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At Home at Highclere

At Home at Highclere Join Lady Carnarvon and venture behind the scenes of her historic home, known to many as Downton Abbey Although Highclere is famous for its Victorian and Edwardian exterior features, it dates back much further, and there has been a home at Highclere since at least 749 AD. We know this from our earliest written records. We have five Anglo-Saxon charters which relate to the fact that King Cuthred of Wessex—who was on the throne at the time—gave the Highclere estate to the bishops of Winchester. This was also the period when the Vikings were beginning to invade and settle in Britain. In fact, from 749 AD, the bishops of Winchester held Highclere for 800 years, and my husband’s family has only been here since 1679 AD. My favorite character during the time of the bishops of Winchester was a man called William of Wykeham. He lived here in the 13th and 14th centuries, and at that time, he created the most amazing palace here at Highclere. In the time of Henry VIII, the lands of the bishops were effectively nationalized, and a century later, they came into private hands—those of a direct ancestor of my husband. There were a series of houses built on the site. The most beautiful parkland was created by Lancelot “Capability” Brown in 1771 and now extends to 1,000 acres around the castle. Beyond the park, there are another few thousand acres of woodland and farmland—a real haven for a wide range of wildlife. 90 VIKING.COM EXPLORE MORE

FEATURE Clockwise, from above: Highclere Castle, surrounded by its immaculate lawn; the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon; the library, housing thousands of books; one of Highclere’s many salons In 1842, Sir Charles Barry—the architect responsible for designing the Palace of Westminster, which is also known as the Houses of Parliament—was commissioned by the 3rd Earl of Carnarvon to rebuild the current house at Highclere. Construction started on the Gothic exteriors and the extra tower that you can still see dominating the castle today. In 1855, the house was completed and featured nearly 300 rooms. It is often a little bigger than people expect it to be, with 50 to 80 bedrooms. Perhaps I need to count some of the rooms so I can be a little more precise! In our library, we have around 6,500 books. They are all so interesting but, as many are leather-bound antique books, they require constant cleaning and dusting. The oldest book is from the 15th century. The library has often been seen on screen because the estate is, of course, famous for its role in the Downton Abbey television series and movie. Writer Julian Fellowes and his wife, Emma, have often stayed here with us, as great friends. They know how the house works and the way the staff helps us in the house. Julian says he wrote the series with Highclere in mind. After looking at hundreds of houses around the country, Highclere was chosen as the setting for the television series, and filming started in 2010. Five more seasons and a movie were filmed, and hundreds of crew members and actors have spent time here. It has been a wonderful partnership for us all. It has been such a delight to welcome Viking guests into our home during Privileged Access visits and to share with them some of the staterooms, the galleried bedrooms, the history and our exhibition in the cellars here at Highclere celebrating our connection to Tutankhamen’s tomb. In 1922, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon and Howard Carter were responsible for the discovery of the tomb, and we have fascinating artifacts and photographs telling their story. Go online: Visit Viking.TV to watch the full series of At Home at Highclere. BRITISH LOP PIGS The 4th Earl of Carnarvon won several awards for pig breeding, and we are delighted to be carrying on this family tradition here at Highclere Castle. We had three sows: Lady Mary, Lady Edith and Lady Sybil, although Lady Edith has now gone to a new home. Between them, Lady Mary and Lady Sybil are proud mothers to 18 adorable piglets. Big and gentle, they are kept at Highclere to roam naturally, as they help to clear scrubland. The pigs are a very small part of the farm at Highclere, but it is really about highlighting that they are an endangered breed. FROM GARDEN TO BOTTLE Here, in the estate’s orangery, we have quite a few citrus varieties. When we started going about creating the new Highclere Castle Gin, we looked to our botanicals and incorporated oranges and lemons. In fact, we used ten different botanicals in total—including juniper, angelica root, coriander, lime flowers and cardamom. And giving the gin its amazing creamy taste is another key ingredient: oats, which was Lord Carnarvon’s idea. The gin is fantastic for martinis, negronis and, of course, gin and tonics, which we often serve with a sprig of rosemary and plenty of ice. For more details, visit highclerecastlespirits.com. EXPLORE MORE VIKING.COM 91