We have been blessed with some fantastic weather, really a North American style Indian summer if that is what it is called in the UK. We decided to take advantage of both the weather and discount coupons we had for The Treasure Houses of England and headed off to Yorkshire and Castle Howard. The motorway or highway traffic was very busy and the the weather as we were passing by Leeds did not look promising as it was overcast and foggy. However, once we were past Leeds the sun was shining and the skies were blue again. The picture above right is the middle section of the house from the front, a northern view. Castle Howard is not a true castle; castle is a term used for English country houses erected on the site of a former military castle. Castle Howard was built on the site of the ruined Henderskelfe Castle, which came into the Howard family in 1566 through marriage.
The building of Castle Howard began in 1699 and took over 100 years to complete to a design by Sir John Vanbrugh for the 3rd Earl of Carlisle. Vanbrugh's design evolved into a Baroque structure with two symmetrical wings. The East Wing was built between 1701-03, the the centre structure and dome between 1703-6, then the west end of the Garden Front between 1707-09. The interior was heavily decorated in the baroque style with cherubs, coronets and urns with many of the interiors painted by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini.
The Earl then turned his attention to the outside and gardens. The West Wing had not been started when Vanbrugh died in 1726, and the house remained incomplete when the 3rd Earl died in 1738. The 4th Earl started construction again but now in the Palladian style. The new wing was once again incomplete on the death of the 4th Earl in 1758. Rooms from this point were completed stage by stage over the decades and the house was not completed until 1811. Tragedy struck in November 9, 1940 when fire broke out and destroyed the centre hall, dome, state rooms and dining room on the east side. It took two fire brigades 8 hours to bring the fire under control. The picture above left is of the reconstructed dome, completed between 1960-1961. A Canadian painter by the name of Mead, who studied the works of Pellegrini was commissioned to paint the new ceiling of the dome. Mead had also done refurbishment work on Pellegrini's paintings in the Vatican.
We wandered through the home taking many pictures and had a lovely chat with one of the room stewards. It was from him that we learnt of the Canadian artist who worked on the painting of the dome's ceiling, as well as a number of other tidbits about the house and its past occupants. Some of the rooms seemed very cluttered to me while others were decorated in a manner that you would expect from a stately home. The picture below right is a small port-a-potty in what appears to be a nursery of sorts as it had a cradle.
The last stop on our exploring of the house was the chapel. It was absolutely breathtaking. The stained glass windows were unique in that they opened on a angle allowing fresh air in. The picture on the left is of the chapel but more pictures can be seen on my Facebook wall and Fred's flickr site (www.flickr.com/photos/fredparkins).
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The home has also been used for a number of films, the most notable being Brideshead (1981) and Brideshead Revisited (2008). The film companies have contributed to the restoration and reconstruction in sections of the house that is still ongoing today.
We enjoyed a lunch break sitting outside in the warm sunshine on the south lawn sharing a beef sandwich, crisps or chips to my North American friends, and a scone. Tummies full we now explored the gardens, spending a good hour walking and taking photos before heading back home. The last photo is a monument to the 7th Earl of Carlisle.
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The drive back was super busy. We stuck to the main motorway and it reminded us of our days when we had to drive across Toronto during rush hour. Crazy.
Ta Ra,
Sandy & Fred