I had booked our tickets for the house and gardens online while still in Germany, and visiting the house required to choose a time slot to regulate the number of people roaming the place. Ours began at 11:00, and we arrived a few minutes after that time at the ticket office and proceeded straight to the house.
There is currently an exhibition to celebrate 300 years of Vanbrugh, who designed the house. We found that very interesting, and a large model of the house and grounds showed the extent of the estate and how carefully it had all been planned and carried out. Vanbrugh lead a very adventurous life and comes across as a fascinating man, loyal and generous friend, kind family man and very talented writer and designer. My sister promptly ordered a book about him, which I am certainly going to borrow from her eventually.
We remembered most of the rooms from our 2015 visit, but a few things had been restored or replaced since. Click here if you want to compare the photos from back then with the ones I took on Monday.
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| Sculpture of Roman goddess Minerva, made of black marble and amber-coloured onyx |
Lunch at the Fitzroy Café was next, and then we proceeded to the gardens - but just as 11 years ago, that will be another post.
Castle Toward was in Evelyn Waugh's eye when he wrote Brideshead Revisited.
ReplyDeleteI shall never go back, I said to myself.
A door had shut, the low door in the wall I had sought and found in Oxford ; open it now
and I should find no enchanted garden.
Kingsley Amis, a Tory like Waugh (like John Ruskin's father) said Waugh was
too kind to the aristocracy ; and too sentimental about Catholicism.
Brideshead was a lavish 1981 TV drama produced by Granada in Manchester.
Olivier, Gielgud, Claire Bloom, Diana Quick, Anthony Andrews, Jeremy Irons.
1979 : Diana Quick translating Wiltshire author Norman Rogers' Wiltshire dialect.
YouTube. Domino Publico.
The nation was fixated by Diana Quick's portrayal of Lady Julia Flyte.
Brideshead Revisited was on German TV in the early 1980s, and my sister and I loved it. Of course, when we visited in 2015, we knew that Castle Howard was the filming location, but it wasn‘t the reason for us wanting to go there. It did enhance the experience, though.
DeleteCastle Howard looks like such a fascinating place to revisit, especially after more than a decade. I like that you mentioned the changes between your first visit and this one because historic places often evolve quietly through restoration work. The Vanbrugh exhibition must have added another layer to the experience, as learning about the person behind a building can completely change how you view the architecture. I always enjoy visiting old estates where every room has a story waiting to be discovered. I recently shared a new blog post too and would love for you to stop by and have a read when you have a moment. www.melodyjacob.com
ReplyDeleteHello Melody, yes, it‘s a fascinating place and one I want to return to again - hopefully earlier than in another 11 years!
DeleteSome background knowledge is always good, especially when it is so well presemted as the Vanbrugh exhibition.
I‘ll pop over to your blog in a bit.
Castle Howard is a grand and imposing place. It is impossible to imagine living in such an overwhelming castle, but I suppose if you're born to it, you become accustomed to it - and the many servants needed to make life comfortable
ReplyDeleteThe family still live there, and you can tell. The house feels much like a home (albeit a grand one) and not really like a museum. Castle Howard is not a National Trust or English Heritage property, but managed by the family, as far as I know, and they are doing a good job in my opinion.
DeleteLovely, I AM enjoying your holiday!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteThat brought back rather sad memories. Paul and I often went to the garden centre there and Lucy the dog would inspect the dog shelf inside and pick something either to eat or play with. But we never went into the house, only to the cafe and the cafe at the plantation which was about half a mile away. So thank you for the photos.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your personal memory of Castle Howard, Thelma.
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