England. Since the end of April, the Château Howard (north of England) has opened to the public its “Renaissance of the 21st century” project, launched in 2019. This 18th century stately home is known to the British for its appearances in Barry Lyndon (1975), Back to Brideshead (1981), Bridgerton (2020). For Nicholas and Victoria Howard, owners resident of the castle, it was a question of printing their aesthetic paws but also of showing this place as a living family home, which the fires attest in the hearth of the chimneys. And rather than recreating the rooms identically, the couple wanted to respect the spirit of the castle while leaving the craftsmen free. “Each of the nine generations who lived at Château Howard appreciated playing with its particular aesthetics and we are no exception, underlines Nicholas Howard. The recreation of the tapestry room is at the center of our contemporary evolution. »»
This room, like more than 20 rooms of the castle, had been destroyed during a fire in 1940. The tapestries, woven in 1706 by John Vanderbank and representing the four seasons, were then tense in other pieces of the castle and had been preserved. “” My mission consisted in putting me in the footsteps of John Vanbruugh, the playwright who conceptualized the house with the help of the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor, Indicates Francis Terry, the architect of the project. It was an amazing order because it is completely creative. It was not a question of trying to the past to copy the past. »» He explains, for example, having kept the profile of the original ledge, of classic style, but by giving it a more baroque style.
This trend is found in the rooms that have been redesigned and lined with silk taffeta. “We wanted to produce an always appropriate result, but without belonging to a particular period, Confirms the interior decorator Remy Renzullo. Even if the bed hangings are based on the fashion of 1770, they do not necessarily look like it. »» These rooms can also be rented exceptionally.
Created in the 1870s, the Grand Staircase room was also transformed to illustrate the evolution of the castle over the centuries. “Plaster bas-reliefs now adorn these walls, which is part of our desire to present the castle as a house of the Grand Tourexplains Dr. Christopher Ridgway, the chief curator. The very inspiration of the house comes from the trip to Europe of the third count, at the end of the 17th century. Thus, Italy permeates the entire building. The collections of this gallery were formed during travel to continental Europe of the fourth and fifth counts. »» The same intention is now found in the large gallery, designed in 1811. “We have hung up the paintings in a way to enhance them and give back to space its real gallery function. »» Among other things, it contains Roman whims of Panini.
Managed as a family business, the castle employs 120 people on all of its activities (tourism, forestry, agriculture, etc.). This project was launched as part of a restoration plan for the whole area over fifteen years and estimated at 50 million pounds (58.66 million euros).
