Saturday, May 29 - Castle Howard

The only thing I know about the Howard family I learned from Phillipa Gregory (The Other Boleyn Girl) and The Tudors on Showtime. And although I knew little about the family or Castle Howard itself at the beginning of the day, I was sure I would learn as I moved around the museum.

Castle Howard is beautiful, of course. And we could actually take pictures inside! (Of course, how many pictures did I take? not many. I'm horrible at taking pictures, especially when I'm busy talking.)

Castle Howard. Jeez, I can't seem to take straight pictures of facades either.

Famous Atlas Fountain. I realize you can barely see it. I think this was my attempt at "artistry" in the rain.

One of my favorite things in the house, this handmade quilt. Beautiful.

Another shot of the quilt. Sorry it is sideways. The table this quilt is on also has a bunch of family pictures of the current Howards. I am pretty sure the House Guide thought I was taking photographs of the photographs.

And here are some of the Rose Garden. Because it was raining pretty steadily, I didn’t make it to all of the gardens around the estate.

Rose Garden entrance

Some kind of folly at the end of the rose garden. Coy pond in the foreground.

Castle Howard relies on House guides, normally between 12 and 14 guides working simultaneously. They were the main source of interpretation; there were very few displays, with the exception of the rooms destroyed by fire and the exhibition room about the 7^th Earl. Incidentally, that exhibition room really makes you like him. He was very against slavery and often hosted American abolitionists like Harriet Beecher Stowe when they journeyed to England on fundraising trips. He actually wrote the introduction for Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

It was hard having to rely solely on guides for interpretation, even if they are very knowledgeable. As I knew little about the history of the house, I had to wait my turn to speak to the guide in whatever room I was in, and then ply him with as many questions as I could think of. Over time I began to have a better sense of who the family was and when the house was built (a few generations after the Howards of Henry VIII’s court).

Actually, one of the best things about Castle Howard was their Farm Shop, full of fresh cheese of all kinds, awesome chocolate everything, and great breads. I had chocolate caramel shortbread. Very tasty.

One other thing: you may recognize Castle Howard from the movie Brideshead Revisited. So that was pretty neat. But don’t watch the movie if you haven’t seen it. It’s awful.