The last stop on our Northern “staycation” was yet another stately home made famous by its use as a film set: Castle Howard.
I’ve always been a bit underwhelmed by the place, which I feel lives almost completely off its Brideshead Revisited associations without doing much to build upon them. On my last visit in 2009 they’d caught a fresh wave of attention on the back of the new film version the year before and had updated attractions at the house dramatically. Nothing has changed since. In fact, several of 2009’s highlights had disappeared (garden tours with access into the follies, special exhibitions and film sets). This may have been due to COVID-19, of course, but unlike the Percys who’ve dropped the price of admission to Alnwick to reflect the current limited offer, the Howards have kept their tickets at a lofty £22, at the top tier of cultural attraction pricing. To add insult to injury, with post-COVID reopening they’ve actually eliminated free entry to Historic Houses Association members that all the other member houses we visited continued to honour.
Regular readers of this blog will know I have no problem spending money on cultural experiences ... indeed, it’s the raison d’etre of my paycheque ... but I want value for money, and Castle Howard’s interiors do not occupy the exalted place their price tag to visit promises. The only thing of distinctive significance here is Vanbrugh’s soaring central hall and dome, and the two corridors off of it filled with the family’s collection of Roman sculpture. There’s no denying that this is one of England’s architectural masterpieces. But the garden-facing rooms off this core are basic spaces renovated by film companies during their work here; fire gutted the core and the house’s East wing in 1940.
A handful of drawing rooms in the West wing survived the disaster, but they’re unexceptional. Damask-covered walls hung with a mix of family portraits and landscapes, mahogany furniture and stately chimney pieces. All very nice, but there are no memorable masterpieces here and you’ll see similar ... indeed better ... examples of English country house interiors at nearby Beningbrough, Newby or Harewood, all of which charge less and offer more. Vanbrugh’s vast, echoing library/hall exemplifies the problem here: fine architecture, but similar to his much better example at Blenheim Palace and with little to look at within. If ever a house was ripe for the addition of modern art or alternative collections, this is it. A distinctive chapel and some bedrooms could have added value to the ticket price, but they were closed due to social distancing requirements.
Unless you are a big Brideshead or Vanbrugh fan who hasn’t been here before, you’ll be far better served by the £12.95 grounds admission.
This is one of England’s greatest designed landscapes, carefully created to mimic the Arcadian scenes dotted with classical buildings that were so popular at the time of the house’s construction. Long, dead-straight entry drives coming from both North and South are both dignified with obelisks, triumphal arches and other Roman ephemera, creating the feel of the Appian Way heading for the imperial capital.
At the center isn’t the forum but the house, unique beneath its enormous dome and encrusted with classical columns, pilasters and ornament. The Caesars would feel at home. A formal garden with parterres and an enormous fountain of Atlas with the world on his shoulders sets off the back of the house, while lawns sloping down to a man-made lake dignify the front.
It’s the broad, grassy lanes radiating from the house to architectural highlights in the landscape that really make the place a delight to explore, particularly for dog walkers. The stroll up to the Temple of the Four Winds, your way marked by a procession of Roman statues on plinths until you get to the noble building and are rewarded with views over magnificent landscape towards the Howard Mausoleum (yet another idealised Roman temple) is one of England’s greatest walks.
There’s also a vast walled garden here. Once the practical, hard-working engine behind the house’s kitchens and floral arrangements, now it’s sub-divided into a chequerboard of different garden rooms, each with distinctive colour schemes, designs and ornaments. These gardens are as exceptional an example of the potential of a walled garden as the staterooms are underwhelming representatives of their type. And it’s worth noting that the grounds are open for a couple of hours after the house closes, meaning you can enjoy something near solitude at the end of the day.
And thus ended our 2020 staycation, as full of new sights, high culture, fine food and great wines as any foreign holiday.
Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, when I was still resident in the United States, I was obsessed by England. I spent as many vacations here as I could and talked my way into every British work assignment I could get, primarily to enable manic weekend sightseeing. Since moving to the UK permanently at the turn of the century, however, I’ve gone increasingly native, equating “holiday” with places where people speak foreign languages, produce olive oil and need sun protection. I can’t deny a wistful hunger to head to Heathrow and end up someplace where they make more wine that they drink. But our adventures in Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland have reminded me why more than 40 million foreign visitors a year descend on this little island to sample its delights, whatever the weather. Closed borders are simply no excuse for not feeling like you’ve had a holiday.
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