Site Visit to Castle Howard

Summary

Over five years in the planning, the 21st Century Renaissance Project, started on site on the 6th January 2025, following the deinstall of the Christmas installation.

With a late Easter in 2025, the opportunity to complete a huge programme of works was initiated. However, with multiple rooms to complete, sensitive heritage building works, M&E installation and complex restoration, thirteen weeks was still extremely tight, with the project relying on multiple contractors working around each other, in order to get things completed.

Castle Howard reopened to the public on the 18th of April, with a full media launch on the 24th, and the success of the project, the restoration work and the redesign of public spaces, have all been enthusiastically received.

CIOB have been given the fantastic opportunity to have a presentation from 21st Century Renaissance, a guided tour around the restoration project and the opportunity to ask the questions to those most closely associated with the project.

Suggested Donation for site visit for CIOB Members £5

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12.30PM - Arrival (Parking is available in the visitor’s car park, at the Main entrance to Castle Howard)

Instruction: Enter the Courtyard, on your left is the entrance to the Courtyard Café (see below for reference). You will be greeted on arrival and taken upstairs.

1PM - Light lunch and refreshments will be served

Please contact Maggie Simons to advise of any dietary requirements ASAP

1.30PM - Presentation by Rachael Baldwin-Gledhill – Project Manager 21st Century Renaissance – includes Q&A

2.15PM - Walk to the main house for a tour of the work done during the project

4PM - Depart

PPE REQUIREMENTS

AGENDA

There is no dresscode or PPE required for this visit however it is strongly advised that attendees dress comfortably with sensible shoes, as we will be walking quite a lot and there are stairs.

HISTORY OF THE HOUSE

With building work beginning in 1699, the construction of Castle Howard took over 100 years to complete, spanning the lifetimes of three Earls.

The 3rd Earl of Carlisle enlisted the help of his friend, dramatist John Vanbrugh. Vanbrugh, having never built anything before, recruited Nicholas Hawksmoor to assist him in the practical side of design and construction and between 1699 and 1702 the design evolved.

Built from east to west, the house took shape in just under ten years. By 1725, when an engraving of the house appeared in Vitruvius Britannicus (The British Architect), most of the exterior structure was complete and its interiors opulently finished.

However, at the time of Vanbrugh’s death in 1726 the house was incomplete; it lacked a west wing as attention had turned to landscaping the gardens. It was still incomplete when the 3rd Earl died in 1738. Little could both men have guessed that, when the house came to be completed by Carlisle’s son-in-law Sir Thomas Robinson, Vanbrugh’s flamboyant baroque design would be brought back down to earth by the 4th Earl’s conservative Palladian wing.

From the outside, the unbalanced appearance of the house provoked a mixed response, and many visitors noticed the disjointedness.

The construction of Castle Howard was finally completed in 1801-11 with the decoration of the Long Gallery by Tatham. Further alterations were to be made when the attic pavilions at either end of the West Wing were removed during the refurbishment of the Chapel between 1870-1875, as part of a plan to bring both wings into greater harmony.

Thus today the final appearance of the House bears only a partial resemblance to the idealised view in Vitruvius Britannicus (see illustration): instead of two identical wings the House boasts two wings that do not match: it has a spectacularly asymmetrical appearance as Vanbrugh’s Baroque vision is challenged by Palladian afterthought.

The Great Fire of 1940

On the morning of 9th November 1940, fire broke out at Castle Howard. The blaze began as a chimney fire in the south-east corner of the South Front, and swept westerly through the building.

Fanned by strong winds, the fire destroyed rooms in the basement, principal and upper levels, as well as the dome, which collapsed into the Great Hall.

That the damage was not more extensive was thanks to the fire service, who eventually brought the blaze under control, and to the girls of Queen Margaret’s School, Scarborough, who had been evacuated to Castle Howard and were able to salvage some of the contents.

Nearly a third of the building was left open to the skies and the biggest architectural loss was the dome. In time the debris was cleared and the structure made secure, and the exposed parts of the building received a temporary roof and new windows. It would be another twenty years before major restoration work began.

After the fire

The remarkable efforts of George Howard and Lady Cecilia achieved the restoration of Castle Howard, to restore it as a family home and major heritage attraction.

In 1960-62 the dome was rebuilt and redecorated, and in 1981, in conjunction with Granada Television and the filming of Brideshead Revisited, the Garden Hall was rebuilt.

As time and money permit, the gradual task of restoring the fire-damaged section continues, and in 1994-5 the Central Block was re-roofed. All over the Estate restoration work and essential maintenance are being carried out, ranging from large projects dealing with masonry, lead roofing, the gardens, and the lakes and waterways, to smaller but no less important objects such as lead statues, paintings, books and textiles.

TRAVEL INFORMATION

BY CAR

From the North - From the A1 take the A61 to Thirsk then the A170 to Helmsley. Before Helmsley turn right onto the B1257 and follow the brown signs. Please be aware this route includes Sutton Bank which is unsuitable for caravans. If you are towing, please continue down the A19 and follow the signs for the alternative route.

From the South - Take the A1M to Junction 44 and follow the A64 east to York. Continue on the A64 past York in the direction of Scarborough, and you will shortly pick up the brown signs for Castle Howard.

You can also take the scenic route, avoiding the A64 and taking in North Yorkshire countryside and villages.

BY BUS

York to Castle Howard: A direct bus service, Route 81 runs from York to Castle Howard.

BY TRAIN

Malton is the nearest train station to Castle Howard and York is the closest major train station. Both stations have buses running directly to Castle Howard and taxis are also available from both stations:

• Station Taxis Malton - Telephone: 01653 696969

• Station Taxis York - Telephone: 01904 623332

CONTACT

Maggie Simons (Yorkshire and Humber Member Services and Events Coordinator)

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 07425649830