Behind the scenes of the spectacular restoration of Castle Howard, one of Britain's grandest country houses
'It takes a village to raise a child’ is the expression that springs to mind on the spring day I visit Castle Howard, near York, as it prepares to reopen for its summer season. Dating from 1699 and designed by Sir John Vanbrugh, the house is buzzing with craftspeople and experts completing their biggest restoration project in a number of years. ‘Almost every generation has done something significant and this is just a continuation of that history,’ says the current custodian Nick Howard, who has embarked on this ambitious project with his wife Victoria.
At the heart of this transformation is the re-creation of the Tapestry Drawing Room, part of a set of state rooms that had not been restored since it was gutted in a fire in 1940, despite the fact it is still on the main visitor route. Letters and sketches reveal Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor intended the room to be panelled and that the 1706 John Vanderbank tapestries, The Four Seasons, in the Long Gallery were made for this room. Though a pre-fire Country Life photograph from 1928 shows it with a later decorative scheme, the decision was made to design a Baroque room in the spirit of Vanbrugh. For architect Francis Terry, this was an exciting chance to ‘step into Vanbrugh’s shoes and carry on walking’ and to indulge his love of architectural ornament. His pencil drawings for the latter are staggering.
Francis took much of the panel detailing from the house, such as the egg-and-dart profile, which came from the exterior. He worked closely with carvers from Houghtons of York to ensure that it looked authentic: no sandpaper was used, as it would not have existed in 1706. Echoing the design of one in the Great Hall, the chimneypiece is scagliola, made by Grants of Devon, and will be completed with a carving of the head of Pluto by Clunie Fretton. Elsewhere, the ornament is freehand plasterwork, with every piece made individually by hand by Philip Gaches and Luke Preston.
Alec Cobbe, the artist, decorator and longtime adviser to the Howards, worked on the interior decoration alongside Remy Renzullo, with each taking the lead on different elements. The blue of the walls, chosen by Alec, was inspired by a field trip to Belton Hall, in Lincolnshire, where tapestries by Vanderbank also hang. In a stroke of luck, Alec spotted the painting above the fireplace by Sebastiano Ricci being auctioned in Barcelona and discovered it had originally belonged to Castle Howard. He also tracked down a pair of paintings for the overdoors, which also look as if they were made for the room.
The Howards wanted this to be a space that they could use when the house was closed to visitors. An important Queen Anne suite by James Moore was re-covered in a velvet Remy had made in France, based on a fragment on one of the chairs. He also commissioned three large sofas: one in the George III style; and two copies, by Jeremy Rothman, of the Moore pieces. Other items have been bought at auction, including an 18th-century Dutch chandelier. The guiding force was that the furnishings need to make sense with the evolution of the rest of the house, not just capture a particular moment in time.
The creation of this room became the catalyst for a rehang of the entire collection of pictures, masterminded by Alec, and a redecoration of the Long Gallery, where the tapestries once hung. When I visit, specialist painters from Hesp Jones & Co are hard at work. This company was also responsible for lining the walls of the Castle Howard bedroom with pleated silk, and bed hangings and curtains are being installed by upholstery expert AT Cronin. Next door, the finishing touches are being made to Lady Georgiana’s Dressing Room, now a bathroom. The chinoiserie wallpaper in here was created by de Gournay and a wonderful decorative paint scheme added to the woodwork. A series of plastercasts was commissioned for the Grand Staircase, its paintings now moved to the Long Gallery. Aged on site by Cliveden Conservation and specially lit, these now introduce visitors to the Grand Tour history of the house.
I leave inspired by the Howards’ vision and bravery, their painstaking pursuit of perfection and the sheer number of craftspeople being employed. It is projects like these that keep these extraordinary skills alive.
1/3Francis Terry’s drawing for the carving of the head of Pluto
on the new scagliola chimneypiece.
Tom Griffiths2/3A bust of George Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle, by the Grand Staircase, which is now hung with handmade plastercasts.
Tom Griffiths3/3Remy, Francis and Alec with Nick and Victoria Howard in the nearly completed Tapestry Drawing Room.
