CASTLE HOWARD WINS PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS FOR MAJOR RESTORATION OF ITS HISTORIC INTERIORS

Castle Howard has won two prestigious awards for Castle Howard’s 21st Century Renaissance project, a major renovation of its historic interiors which opened to the public in April 2025. It has been awarded the Historic Houses Restoration Award for 2025, sponsored by Sotheby's, and the Georgian Group Architecture Award, sponsored by Savills, for the Best Restoration of a Georgian Interior.

Castle Howard’s 21st Century Renassance included the creation of a Tapestry Drawing Room in an 18th-century Baroque style in the burnt-out shell of the room that dated back to a calamitous fire of 1940. Visitors are now able to see the fully recovered space complete with the tapestries that were originally woven for the room in 1706 by John Vanderbank, which depict ‘The Four Seasons’ in scenes taken from the work of David Teniers.

The Long Gallery and Grand Staircase were also refurbished, along with a comprehensive rehang and redisplay of Castle Howard’s collection of paintings, sculptures and tapestries. The work forms a backdrop to the celebrations in 2026 marking the 300th anniversary of the death of Sir John Vanbrugh the architect of Castle Howard.

Castle Howard is Britain’s most famous country house, recognised by millions across the world as the location for Brideshead Revisited and Bridgerton. The 9,000-acre estate is set In the heart of the Howardian Hills and is one of the most historically significant houses in Europe. Castle Howard has been home to nine generations of the Howard family since the house was begun in 1699, with each contributing to its creation, evolution, and preservation.

A devastating fire in 1940 destroyed the iconic dome and more than 20 rooms in the house whilst it was being used as a girls’ school during the Second World War. Upon his return from war, George Howard made the decision to keep the house and estate in family ownership and he embarked on the restoration of the house, which in 1952 opened to the public. He restored the dome in 1962, and the filming of Brideshead Revisited two decades later enabled the reconstruction of the Garden Hall and New Library.

The restoration work is being continued by the present generation of custodians, Nicholas and Victoria Howard, with work led by architect Francis Terry and designers Remy Renzullo and Alec Cobbe.

Nicholas and Victoria Howard said:

“We are delighted to receive these two prestigious and long-established wards, and would like to thank the judging panels, as well as the extrarodinary array of architects, designers and craftspeople who all contributed to the success of this once-in-a-generation project.”