Amazing that anyone shold live in such a large house, there are 145 rooms. The building of Castle Howard began in 1699 and took over 100 years to complete. The site was that of the ruined Henderskelfe Castle, which had come into the Howard family in 1566 through the marriage of Thomas, 4th Duke of Norfolk to Elizabeth Leyburne widow of Thomas, 4th Baron Dacre. The 3rd Earl of Carlisle first spoke to William Talman, a leading architect, but commissioned Vanbrugh, a fellow member of the Kit-Cat Club (The Kit-Cat Club was an early 18th-century English club in London with strong political and literary associations, committed to the furtherance of Whig objectives, meeting at the Trumpet tavern in London), to design the building. Castle Howard was that gentleman-dilettante's first foray into architecture, but he was assisted by Nicholas Hawksmoor. Vanbrugh's design evolved into a Baroque structure with two symmetrical wings projecting to either side of a north-south axis. The crowning central dome was added to the design at a late stage, after building had begun. Construction began at the east end, with the East Wing constructed from 1701–03, the east end of the Garden Front from 1701–06, the Central Block (including dome) from 1703–06, and the west end of the Garden Front from 1707–09. All are exuberantly decorated in Baroque style, with coronets, cherubs, urns and cyphers, with Roman Doric pilasters on the north front and Corinthian on the South. Many interiors were decorated by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini.
The Earl then turned his energies to the surrounding garden and grounds. Although the complete design is shown in the third volume of Colen Campbell's Vitruvius Britannicus, published in 1725, the West Wing was not started when Vanbrugh died in 1726, despite his remonstration with the Earl. The house remained incomplete on the death of the 3rd Earl in 1738, but construction finally started at the direction of the 4th Earl. However, Vanbrugh's design was not completed: the West Wing was built in a contrasting Palladian style to a design by the 3rd Earl's son-in-law, Sir Thomas Robinson.
The new wing remained incomplete, with no first floor or roof, at the death of the 4th Earl in 1758; although a roof had been added, the interior remained undecorated by the death of Robinson in 1777. Rooms were completed stage by stage over the following decades, but the whole was not complete until 1811 under Charles Heathcote Tatham.
A large part of the house was destroyed by a fire which broke out on 9 November 1940. The dome, the central hall, the dining room and the state rooms on the east side were entirely destroyed. Antonio Pellegrini's ceiling decoration, the Fall of Phaeton, was lost when the dome collapsed. In total, twenty pictures (including two Tintorettos) and several valuable mirrors were lost. The fire took the Malton and York Fire Brigades eight hours to bring under control.
Some of the devastated rooms have been restored over the following decades. In 1960–61 the dome was rebuilt, and in the following couple of years Pellegrini's Fall of Phaeton was recreated on the underside of the dome. Some first floor rooms were superficially restored for the 2008 filming, and now house an exhibition.
The South East Wing remains a shell, although it has been restored externally. Castle Howard is one of the largest country houses in England, with a total of 145 rooms. In 2009 an underwater ground-source heat recovery system was installed under the castle's lake that halved the heating bill.
Castle Howard has extensive and diverse gardens. There is a large formal garden immediately behind the house. The house is prominently situated on a ridge and this was exploited to create an English landscape park, which opens out from the formal garden and merges with the park.
Two major garden buildings are set into this landscape: the Temple of the Four Winds at the end of the garden, and the Mausoleum in the park. There is also a lake on either side of the house. There is a woodland garden, Ray Wood, and the walled garden contains decorative rose and flower gardens. Further buildings outside the preserved gardens include Hawksmoor's Pyramid, restored in 2015, an obelisk, and several follies and eyecatchers in the form of fortifications which have been restored in recent years.
In nearby Pretty Wood there are two more monuments, The Four Faces and a smaller pyramid by Hawksmoor. The grounds of Castle Howard are also used as part of at least two charity running races during the year. Additionally a free, weekly, 5 km parkrun takes place every Saturday morning at 9 am in the gardens. This is jointly hosted by the local community and members of staff at Castle Howard.
Located on the estate, but operating separately from the house and gardens and run by an entirely independent charitable trust, is the 127 acres (51 ha) Yorkshire Arboretum. Originally created through the enthusiasm and partnership of George Howard (Lord Howard of Henderskelfe) and James Russell, over a period of eighteen years, from 1975 to 1992, it was opened to the public for the first time in 1999 and a new Visitor Centre opened in 2006. The arboretum's extensive and important collection of 6,000 trees and plants from across the world is set in a beautiful landscape of parkland, lakes and ponds. The charitable trust that runs the Yorkshire Arboretum also manages Ray Wood
In addition to its most famous appearances in film as Brideshead in both the 1981 television serial and 2008 film adaptations of Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited, Castle Howard has been used as a backdrop for a number of other cinematic and television settings.
In recent years, the castle has featured in the 1995 film The Buccaneers. It was notable in Peter Ustinov's 1965 film Lady L and as the exterior set for Lady Lyndon's estate in Stanley Kubrick's 1975 film Barry Lyndon. It has even featured as the Kremlin, in Galton and Simpson's 1966 film The Spy with a Cold Nose. Rooms (Great Hall Entrance, Turquoise Drawing Room) were used for indoor scenes in Death Comes to Pemberley (TV series 2013).
The castle and its grounds were used as the setting for the Bollywood film Shaandar and the 2006 film Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties. The castle and mausoleum were used as the setting for the 2018 Arctic Monkeys video Four Out of Five. In 2003 a Time Team episode tried to discover traces of the old settlement of Henderskelf that had been demolished to make way for the castle.
** – Facilities – **
A paved route in the Stable Courtyard provides access to the cafés, shops, toilets & Ticket Office. A mixture of cut grass and gravel paths in the grounds make them fully accessible. Unfortunately Ray Wood is not suitable for wheelchair users or those with restricted mobility due to uneven terrain. There is a stairlift in the house which takes visitors to the main floor and the majority of the rooms. The lift can be used by wheelchair users or those with limited mobility, and can take small electric scooters. They regret that access to the High South, Chapel and the first floor of the Exhibition Wing is restricted. Information on these areas is available to view in folder from within the house. Assistance dogs are welcome in the house, grounds, shops and cafés. There are adapted toilets in the Stable Courtyard, in the house and at the Boathouse Café. They offer free transport from the Ticket Office to the house and Boathouse Café & Adventure Playground. The Kelly Car can accommodate wheelchairs and the driver will assist visitors getting on and off the vehicle.
Location : Castle Howard, York YO60 7DA
Transport: Malton (Trans-Pennine Express) then taxi. OR. York (National Rail) then bus. Bus routes 180 and 181 travel from York to Castle Howard.
Opening Times - House & Gardens: Daily 10:00 to 16:00.
Tickets - House & Gardens: Adults £19.95. Concessions £19.00. Children (4 - 16) £11.45.
Tickets - Gardens Only: Adults £12.95. Concessions £12.00. Children (4 - 16) £8.50.
Tel: 01653 648333
