pointed arches set between layers of stone pillars, some painted in reds and blues to
match the furnishings decorating the space. Hand carved stone relief work was set in the friezes,
allowing the 2 floors to maintain visual separation while still appearing cohesive.
The dining room, doubling as an art gallery has been impeccably maintained and restored with wood
paneling below the chair rail and ornate wood beams intersecting to create a coffered ceiling
and a large fire place with a carved wood hearth.
With over 80 bedrooms, we have chosen this one to showcase
with period furniture set on carpeted floors and a Jacobean ceiling soaring overhead. This
is a fine example compared to several of the bedrooms that have not yet been restored.
Today, Highclere castle is open to the public for self guided tours
and continues to be used as a film set and part time residence.
Thank you all for watching. I really hope that you enjoyed this video.
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