Are you crazy about Downton Abbey? Highclere Castle, in Hampshire, England serves as the backdrop and inspiration for the fantastical Crawley family. It is the real home of the earls of Carnarvon, and was built during the 19th century in the grand Gothic Revival style. The castle was passed down to the present earl 55 years ago - who has managed to maintain it in the family with some difficulty.
Today, the castle is seasonally open for weddings and events. Downton Abbey is filmed there though they are limited to the rooms in which they can film Compare the castle with photographs from the January/February 1979 issue of AD - long before the fictional Crawley family brought the castle back to its current fame. Changes are minor because they family has worked very hard to keep the furnishings and artwork in an arrested state of glory.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of Victorian style because it can be too busy for my tastes. However, this particularly grand and unusual home shows you that your rooms can all be decorated in their own unique style and that mixing materials, patterns, centuries makes a home more unique and interesting.
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| The romantic glory within the castle is foretold by the male and female statues standing sentient at the gateposts of Highclere Castle, in Hampshire - Image from Architectural Digest |
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| The Saloon as seen through the grand arches of the large central hall. - Image from Architectural Digest - as it appeared in the AD January/February 1979 issue. |
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| The Saloon as it appears today. Slight changes were made to furniture, rug, and fabric. - Highclere Castle |
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| The Library of Highclere Castle, housing over 5,000 books and seen from the North Library through gilded columns, remains largely unchanged today. - Image from Architectural Digest as it appeared in the AD January/February 1979 issue. |
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| Griffons decorate the Regency armchair and the Regency mahogany and bronze writing desk in the Library. - Image from Architectural Digest as it appeared in the AD January/February 1979 issue. |
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| Van Dyck’s monumental equestrian portrait of King Charles I dominates this small Dining room; other 17th-century portraits embrace the table that is surrounded by Hepplewhite chairs atop a Caucasian rug. - Image from Architectural Digest as it appeared in the AD January/February 1979 issue. |
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| The distinctive green, Damask wallpaper of the wallpaper in the Drawing Room acts as backdrop to the feminine furniture and antiques. - Highclere Castle |
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| Lady Sybil Crawley, played by Jessica Brown-Findlay, models a controversial dress in a scene shot in Highclere’s drawing room, whose walls are covered in bolts of green French silk given in 1895 by Alfred de Rothschild to his daughter Almina, wife of the 5th Earl of Carnarvon. - Image from Architectural Digest story on Downton Abbey. |
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The arches of the entry hall, decorated with two colors of marbled columns, as well as the parqueted marble floors creates color and pattern to the entry hall. -
Image from Architectural Digest as it appeared in the AD January/February 1979 issue. |
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| Matthew Crawley, played by Dan Stevens, is pictured here with his cousin Lady Mary Crawley, played by Michelle Dockery, in the Gothic-arched entrance hall, during a concert to benefit the war effort. - Image from Architectural Digest story on Downton Abbey. |
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Imagine spending a melancholy afternoon in Heaven’s Gate, the 19th-century folly
built atop a grassy mound in the castle’s private parklands. - Image from Architectural Digest as it appeared in the AD January/February 1979 issue. |
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| A scene from a Downton Abbey garden party. The grounds of the castle were off limits to cast and crew during filming. - Daily Mail Online |
Are you one of Downton's fans? Would you incorporate any of it's decor in your home? I'm digging the parquet floors in the entry hall.
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