In 2012 the New Library opens as part of the public tour for the first time. This room, formerly known as the Canaletto Room, was where most of the Venetian view pictures, assembled by the 4th Earl, used to hang. The room was completely destroyed in 1940 and lay derelict until it was refurbished in the early 1980s when George Howard commissioned the architect Julian Bicknell to design a new library.

There was no question of recreating the room as it had once been, not least of all because the Venetian pictures had either been burnt or sold in the 1940s. In keeping with the spirit behind the rebuilding of the Garden Hall, also by Julian Bicknell two years earlier, the aim was to create a new interior, reflecting the evolutionary character of Castle Howard, as each new generation puts its own stamp on the building.

The room was intended as a working library during George Howard’s retirement.  My first task when I came to Castle Howard in 1983 was to fill the room with his choice of books: I spent many weeks trawling the house for various titles which I assembled under his gimlet eye. It would be a mistake to think of the room as just for show today. It houses hundreds of precious but also very useful books on art, architecture, landscape, family history and a host of other subjects. It remains very much a working library – so don’t be surprised if you see the curator or a member of the family consulting the odd volume in there.

Click here to plan a visit in 2012.