Category: In The Movies

My “excuse” to come to England in December! As a huge fan of “Downton Abbey” and of beautiful houses, I´ve had planned to visit this main character of the TV-show for a while and had put it on the list for spring 2018. But when I saw the opening dates for December and found a cheap plane ticket, I just decided to visit Great Britain once again this year. And since the show had wrapped in 2016 I have missed their Christmas Specials and needed some compensation.

Thanks to a little snow storm (and to be early) I had the garden all to myself. A lot of scenes happened on that bench..

Highclere Castle is the home of the Earls of Carnarvon and their family. In the 1830s the 3rd Earl commissioned the architect Charles Barry, who also designed the Houses of Parliament, to remodel the original Georgian mansion, back then called “Highclere House” to the glorious mansion we see today.

It is in the Jacobethan style and faced in Bath stone, reflecting the Victorian revival of English architecture of the late 16th century and early 17th century, when Tudor architecture was being challenged by newly arrived Renaissance architecture influences. (Highclere Castle)

The family of the Earls of Carnarvon and Highclere Castle have an interesting and sometimes turbulent past. The 4th Earl drafted the British North America Act of 1867 which became the foundation for the nation Canada and the 5th Earl, George Herbert, not only was a passionate car driver and owner of racehorses but also helped discover the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. During World War I his wife Almina turned Highclere Castle into a hospital.

Today one can see Egyptian artefacts and

The Discovery Gallery in the cellars at Highclere explores the life and interests of the Earl of Carnarvon, his passion for cars, his talents as a pioneering photographer, his travels and leisure in Edwardian England.

Visitors can see what happened to the Castle and family during the Great War from 1914 to 1918. (Highclere Castle)

In the summertime different paths lead through the estate and to some of the follies, like the Dianatempel and the lakes, which I saw while driving by. But it was possible to visit some of the gardens around the house like the “Monk´s Garden” and the “Secret Garden”.

And for me, it was finally time to warm up again and visit the library, dining room, the saloon, the drawing room, the morning room (with a beautiful portrait of Lady Catherine) and some of the bedrooms in the first floor as well as the Egyptian exhibition in the former servants´ hall.

For more information about Highclere Castle, events and open days in 2018 visit their website and enjoy the peek into the like in one of these English mansions.

It was just a short drive from Castle Combe to Lacock, another village in the County Wiltshire in the Cotswolds. A very special village as it is almost in its entirety owned by the National Trust: “A quintessential English village” (The Village) Often used as a location for movies and TV shows like “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”, “Pride and Prejudice”, “Downton Abbey”, “Cranford” or “Wolfman”.

Walking into the village from the parking place, you´ll be greeted by Lacock Abbey. Founded in April 1232

by Ela, Countess of Salisbury. One of the most powerful women of the Middle Ages, she had previously served as Sheriff of Wiltshire and her 1225 copy of Magna Carta was kept at Lacock until 1946 when it moved to the British Museum. She was Lacock’s first abbess and served for 17 years. She died in 1261. (History of Lacock)

Shut down in 1539 ordered by Henry VIII after his break with Rome, the abbey was bought only one year later by William Sharington who transformed it into a country house. Even so, he had the church and chapel demolished he choose to keep the stunning stone cloister from the 1400s. (Another location of the Harry Potter movie series)

William had died in 1553 and had left the manor to his brother Henry who hosted Queen Elizabeth I in 1574 and was knighted by her. Henry then left Lacock Abbey to his daughter Olive and her husband John Talbot.

In 1800 five-months-old Henry Fox Talbot inherited Lacock from his father. The estate was in debt and rent out until 1827 when Fox Talbot moved in with his mother and stepmother and stayed living there until his death in 1877. He was a forward-thinking engineer and scientist but maybe not so much of a talented painter? On his honeymoon in Tuscany in 1833, he wrote:

‘How charming it would be if it were possible to cause these natural images to imprint themselves durably, and remain fixed on paper’ (Lacock history)

He started to experiment with new photographic processes and in August 1835 Fox Talbot captured the very first photographic negative in the South Gallery at Lacock Abbey – finally, it was possible to produce multiple “positive” copies of one negative image. – it was the birth of modern photography!

It was already late in the afternoon – or better said it wasn´t that late but the sunset was at 4 o`clock, and so I decided to visit Lacock Abbey and the Foy Talbot museum next time and just take a little walk through the lovely village.

The most modern buildings are from the 18th century a lot of them from before. A nice variety of shops, pubs and tearooms make the strolling around even more enticing. If it weren´t for all the parked cars it really would be a step back in time.

After driving just some meters up I was back in the winter wonderland …