If you’ve ever dreamed of stepping into the world of Bridgerton, now’s your chance: Castle Howard is finally open for tours after a sweeping restoration. For the first time in nearly a century, visitors can wander through the lavish rooms and grand halls, now meticulously restored to their former glory.
Set within 8,800 acres of rolling Yorkshire countryside, Castle Howard is one of England’s most iconic stately homes. A stunning blend of Baroque drama and Palladian elegance, its iconic dome, a later addition by Nicholas Hawksmoor, crowns the central hall and creates a striking silhouette against the Yorkshire landscape. Inside, the estate dazzles with richly decorated ceilings, elaborate plasterwork, and grand enfilades of gilded state rooms.
A 1898 drawing of Castle Howard in North Yorkshire.
You might recognize it. Castle Howard came to be seen as the quintessential English estate following its role in the 1981 adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s novel Brideshead Revisited. It also appeared in other period dramas like Lady L, The Buccaneers, Death Comes to Pemberley, and more recently, doubling as the Duke of Hastings’ Clyvedon Castle in Bridgerton.
The opulent estate in North Yorkshire was built in the early 18th-century for the earls of Carlisle by dramatist-turned-architect John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. Construction began in 1699 and spanned over 100 years, resulting in a unique fusion of architectural styles as successive generations added their own touches. Castle Howard has since been home to nine generations of the Howard family and has weathered wars, changing fortunes, and fires.
David Niven filming Lady L at Castle Howard, North Yorkshire in March 1965.
Upkeep of the grand house has proven challenging. Castle Howard caught on fire in 1940, while it was being used as a girls’ school during the second World War. The flames destroyed the house’s iconic dome, and gutted more than 20 rooms, including the tapestry drawing room, which has stood as an empty shell for more than 80 years.
The Howards have been slowly repairing the damage over the years: when filming Brideshead Revisited, the garden hall and library were reconstructed; and in 1960, then-owner George Howard and his wife, Cecilia, restored the dome. Its recent stewards, however, have embarked on a more extensive project to restore most of the house. They brought on architect Francis Terry, a well-known practitioner of new classical architecture, and period specialists in plasterwork, joinery, and carving to restore the grand structure back to its former glory.
The stately home reopened its doors today to the public, marking the first time in 85 years that some of its historic rooms became accessible. Guests will enter the house to find a grand staircase, built in the 1870s, that has been completely reimagined, punctuated by artifacts collected by former Howard family members during their travels. It is also embellished with newly commissioned new plaster casts and busts.
In the Long Gallery, a narrow room that spans the length of the house, the decorator Alec Cobbe transformed the space into a showcase of the estate’s art collection. Valuable works remain in the house, including Giovanni Paolo Panini’s architectural fantasy paintings of Rome (known as capriccios), 18th-century views of Castle Howard, and portraits of Howard family members by artists like Godfrey Kneller and John Hoppner.
But it’s the Tapestry Drawing Room—devastated by fire in 1940—that was the biggest job, according to its current custodians, Nicholas and Victoria Howard. “The re-creation of the tapestry drawing room is at the centre of our contemporary evolution,” the Howards said in a statement. It has been returned to its Baroque grandeur, boasting four original 1706 tapestries created by John Vanderbank, a painter and illustrator who enjoyed a soaring reputation during the reign of George I. They have been thoroughly restored and returned to their original locations for the first time in 200 years.
Rachel Silva is the associate digital editor at ELLE DECOR, where she covers all things design, architecture, and lifestyle. She also oversees the publication’s feature article coverage, and is, at any moment, knee-deep in an investigation on everything from the best spa gifts to the best faux florals on the internet right now. She has more than 16 years of experience in editorial, working as a photo assignment editor at Time and acting as the president of Women in Media in NYC. She went to Columbia Journalism School, and her work has been nominated for awards from ASME, the Society of Publication Designers, and World Press Photo.
