Castle Howard

Castle Howard is a stately home in Yorkshire, England, 25 miles (40 km) north of York, one of the very grandest private residences in the country. It is not a true castle: the word is quite often used for country houses in England which were built after the end of the castle-building era (ca. 1500) and were not intending to have any military function. It was built (1699–1712) for the 3rd Earl of Carlisle. Sir John Vanbrugh was commissioned to design the building; since it was that gentleman-dilletante's first foray into architecture, he was assisted in this by Nicholas Hawksmoor. Vanbrugh's west wing was not built. A west wing was built in the mid-18th century in a neoclassical style. In 1940 a large part of the house was destroyed by fire, including the central dome. Most but not all of the devastated rooms have been restored.

See also

A more detailed architectural appraisal of Castle Howard is at John Vanbrugh

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~