90 MINUTES FROM PATELEY BRIDGE
Castle Howard
Few houses in England announce themselves quite like Castle Howard, a vast baroque palace near Malton crowned by a dome and set within landscaped grounds dotted with temples, a lake and a magnificent mausoleum. Fans of Brideshead Revisited will recognise it instantly, having served as the setting for both screen versions of the story. A full day out further afield, around 90 minutes from Pateley Bridge.
Visit information
- Location
- Castle Howard, York YO60 7DA
- From Pateley Bridge
- 90 minutes via Ripon and Helmsley
- Open
- House open seasonally, grounds open most of the year - check castlehoward.co.uk
- Entry
- Paid admission, separate tickets available for grounds only
- Dogs
- Welcome on leads in the grounds and parkland, not inside the house
- Facilities
- Cafes, restaurant, gift and farm shops, plenty of parking
An astonishing first commission
Castle Howard was the first major architectural commission for Sir John Vanbrugh, a playwright with no formal training as an architect, who designed the house for the 3rd Earl of Carlisle starting in 1699. The result, with its enormous central dome, was unlike anything else built for a private family in England at the time.
The house took over a century to complete and has remained in the Howard family ever since, surviving a serious fire in 1940 that destroyed the dome and much of the east wing, since carefully restored. The family still lives in part of the house today.
The grounds were laid out as one of the earliest great English landscape gardens, designed to be experienced as a sequence of views and surprises, including Vanbrugh's own Temple of the Four Winds and Nicholas Hawksmoor's later mausoleum.
Making the most of your visit
This is a full day out rather than a quick stop, with the house, the lakeside walks, the walled garden and the wider parkland all worth exploring. Allow at least four hours, longer if you want to walk out as far as the mausoleum.
The house keeps seasonal opening hours, while the grounds are open for more of the year, so check the website carefully if you specifically want to see inside the house rather than just walk the grounds.
Given the distance from Pateley Bridge, this works best as a dedicated day trip rather than a quick add-on, ideally combined with Rievaulx Abbey or Helmsley if you want to make the most of the longer drive out.
What to see
The House
Designed by Sir John Vanbrugh in the early 18th century for the Howard family, who still live here today, Castle Howard is one of the great baroque houses of England, crowned by a dome that was a strikingly bold choice for a private residence at the time.
Brideshead Revisited
The house served as the principal filming location for both the 1981 television adaptation and the 2008 film of Brideshead Revisited, and remains closely associated with the story in many visitors' minds.
The Lake and Temples
The grounds were laid out as one of the first great landscape gardens in England, with an ornamental lake, the Temple of the Four Winds, and sweeping vistas designed to be discovered gradually as you walk.
The Mausoleum
A monumental domed mausoleum by Nicholas Hawksmoor stands on a hill within the grounds, built to house the remains of the Howard family and considered one of the finest garden buildings of its kind in the country.
Further afield, 90 minutes away
Check current opening times for the house before you travel, as the grounds and house keep different seasonal hours.
