Castle Howard

Yorkshire, England - Castle Howard

Another sunny morning, this one a little frosty. I walked down the road to the trail to Kilburn, and back with a coffee.

note - you can enlarge any part of a picture by left-clicking in and then out again.

nearby trail to Kilburn

walking/bridle path on the left

Castle Howard was a 40 minute drive on back roads from Kilburn Park. Our interior tour was limited by the presence of an ITV crew filming the (Queen) Victoria series.

From the official brochure: "Charles Howard, 3rd Duke of Carlisle, asked the playwright John Vanbrugh to build him a new house in 1699. The astonishing collaboration that followed produced one of England's grandest stately homes. Renowned for its architecture, rich (art) collections and sublime landscaping, Castle Howard is still a home for the Howard family".

The garden -

	Morris Minor		the walled garden		roses		allium (onion)
		red hydrangea		white fuchsia			tuberose

Castle Howard - There were informative Docents throughout the Castle, with whom we enjoyed conversing.

Castle Howard		Atlas Fountain		Grand Staircase (entrance)		Meissen
	see note 1		antique statuary, note 2
The Great Hall, 70 ft. high		in the Baroque style, meant to impress		Atlas fountain from 2nd level		fire damage left as is
	started by a single candle				Crimson Room
		see note 3		The Long Gallery
	Arts & Crafts Chapel		William Morris and the Arts & Crafts movement		The Annunciation
The Nativity		youthful angels looking on

note 1 - This is most likely a sculpture of George Howard, 9th Earl, who in the 1880s became an accomplished painter in the Italian style. He was also the last Earl of Carlisle to live at Castle Howard.

note 2 - These are original busts of Roman persons, taken from excavations & restored. They were purchased by the 4th Earl on an Italian visit in 1738-9.

note 3 - This is a Crown Derby dessert service, made around 1800, decorated with botanical plants and flowers drawn from William Curtis' Botanical Magazine.

Castle grounds & garden again -

		duck ponds	Mausoleum in the distance
	Beech tree			on the way out of the walled garden
a fragrant heritage English Rose

Castle Howards is 15 miles from York, in a one o'clock direction.

All info is from displays or from the official Castle Howard brochure.

go to next page - week one, part five - York Minster

return to Yorkshire trip index

return to mdimage site index

2021 postscript - Over time, Castle Howard morphed from being a residence to an art museum. There is a huge collection of paintings & sculptures as well as China, wallpapers, dishes, & chandeliers on display here.

You can browse the entire Castle at your own pace, and, in each room, you'll find at least one Docent, and they all turn out to be full of info & ready to talk about the story, helping you connect historical dots.