An Insight to Castle Howard

Castle Howard was built at the beginning of the 18th century and home to the Howard family for over 300 years. Eleven generations have continuously lived in the house since it was built for Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle.

When visiting castle Howard I was initially astonished by the beautiful grounds in which the castle is situated in. Walking in such magnificent natural surroundings really sets the scene for the amazing house that sit in the grounds and allows you to imagine what it would have been like to have been there in the 18th century.

The house was designed for the 3rd Earl of Carlisle by dramatist John Vanbrugh, who astonishingly hadn't built anything, at this point, in his life. He worked with architect Nicholas Hawksmoor to gain the practical side of designing and constructing the house. It was finally completed in 1801-1811.

When entering the house the grand staircase is what I was greeted with. This great staircase was constructed in the 1870's. With a skylight ceiling you are able to fully appreciate all the detail and texture of each aspect of design within the room, from the detail in each spindle to the flowered detail along the top of the ceiling. Within this part of the house hang portraits of the first six Earls of Carlisle. Again by seeing such magnificent paintings hanging in the grand staircase you can start to imagine yourself back in the time of these Earl's. As you move up the stairs you come to the china landing in which is a cabinet holding over 300 pieces of china from the 17th and 18th century, mostly Serve, Chelsea and Meissen.

One of the most superb rooms in the house, in my opinion, is Lady Georgiana's bedroom. It's got a taste of elegance streaming throughout the room. From the passage of the bedroom, which is filled with 18th century prints of Raphael's decoration, to the soft cornice of the ceiling that is engraved with a light leaf shape and accompanied by a rose. In the middle of the room sits the astounding four-post bed, which is finely detailed with soft shapes and flowers. The whole room is decorated cream and gold, again accentuating the feel of elegance and sophistication. The room is filled with 19th century portraits of the Howard family and their relations.

In Lady Georgiana's dressing room is a beautiful cabinet and chest that is lightly decorated with different colour tones of wood. When closed this 18th century Dutch Opflaptafel looks like a cabinet but when opened it reveals a pewter urn, a basin and two mirrors. It's interesting to see as this is what Lady Georgiana would have used with servants filling and emptying it for her.

The castle Howard bedroom kind of looks how you would have imagined it to. It has a marvellous four-post bed in the middle of the room. With gold decoration at the top and leaves flowing down the posts of the bed, engraved in the wood in a subtle green shade adding defined detail. The chairs are decorated with a green feather motif which compliments the bedposts that are both covered with a modern Italian Brocatelle, woven in an early 19th century style. The ceiling is quite simple but is outlined with gold, again everything from the lions added to the top of the mirror, to the golden pieces in the fireplace, has a golden touch to it to add that sense of class. In the bedroom is a set of landscapes by the Venetian artist Marco Ricci. An interesting aspect of this room is the Japanese lacquer barrels that have apparently been used for storing warrior headgear.

The great hall is the selling point of the castle, in my opinion, from the outside the unique dome identifies Castle Howard from any other and from the inside the 70ft ceiling leaves an impression you'll never forget. It is so finely detailed with carved decoration running right from the bottom up to the top where it is finished with a painted decoration created by the Venetian artist Antonio Pellegrini between 1709 and 1712. The painting inspiringly uses the four elements- Earth, Fire, Air and Water, met with the twelve figures of the