I have been trying to visit the house for quite a while now and certainly since it has undergone a big renovation project completed earlier this year.  Looking through my diary the last time I visited the house was December 2024 for ‘Alices Christmas Wonderland’ and since then considerable work has been carried out inside the house on restoring and renovating much of the interior to its original 18th century splendour. Castle Howard is one of this country’s most famous and recognisable stately homes, it has been the family home of the Howard family for nine generations spanning the last three hundred years. The house, is easily recognised in part due to it being used as the location for the filming of the period drama ‘Brideshead Revisited’ and latterly ‘Bridgerton.’ 

Like any major restoration work, planning for ‘Castle Howard’s 21st-Century Renaissance’ began back in 2019, and has involved numerous designers, advisors, and craftspeople including a dedicated team at Castle Howard. It was the devastating fire in 1940 which destroyed the dome and more than 20 rooms in the house whilst it was being used as a girls’ school during the Second World War. Upon his return from war, George Howard made the decision to keep the house and estate in family ownership so he embarked on the restoration of the house, which opened to the public for the first time in 1952. He restored the dome in 1962, and the filming of Brideshead Revisited two decades later enabled the reconstruction of the Garden Hall and New Library.

I always enjoy a tour of the house and although I visit the grounds with my dogs Meg and Gracie on a regular basis, I do not get the opportunity to have a look around the interior of this fine house as much as I would like, so I was very much looking forward to my visit today.

I arrived just after 10.00am on a dry, bright, and sunny morning the sky was a lovely lilac blue colour with huge white fluffy clouds, the occasional aircraft trail leaving its mark high above. After popping in to the courtyard café for a coffee I headed over the cobbled stones to the booking office. After exchanging pleasantries with the reception staff, I made my way over to the walled garden, the gardeners were busily going about their business keeping the gardens clean and tidy. The borders were still full and colourful, as was the vegetable garden, some lovely looking Cynara caught my eye. The main flower beds were full of colour too, with whites and lilacs being the dominant colours. Large beds of Sea Holly swayed gently in the morning breeze, and bright red hips of the Dogrose looking bright and vibrant. I left the garden through the wrought iron gate and followed the gravelled road through the Lime Terrace towards the house, glancing through the trees the Atlas Fountain was bathed in the morning sunlight, the fountain has been turned off for the time being due to the current water shortage in North Yorkshire. 

