Work is continuing apace in the House to restore and transform the historic interiors as part of a once-in-a-generation project, which will open to the public in April 2025. Highlights will include the unveiling of the restored Tapestry Drawing Room, returning to its 18th-century splendour for the first time since the devastating fire of 1940. This magnificent room will display 300-year-old tapestries originally created for the space in the 1700s, alongside the refurbished Long Gallery and Grand Staircase, and a complete rehang and redisplay of Castle Howard’s collection of paintings and sculptures.
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Castle Howard’s genesis was the Grand Tour. Inspired by Italy’s art and architecture, the 3rd Earl of Carlisle transformed his estate into an arcadia. Successive Earls continued this tradition, enhancing Castle Howard with exceptional works of art, sculpture, and furniture.
Castle Howard’s 21st Century Renaissance is this generation’s contribution to the evolution of the House, something that has been ongoing since the first stone was laid at the very beginning of the 18th-century.
Alec Cobbe designer, artist and decorator, with Alexey MoskvinRemy Renzullo, interior designerChares Marston Smedley, museum and exhibition designer Francis Terry and Associates, architects and designers specialising in Georgian architecture and country houses Simon Thurley and Architrave Historical Services, with Tori Reeve and Chezzy Brownen.
Atelier de Moulage and the Caproni Collection, plaster cast workshops in Belgium and the USA, have produced the plaster casts on the Grand Staircase.Cliveden Conservation, stonework and decorative arts conservators, carried out preparatory works to the plaster casts and mounted them on the walls of the Grand Staircase.Colefax & Fowler, interior decorators, have provided the curtains in Lady Georgiana’s Dressing Room in a partnership agreement with Castle Howard.Constantine, art handlers, responsible for installing the new picture hangs.Critchlow & Kukkonen, painting conservators, carried out remedial conservation to a number of paintings for the Long Gallery and South Front rooms. A.T. Cronin Workshop, specialist historic upholsters, have created the curtains and hangings for the Castle Howard Bedroom, and re-upholstered the furniture in the Tapestry Drawing Room and the Long Gallery. Mark Fitzgerald, furniture specialist, restored the historic finish to the doors in the Tapestry Drawing Room and bookcases in the Long Gallery. Clunie Fretton, sculptor, modelled the carving detail for the fireplace in the Tapestry Drawing Room Philip Gaches, traditional plasterer, responsible for the plasterwork in the Tapestry Drawing Room. De Gournay specialise in reproductions of 18th-century wallpaper, and in partnership with Castle Howard have provided the wallpaper in Lady Georgiana’s Dressing Room. Grants Marble Manufactory, bespoke marble manufacturers, responsible for the scagliola columns in the Long Gallery, and fire surround in the Tapestry Drawing Room. Hesp & Jones, specialist decorators and painters have been involved across the entire project. Houghtons of York have been responsible for the architectural joinery and carving in the Tapestry Drawing Room. Pinnacle Conservation, specialists in restoring historic buildings, cleaned and repaired the glass skylight above the Grand Staircase and China Landing, and installed the picture fittings in the Long Gallery. Cheryl Quinn, curtain making specialist, re-dressed the curtains in the Long Gallery. Jeremy Rothman Carvers & Gilders created bespoke furniture, modelled on historical examples, for the Tapestry Drawing Room and Long Gallery. Alison Stanton, textile conservator, stabilised the Four Seasons tapestries for the Tapestry Drawing Room. Sculpsteel, specialists in metalwork, fabricated the picture fittings for the Long Gallery Switched Solutions, electrical contractors, have installed picture lighting for the Long Gallery and Grand Staircase. Watts 1874, textile designers and producers, created many of the fabrics and trimmings. Wilkinson Ltd, chandelier makers and restorers, refurbished the two historic Tatham chandeliers in the Long Gallery, and created a third chandelier for the Octagon.