Castle Howard

Even though the word castle is in the post title, this building is not actually a castle

Castle Howard, Henderskelfe, North Yorkshire, England

Despite its name, Castle Howard was built as a grand 18th-century English Baroque country home, not a true medieval fortress or castle. But, it was built on the site of the older and ruined Henderskelfe Castle, a medieval fortress that came into the Howard family line in 1577 through marriage.

A castle isn't a castle when it's built for status, comfort, or show, not military defense. Many 18th to 20th-century stately houses were built with crenellations (notched walls), towers, or battlements to look medieval, without any real military capability.

Full scale model of Castle Howard

Castle Howard is located in Henderskelfe, North Yorkshire, 15 miles north of York. It's been the home of the Carlisle branch of the Howard family for more than 300 years passed down through generations and has always been a private residence recognized for its dramatic Baroque architecture, richly layered interiors and world-class art collections. 

Baroque is a dramatic and highly ornate style of Western art, architecture, and music that flourished from the early 1600s until the 1750s. Originating in Rome, the style was heavily promoted by the Catholic Church to inspire awe and emotional devotion. European monarchs used its grand scale to showcase their power. 

Charles Howard

Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle had it built as a status symbol. He wanted a magnificent palace-like estate to assert his family's prominence and prestige in the British aristocracy and to showcase the wealth, power and political ambition of the Howard family. Construction began in 1699 and took over 100 years to complete and spanned the lifetimes of three Earls. 

John Vanbrugh

As a member of London's fashionable Kit-Cat Club, a prominent early 18th-century English dining and political club in London, Howard commissioned his friend, and fellow club member, playwright John Vanbrugh, an amateur architect.

Vanbrugh, who had never built anything before, recruited English architect Nicholas Hawksmoor, a leading supporter of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-17th and early 18th centuries to assist in construction. It began in 1699, but took over 100 years to complete and spanned the lifetimes of three Earls. The central block and dome were done by 1706. The central block and dome were finished by 1706. The exterior was largely finished by 1725 before the deaths of the architect and the 3rd Earl.

Vanbrugh and Hawksmoor created a Baroque masterpiece that included England's first-ever masonry dome on a country house (destroyed in a 1940 fire and later reconstructed). Work began in 1699 and spanned over a century until 1811. Later additions, like the Palladian West Wing, were designed by Sir Thomas Robinson.

The dome gave the exterior a unique silhouette. On the interior the dome’s height added to the openness of the Great Hall with columns, carvings, frescoes and connecting spaces. Exterior facades contained coats of arms and statuary. 

The 3rd Earl also commissioned a vast landscape featuring monuments, lakes and formal gardens in the surrounding Yorkshire countryside.

The mansion spans thousands of square feet with 145 rooms. The entire estate spans nearly 9,000 acres and features over 200 listed structures, formal gardens and lakes covering over 1,000 acres in addition to a separate 120-acre tree arboretum. 

Built from east to west, the house took shape in under 10 years. By 1725, when an engraving of the house appeared in The British Architect, most of the exterior structure was complete and its interiors opulently finished.

When Vanbrugh died in 1726 the house was incomplete; it lacked a west wing as attention was focused on landscaping the gardens.

The long gallery at castle Howard

It was unfinished when the 3rd Earl died in 1738. The house was completed by Carlisle’s son-in-law Sir Thomas Robinson in 1801-11 with the addition of the long gallery. 

The final appearance of the house bears only a partial resemblance to the idealized view. Instead of two identical wings the house has two wings that don't match for an asymmetrical appearance.

1940s fire at castle Howard collapsed the dome

In November 1940, a major blaze erupted at Castle Howard during WW II while the house was being used as  girl's school. Fanned by strong winds, the fire destroyed 20 rooms in the basement and upper levels and gutted the dome, which collapsed into the Great Hall as the largest architectural loss. Nearly a third of the building was left open and exposed parts of the building received a temporary roof and new windows.

Through the efforts of George Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle and his daughter, Lady Cecilia, the restoration of Castle Howard was completed to restore it as a family home and major heritage attraction. 

The iconic 70-foot-high dome was completely renovated after 20 years. The dome is Castle Howard’s defining architectural element. 

From 1960 to 1962 the dome was rebuilt and redecorated. Once again it remans the most striking features of the house.

In 1981, the Garden Hall was rebuilt in conjunction with the filming of Brideshead Revisited. Restoration work and maintenance is ongoing throughout the estate, ranging from masonry and roofing projects, the gardens, lakes and waterways, to smaller objects like statues, paintings, books and textiles.

Castle Howard is owned by the family company Castle Howard Estate Limited. It's  managed and lived in by the Hon. Nicholas Howard (great-grandson of the 9th Earl of Carlisle) and his wife, Victoria. The total market value of Castle Howard is not publicly documented. 

Nicholas and Victoria Howard

The Howard family fortune, anchored by the estate and its world-class art collection, is estimated to be at least 100 million U.S. dollars. 

Castle Howard may look somewhat familiar as it's been used as a filming location in films and TV shows. The Netflix series, Bridgerton (2020) used the house and grounds as Clyvedon Castle, the country home of the Duke of Hastings. Both the iconic 1981 TV series and 2008 feature film of Brideshead Revisited used Castle Howard as the Marchmain family home, Brideshead. The 2013 BBC mystery, Death Comes to Pemberly, used interior and exterior locations. The 2015 TV series, Victoria, used the house as a stand-in for Kensington Palace.

The house is open for tours from spring to autumn and decorated each winter for Christmas. It attracts over 250,000 visitors a year. 

Another post this week will be about an actual castle we visited on this tour.