Castle Howard Research Paper

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 zodiac, and Apollo and the Muses. Nothing goes untouched in the Great Hall, everything is neatly decorated and touched on. Acanthus leaves are carved into the composite capitals. The stonework was carved by Samuel Carpenter and Nadauld and his fellow craftsmen. Sadly the dome was destroyed in the mid- 20th century, when fire broke out in the South-East wing. The dome was later reconstructed. This beautiful room really is worth visiting, the detail, decoration and the sophisticated ornamentation, along with the history of the room really does give you a great feeling and you just have to stop and appreciate all the detail.
Besides seeing the rooms of the castle and the beautiful scenery surrounding it, there are also lots of little exciting aspects to the house. One interesting part is seeing all the art work displayed in the house the Canaletto, The Bucintoro Preparing to Leave the Molo on Ascension day is remarkable, this is displayed in the Crimson Dining room. Another is seeing the great pieces the Howard's have collected of the years by travelling.
The Crimson Room is again a room you can't miss the walls are covered in crimson that nicely compliments the amazingly carved ceiling surrounding. The detail is fantastic you can almost feel it just by looking at it, the carved golden lions are surrounded by flowers and leaves giving the room a real touch of class.
The Turquoise Drawing room has a similar effect to this. This room gives a real calming feel which explains why it was used to relax in. This room is filled with portraits Reynolds, which includes a portrait of the 5th Earl in his robes at the Order of the Thistle.
If you haven't already been inspired to go to Castle Howard by the beautiful acres of land in which there is a lovely rose garden and much more, or by seeing the magnificent rooms inside, a final reason I would advise anyone to go is to see the chapel. From the wooden furnishings up the pillars and to the ceiling the room is just filled with amazing detail and rich colour. There are three embroidered panels from a set of eight by William Morris, which portray the figures from Chaucer's poem The Legend of the Good Woman. The room as a whole is just embellished with detail and interesting aspects to look at.
What most appeals to me about Castle Howard, as a whole, is how it's still used today. They still live and carry out different functions in this amazing country house and in all the rooms you can visit you can imagine these great events happening. The house holds a lot of interesting and visual history, but because it's still lived in today you feel the essence of the house still alive which makes it exciting to go and see.