What is Highclere Castle? It’s Downton Abbey in Real Life!

Right now, half of my readers are thinking, “What is Highclere Castle and why would Mrs. HomeFree visit there?” The other half of my readers are thinking, “Oh. My. Goodness. Mrs. HomeFree went to Highclere Castle. I am so jealous.”

Some dear friends came to visit from America and a bucket list item for them was visiting the castle, which was the filming location for the massive television hit, Downton Abbey.

What is Highclere Castle?

Highclere is not a “castle” in the traditional sense of the word. If you want a traditional castle experience then don’t miss Predjama Castle in Slovenia or Conwy Castle in Wales. Amazingly, this property is not a national park or owned by a land/museum trust of any kind. It is a privately owned home. There are 1,000 acres of land and there has been a home on the site since the year 749 AD. The current family purchased the property in 1679. Obviously, the house has been changed, renovated and expanded over the years. It actually took on its current exterior appearance in 1842. There are between 250-300 rooms in the structure.

Over the generations, some family members preferred not to live in the castle full-time. However, the current Lord and Lady Carnarvon do live on the upper floors full-time and did so even while Downton was filming. As you can imagine, the upkeep on such a massive property is dreadfully expensive. The family does not receive any money from the Downton Abbey franchise. So, the money to keep the house functioning comes from the farming done there, the house tours, and the café and gift shop.

Visiting Highclere Castle

Sadly, there is no photography permitted inside at all, therefore, this article has precious few exterior photos for you to enjoy. Lord and Lady Carnarvon live in the house & they select the dates it will be open to the public. Typically, visiting is not an expensive endeavor. A standard ticket on a standard day is about $37 (USD). However, during the period that my friends visited, there were no standard “open to the public” days. There were only special tour days. These cost roughly the equivalent of $163 (USD) each. At first, I crossed it off the list thinking there was no way I was paying that amount. But as I said, it was a bucket list item for my friends. We bit the bullet and bought the tickets. I am happy to report that the organizers really did make an effort to make guests feel as though they received something special for their extra ticket cost.

We took the train from London to tiny Newbury and then took a taxi to the estate. Our taxi driver was a wealth of knowledge. He even told us that Andrew Lloyd Webber is a neighbor on a nearby estate.

On a standard visiting day, there are usually about 1,000 people who visit the property. On the special tour day we experienced, there were 60 people. Lady Carnarvon herself, came out the front door, greeted us and kicked off the tour. Then, the group was split into two smaller groups of 30 people each. This made walking through the interior and hearing the guide much easier and more enjoyable.

We saw dozens of rooms including all the sitting rooms used in the scenes before & after dinner, the dining room, all the bedrooms, the library and more. We even walked down the grand staircase. However, we did not see Mrs. Patmore’s kitchen because it does not exist. As a major part of the show, guests always assume that will be part of the tour, but our guide was careful to tell us from the beginning that all those scenes were shot on a soundstage in a studio.

Astoundingly, all the rooms look like they do on television. The vast majority of the décor viewers see on television is the family’s actual furniture, artwork and personal items. There are a few rooms where furniture was moved from one place to another to better accommodate the camera angles, but otherwise, it is all familiar. As a Downton Abbey fan, I’m not gonna lie, it was a thrill.

Lord Carnarvon’s Connection to Egypt

During our visit to the castle, there was an extensive temporary exhibit in place about ancient Egypt and the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb. Why?

In the early 1922, when archeologist Howard Carter found King Tutankhamun’s tomb, it was actually his financial backer, the 5^th Lord Carnarvon, who stuck his candle into a small opening in the rock and first saw King Tut’s treasures. Lord Carnarvon was also present as the team opened the tomb in the presence of officials and as excavation began. Unfortunately, his name has been largely lost to history and Howard Carter has been given most of the credit because Lord Carnarvon died shortly after excavation work began.

The current Lady Carnarvon is an accomplished author and has written a book about the family’s connection to this landmark moment in history.

A Unique Castle Experience

As I said, we bought tickets for a very special day. Therefore, we had only 30 people in our tour group, we were greeted by the lady of the house, we received an autographed copy of the book The Earl and the Pharaoh, and we received an impressive lunch. Lunch included quiche, soup, finger sandwiches, half a scone with jam and clotted cream, and miniature versions of chocolate mousse, crème brulee, and cheesecake.

What is Highclere Castle? It is a family home and an iconic film location. It is also more peaceful than any park & run by a family that is more down-to-earth than I could ever have imagined. Finally, it is a bucket list item we checked off and was worth every penny.

There are plenty of Marriotts to choose from in London. Book your room here.