Castle Howard has unveiled its lost Tapestry Drawing Room, which has been restored to its original 18th-century splendour for the first time since a devastating fire in 1940.
Visitors to Castle Howard’s 21st Century Renaissance, which opens tomorrow, will also be able to see the renovated Long Gallery and Grand Staircase.
And there’s a complete rehang and redisplay of the stately home’s collection of paintings, sculptures and tapestries.
One of the most historically significant houses in Europe, Castle Howard has been home to nine generations of the Howard family across 300 years, with each contributing to its creation, evolution, and preservation.
A devastating fire in 1940 destroyed the iconic dome and more than 20 rooms in the house whilst it was being used as a girls’ school during the Second World War.
Upon his return from war, George Howard made the decision to keep the house and estate in family ownership and he embarked on the restoration of the house, which in 1952 opened to the public.
He restored the dome in 1962, and the filming of Brideshead Revisited two decades later enabled the reconstruction of the Garden Hall and New Library.
The restoration work is being continued by the present generation of custodians, Nicholas and Victoria Howard, with work led by architect Francis Terry and designers Remy Renzullo and Alec Cobbe.
The Tapestry Room
The Tapestry Drawing Room was gutted by the fire of 1940 and has remained a shell ever since.
Visitors will be able to see the fully restored and redecorated space, with the tapestries that originally hung in the room returned to their original positions for the first time since since the beginning of the 18th century.
The four tapestries were woven for the room in 1706 by John Vanderbank and depict ‘The Four Seasons’ in scenes taken from the work of David Teniers.
The Grand Staircase
The Grand Staircase was created in the 1870s and today continues to provide an impressive first impression for visitors.
Following the re-hang, visitors will immediately be introduced to the Grand Tour history of the house, with antique sculptures and artefacts collected by the 4th and 5th Earls on their travels, displayed alongside a series of newly commissioned plaster casts and busts.
The Long Gallery
The Long Gallery has once more become a great showcase of Castle Howard’s art collection. It contains Italian and Grand Tour paintings, including the noted Pannini capriccios of Rome commissioned by the 4th Earl, counterbalanced with eighteenth-century views of Castle Howard.
Nicholas and Victoria Howard said: “The re-creation of the Tapestry Drawing Room is at the centre of our contemporary evolution.
“The evisceration of more than 20 rooms in the 1940 fire had the silver lining of once more allowing us to step into the creative process here.
“Spreading out from the Tapestry Drawing Room, we have re-purposed, re-hung, and re-decorated, re-vivifying the house that has refused to die.”
- Find out more about Castle Howard’s 21st Century Renaissance at the estate website.
Take a look inside in our gallery below!
Gallery
