Fans of the period drama Downton Abbey will surely recognize Highclere Castle as the primary setting of the show. Located in Hampshire England the manors fairy-tale Jacobethan architecture makes it a standout among castles. It also has an impressive historical list of residents.

Perhaps most notable was the 5th Earl of Carnarvon. He financed archaeologist Howard Carters excavations in Egypt that uncovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun. Highclere Castle has its own museum showcasing many artifacts from the trip along with some reproductions.

During World War I Highclere was used as a hospital for soldiers wounded in battle just as portrayed in Downton Abbey. When World War II came around the castle housed children evacuated from the horrendous bombings in London.

Today the castle itself its six follies (exterior structures or buildings) and its gardens all come together to make a stately manor rich in history. However the amount of actual riches needed to upkeep the property is astounding. Therefore the current owners George Herbert 8th Earl of Carnarvon and his wife Fiona 8th Countess of Carnarvon are thankful for the increase in paying visitors that Downton Abbey has brought to their home.

The Early History Of Highclere Castle

The first written record of the estate dates back to 749 C.E. An Anglo-Saxon king gifted the 5000-acre parcel to the Bishops of Winchester according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Bishop William of Wykeham then erected a medieval residence and gardens on the land in the late 1300s.

During the Protestant Reformation in 1551 King Edward VI confiscated the land from the Catholic Church and gifted it to the Fitzwilliam family who sold it to Sir Robert Sawyer in 1679. According to the official Highclere Castle website Sawyer was a direct ancestor of the current Earl of Carnarvon.

The palace began passing down through Sawyers descendants and in 1769 Henry Herbert inherited it. He was made the 1st Earl of Carnarvon in 1793 and he brought on famous landscape architect Lancelot Capability Brown to beautify the grounds. Brown even moved the entire village of Highclere in order to accommodate the redesign.

In 1838 the 3rd Earl of Carnarvon commissioned architect Sir Charles Barry to transform the palace into the towering Jacobethan estate it is today. The renovation took decades but by its completion the palace had become famous for its opulence.

The famed 5th Earl of Carnarvon George Herbert inherited the castle in 1890 and he brought with him many debts. He wasnt sure how hed afford to run the property until he married an illegitimate Rothschild heiress who arrived with a sizeable dowry.

His new wife Almina Herbert was wealthy but charitable. When World War I broke out in 1914 she converted Highclere Castle into a hospital for wounded soldiers with down pillows and fine sheets on every bed according to The Paris Review.

After transforming the home into a refuge for children fleeing London during World War II the Earls of Carnarvon lived quietly for a couple of generations until Downton Abbey brought Highclere Castle into the spotlight once more in 2010.