Passing through the house entrance the Grand Staircase constructed in the 1870’s is the start of the tour, the first thing I noticed was the large family portraits which hung high on the walls have been moved and replaced with antique sculptures and artifacts which had been collected by the 4th and 5th Earls whilst on their respective grand tours of Europe and beyond. The ‘China landing’ at the top of the stairs contains a huge Victorian cabinet which houses over 300 pieces of antique China by Meissen (Germany), Sevre (French) and Chelsea (English). Turning the corner and along the corridor I arrive at Lady Georgiana’s bedroom, which was full of 19th century portraits of the Howard family, I always like this room as it is quite sumptuous and cosy. The furniture dates from the second half of the 18th Century. Next door is Lady Georgiana’s dressing room, and has seen significant change over the past few years with the introduction of a bath, though one of the biggest changes as part of the ‘21st-Century Renaissance’ has been the introduction of the linen wall coverings, featuring hand-painted ‘Abbotsford’ Chinese-style wallpaper by de Gournay and Colefax and Fowler fabrics, reflecting 18th-century Chinoiserie style, which gives the room a much warmer feel. Next door is the Castle Howard Dressing Room with its ‘new’ roll topped bath, leading into the main Castle Howard Bedroom which has been redecorated with gathered gold taffeta silk from Italy. The stunning 18th-century Linnell furniture is displayed together and the state bed rehung with red silk damask curtains from Lelievre, the oldest silk factory in France. The changes in this room are stunning and sumptuous. After reluctantly leaving, I headed through the door and turned left onto the Antique Passage, lined with impressive busts, lifelike statues, marble table tops, and artifacts collected by the 4th Earl during his second visit to Italy in 1738 – 39. This passage leads into the Great Hall. I always stop here for a few minutes just to take in the scale and ambiance of the space. The dome rises seventy foot in to the air and it was hard to believe it was destroyed in the fire of 1940, following its reconstruction in 1960 – 61 the Canadian artist Scott Medd was commissioned to recreated the damaged scenes. Walking through the hall and up the stairs to the High South and the High Saloon which today is primarily a display area but it was here during the 1850’s were Queen Victoria and Prince Albert stayed and used the suite of rooms for their personal quarters. Sadly, the whole area was badly damaged during the 1940’s fire and it was not until 2007 when it was partially restored into a set for the filming of Brideshead. Continuing down the stone staircase and into the Garden Hall, another room destroyed in the fire, you cannot but notice the tiled floor made from Portland stone and Welsh marble to match that of the Great Hall. Today the area is often used as an exhibition space. Leaving the Garden Hall behind me I walked through the next room to be fully restored, the Tapestry Drawing Room which was gutted by the fire and has remained a shell ever since. Today the room has been fully restored and redecorated to as it would have been before the fire, with the tapestries that originally hung in the room returned to their original positions for the first time since the beginning of the 18th century. The four tapestries were woven for the room in 1706 by John Vanderbank and depict ‘The Four Seasons’ in scenes taken from the work of David Teniers the 17th century Baroque painter. One of the other most striking features in the room is the ornate plaster work where the wall joins the ceiling, which consists of three-layered parts - a cornice, a frieze, and an architrave and has been based on an Ionic entablature designed by the 16th century Italian Renaissance architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, who was a strong influence on Vanbrugh’s work.  The amount of work and craftsmanship which has gone into restoring and refurbishing this room is incredible and a fine lasting tribute to the skilled craftsmen and women who have restored the room to its former self. 

Reluctantly leaving the Tapestry Drawing Room I passed the Music Room, the Grimson Dining Room, the Turquoise Drawing Room and entered the Museum Room, which was full of huge wall mounted family portraits including that of Charles Howard who died in 1685 (and buried in York Minster) and Henry the 4th Earl of Carlisle who was responsible for many of the antique sculptures around the house, who died in 1758, I should have noted the other family portraits in the room but didn’t unfortunately, but a good excuse for another visit.  Leaving the Museum room I entered the Long Gallery South; this is another area of the house which has been transformed as part of the ‘21st Century Renaissance project’ and has once more become a great showcase of Castle Howard’s art collection. Displayed on the walls are Italian and Grand Tour paintings, including works by the 18th century Italian Baroque painter Giovanni Paoio Panini entitled The Roman Capriccio, commissioned by the 4th Earl, counterbalanced with eighteenth-century views of Castle Howard. Portraits of previous generations of the Howard family, including works by Godfrey Kneller the 16c German born British painter, Peter Lely the 17c Dutch painter and John Hoppner the 18c British painter, are displayed throughout the gallery. The Long Gallery stretches for 160 feet and punctuated part way along its length by the Octagon. The bookcases which line the walls were installed in 1827. Many of the books contained within are from the 3rd Earls library, first recorded in a catalogue some 300 years ago. The Long Gallery North is a continuation of that of the South, with lots of portraits of family members as well as oversea landscapes. At the end of the long gallery, I headed down the stone stairwell popping in to the Chapel for several minutes of quiet reflection and just to admire the room and all its features, the altar, the pillars, the paintings, the stain glass etc, before continuing down the stairs into the lovely gift shop and the end of my tour of the house. 

Heading outside, the Calydonian Boar was sat peacefully on its plinth on the lawn, bathed in the morning sunshine. It is just a pleasant five-minute walk along the gravelled road, passing the Walled Garden on my left before I arrived back at the Courtyard, were I enjoyed a very pleasant brunch sat outside in the sunshine and ambiance of the Courtyard Restaurant.