STATELY SPLENDOUR
Highclere Castle, Berkshire
With the new Downton Abbey movie finally due to hit our screens in September, there’s never been a better time for a visit to ‘the Real Downton’, Highclere Castle. Not that we need an excuse: this beautiful ancestral home is one of Britain’s finest. It has been the family seat of the Earls of Carnarvon since 1679, though its history stretches back centuries further.
In 749 an Anglo-Saxon King granted the estate to the Bishops of Winchester, who built a stately medieval palace on the parkland here. Various rebuildings and developments later (including the landscaping of the grounds by Capability Brown), in 1842 it was transformed by Sir Charles Barry, architect of the Houses of Parliament, into the Italianate gem you can admire today.
The twists and turns in the history of the house and its occupants could rival a Downton Abbey plotline. In one dramatic episode, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon discovered Tutankhamen’s Tomb with his friend and associate Howard Carter. His death soon afterwards led to the story of the ‘Curse of Tutankhamen’, though an infected mosquito bite is the likelier cause. Some of the Earl’s discoveries can be seen in the Antiquities Room.
You can also wander the State Rooms for a glimpse of life above stairs. Highlights include the Saloon with its gilt leather wall hangings; the Drawing Room, decorated in watery green silk, and the sunny Music Room, hung with 16th-century Italian embroideries.
Don’t miss Art and architecture week, May 12-18 www.highclerecastle.co.uk
