The Real Countess Of Downton Abbey Opens Up About Highclere

Highclere Castle is one of the UK’s most recognizable architectural landmarks, a beautiful house surrounded by Capability Brown-designed gardens flecked with white marble follies and sheep. The chatelaine of the castle, the 8th Countess of Carnarvon, is guardian of its history from its grand beginning to the set of the Emmy-winning drama series Downton Abbey. Bisnow talked with Lady Carnarvon about how she’s changed Highclere Castle and why the public is so necessary to the success of the estate.

One cold January day, Fiona Aitken was invited to lunch at Highclere. She had been a guest often enough at her girlfriends’ and sisters’ stately homes to know that 1) she needed a pashima because huge old houses like Highclere are always drafty and 2) she would wear Wellys because there was no way she was going to freeze to death in heels.

That pretty much sums up the current Lady Carnarvon: practical, quick to laugh and with an abundance of easy charm. The 8th Earl of Carnarvon was smitten, and they were soon married. Not only did Lady Carnarvon marry the Queen’s godson and inherit an ancient title, she got Highclere.

Working with decorator Sarah Morris (McWhirter Morris London) and Pat Withers, who has been painting inside and outside the Castle for 60 years, the Countess has approached the house as an experiment, insisting on comfort in every room—yet never allowing one to forget its dignity.

“It isn’t about the stone,” she says. “It’s about family, it is a place to live.” With that mantra in mind, she’s tackled projects big (she’s remodeling the rooms at the bottom of the central tower and improving a dreary interconnecting door between the Saloon and the Smoking Room of the castle) and small (she’s also recently re-carpeted a corridor and staircase).

She's completed renovations on 20 or more cottages on the estate, the two latest being finished this past summer. “The goal is to bring out the beauty of each individual dwelling,” she says. “We want our guests to enjoy the peace and the space which creates a good contract between landlord and tenant.”

Some projects aren’t expensive and aren’t difficult but can go far in giving a place a sense of home. The estate herb garden is a huge joy, she says. It’s full of lavender, sage, lovage, milk thistle, lemon balm, angelica fennel and woodruff, and smells amazing—and it is beautiful to look at.

Trained as an accountant, Lady Carnarvon’s acutely aware of money coming in as well as going out. “The house eats money,” she tells us. There are 300 rooms, 5,000 acres, cottages, lodges, wildlife, staff—and all need funding.  

The estate gift shop does a roaring trade but most of the funds come from events held on the property. Weddings, corporate events and large charity events like fun runs, the Battle Prom and the annual Country Show all help fill the coffers.

Highclere is a community resource as well as a private family home. Lady Carnarvon has a very active social life with close friends and family. “We play, host dances, enjoy charades,” she says. “Those things give a house life.” However "public" the house is, she also finds sanctuary in it. Her study is graced with photos of her beloved sisters and friends, and her bedroom, she says, is an oasis where she can lock herself away if she wants to. Her goal, always, is to invigorate the house while honouring its history.  

As for Downton Abbey, she wasn’t sure whether Highclere would get the gig or not. She’d been friends with Julian Fellowes and his wife, Lady Emma Kitchener-Fellowes, for many years. Julian had wanted to film Gosford Park at the castle, but the director opted to go elsewhere. When he began scouting for locations for his all-consuming period drama Downton Abbey, the Countess pitched Highclere again.

“I didn’t think we got it,” she tells us. “I told my husband I tried my best, but maybe it wasn’t meant to be.”

Now, of course, it is impossible to imagine Downton Abbey being anywhere but the magnificent Victorian castle. By some measures, tourism has increased by 600% since its debut, boosting the house into the national conscious and, of course, paying for the upkeep.  

Lady Carnarvon has written several books to help broaden knowledge about Highclere and to bring in much-needed funds. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle was her first book, detailing the pre-war history of the castle. Lady Catherine And The Real Downton Abbey picked up in 1922 and ends after World War II. Her third book is a coffee table book about four very special weekends at the house. It will be published in spring 2017.

Read more about ancestral homes in the modern age with Somerleyton Hall and the Duke of Northumberland's Alnwick Castle.