Visit Reports
Highclere Castle Visit – 5th July 2012
Highclere Castle, the home of the 8th Earl and Countess of Carnarvon and location for the successful Downton Abbey series, has become such a
sought after visitor attraction that we had booked our visit 15 months previously. The sun shone and the journey took just one and a half hours.
Following a welcome and orientation at Highclere, we were free to disperse to enjoy an unstructured day.
For most a good cup of coffee was the first priority and it was remarkable to take it to the garden tables in front of the imposing Castle façade.
It had been transformed from a Georgian house during the first half of Queen Victoria’s reign and you can’t help but be reminded of the Houses
of Parliament because, of course, Sir Charles Barry designed them both.
The gothic interior of Highclere was designed to impress with a succession of state rooms on the ground floor, beginning with the columned mahogany
double Library. One of the delightful aspects of this inhabited great house is the quantity of family photographs displayed in the midst of
spectacular works of art. In the Library, a room frequently used for filming in Downton Abbey, there is a photograph on the elegant George 111
desk, of the actor Hugh Bonneville in his role of Lord Grantham. It was amusing to hear the room wardens patiently explaining to the many American
tourists that he wasn’t actually any of the Earls of Carnarvon. Apparently Downton Abbey has a huge following in the USA.
We continued to the breathtaking Music Room with gold embroidered silk wall coverings from Italy, and the interesting writing desk with lions’ paws
feet, that once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte.
The Drawing Room, Smoking Room, Morning Room and Dining Room each had very different decorative styles but all had beautiful fireplaces, furniture,
objets d’art and paintings, including some brought back from the ”Grand Tour” and many family portraits. Especially striking was a Joshua
Reynolds portrait of George and Francis Villiers when children and the Van Dycks in the Dining Room.
The Saloon is the heart of the house with its rare gilt, leather embossed wall hangings, carved stone fireplace and heraldic shields. This is
where weddings take place, should your pockets be deep enough to hire Highclere for your special day! In fact one of our committee members
will be going to a wedding there in 2013.
Magnificent staircases lead to a gallery above the Saloon off which the main bedrooms, with views over the lovely parkland, are found.
The extra dimension to a visit to Highclere is the new Egyptian Exhibition in the cellars. This tells the story of the adventurous 5th
Earl of Carnarvon, who had a passion for motor racing in the early 1900s; he went to Egypt for his health, becoming deeply interested in
Egyptian history and art. He was introduced to the archaeologist, Howard Carter, and began to finance their joint excavations. Many of these
rare and beautiful finds are now on display at Highclere. By 1920, following WW1, Lord Carnarvon was running out of funds and agreed to just
one final excavation in the Valley of the Kings. In late 1922, Carter excavated a magnificent tomb with its seals intact and when they knocked
through, they saw the gold chariots, statues and furniture in the antechamber of Tutankhamun’s tomb. This moment is captured in the Exhibition
with viewing holes in a wall through which you see the recreation of the golden treasures that met their eyes. The originals are all in Cairo
but the many replicas on display are impressive.
Sadly, Lord Carnarvon died within a few weeks from septicaemia, after cutting a mosquito bite whilst shaving.
Finally there was just time to explore and photograph the folly known as Jackdaws Castle; the Monks’ Garden with its brick arches and
lavender avenue; the White Border and winding flower borders in the Secret Garden, which isn’t so secret because there is an ancient
wooden sign pointing the way. Most found time for further excellent refreshments and a visit to the shop before the end of a great day.
Carole Sugden July 2012
(Photographs by Richard Burn and Carole Sugden.)