Visit to Highclere Castle

Myself and my partner travelled recently to Highclere Castle, in Hampshire with friends. To millions of other fans around the world best known as ‘Downton Abbey’. The estate dates back to 749 when an Anglo-Saxon King granted the estate to the Bishops of Winchester. Bishop William of Wykeham built a beautiful medieval palace and gardens in the park. Later on, in 1679 the palace was rebuilt as Highclere Place House and purchased by Sir Robert Sawyer, which is also the direct ancestor of the current Earl, George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon.

In 1842, Sir Charles Barry who designed the Houses of Parliament, was also commissioned to transform Highclere House into the glorious place it is today, Highclere Castle.
There are many stories and memories on display throughout the halls and galant state rooms in Highclere, that show you how the 5th Earl of Carnarvon married an heiress and saved Highclere Castle. The 5th Earl of Carnarvon, George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, married Almina Wombwell, whom then became Almina Herbert, 5th Countess of Carnarvon, in 1895. Almina brought an intensive dowry of £500,000 with her, which made a lot of changes and renovations at Highclere over the years.

The current Earl and Countess are the current stewards to this magnificent home. There are between 250 and 300 rooms in the Castle and during the tour you can explore the main state rooms which are so familiar from “Downton Abbey”.

You will see some of the bedrooms after which you then will follow the stairs down to the cellars and old staff quarters where you will find the Egyptian Exhibition, celebrating the 5th Earl of Carnarvon’s discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, with Howard Carter.

Highclere is a place of magic and peace. My friends and I were only staying for the one night locally, in the Carnarvon Arms, outside the grounds of Highclere. Visiting Highclere Castle was like being invited to a country weekend party, like the ones Lady Almina threw back in the early 1900’s, around the same time the Prince of Wales came to stay in 1896.

The rooms and suites are decorated in the most comfortable style with an abundance of lamps, soft furnishings, and decorative objects – all of which add to the overall ambience of quiet elegance. 

On our visit we also had many Highclere Castle Gin cocktails. Luis the Head Butler at Highclere has a gin bar by the courtyard in the rear of the castle, which we visited a few times during the day, trying various gin cocktails on the menu. Luis is always very welcoming and made our visit one of the best highlights of 2022 so far.