If you are a fan of the British drama "Downton Abbey", then you must be familiar with Hechill Castle, which is the "Downton Abbey" where the Earl of Grantham family lives in the play.
Located in Newbury, England, the castle was built in 1839 by the designer of the British Houses of Parliament, Charles Thompson. Designed by Barry.
In reality, Hecriel Castle is currently owned by the eighth Earl of Carnarphon and his wife, Lady Fiona, who are friends of Julian Ferros, the screenwriter of Downton Abbey.
Since the Downton Abbey fire, the Earl Of Carnarphon and his wife, who live at Hecriel Castle, have become increasingly busy.
Highclere Castle is open to the public on certain days, and visitors can take a guided tour of Highcreal Castle and Gardens, and if you're lucky, visit the same scene from Downton Abbey.
Downton Abbey TV series and movies were shot in Highclere Castle, and the bedroom, living room, staircase, and sofa all look exactly like they did on screen.
Countess Caernarphon said in an interview that all the furniture and decoration in the house was in the traditional style, so the crew did not need to rearrange.
Their kitchen was considered too modern, though, so it was filmed outside the castle.
When the Wales Daily Mail asked the Countess if they had moved out during filming, the Countess said it would be a "disaster" to have the cast and crew free to move around the house. Yes, the Countess also lived in the castle during the filming.
Hecriel Castle and Pharaoh Tutankhamun
According to Forbes, Heclier Castle actually had a special connection to the famous Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun.
George Herbert, fifth-generation Count of Carnarfon, was so obsessed with ancient Egyptian things that he funded the excavation of the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun by archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922.
After Howard Carter found the Tomb of Tutankhamun, Count Caernarphon traveled to Egypt to witness this historic moment. However, on 5 April 1923, Count Caernarfon died of an infection after being bitten by a mosquito in Cairo.
Now visitors can visit the Egyptian Jane exhibition brought back by the fifth generation of Counts and Countesses. Madame Fiona also wrote a book, Egypt in Heclier, which was available for purchase in their shop.
Highclere Castle and World War I
In the second season of Downton Abbey, World War I broke out and Downton Abbey became a hospital for wounded soldiers. In fact, the story draws on reality: Hecriel Castle was one of the hospitals of world war I.
According to Mrs. Fiona's interview, in 1914, Heclear Castle welcomed its first patients.
The fifth Countess of Kanaphon, Lady Armina, helped the wounded soldiers and their families, and she herself rolled up her sleeves and "went to battle".
The real-life Highclere Castle has its own operating room where orthopedic surgery can be performed.
In 2011, at an event called "Heroes of Hecriel," the surgery went to rebuild. Featuring performers from Downton Abbey, the event highlights the castle's role as a Hospital of world War I and pays tribute to the soldiers who lived there.
The Count and Countess of Carnarfon are the real-life Countess and Countess of Grantham
According to the Daily Mail, Madame Fiona was the count's second wife and had been an accountant before marrying the count. The couple had a son, Edward. In her first marriage, the Count of Caernarfon had two children: Madame Silsa and Lord Bochester.
Madame Fiona runs her own personal social media account and accounts about life at Hecriel Castle, and has written several books, including a biography of the Countess.
Count Caenavon had unsuccessfully run the seat of the House of Lords, and now he and his wife ran the day-to-day business of Hecriel Castle.
Although modern dwellings do not need to be equipped with various servants as in Downton Abbey, there is indeed a "Carson butler" in Hecrier Castle, whose name is Louis Coelho.
He says that the team of butlers he leads still dress and serve as they once did at work, a constant tradition at Highclere Castle.
You can buy gin from Highclere Castle
Hecriel Castle is surrounded by beautiful parks and gardens, and the Countess and Lady of Caernarfon have taken advantage of this to create their own gin brand.
After finding some ancient recipes in the castle, the couple launched Highclere Castle Gin in 2019. This gin has won more than 40 international awards to date, including the 2020 "Gin of the Year".
The junipers used in the recipe of gin are plants that have been cultivated for hundreds of years in Hecriel Castle.
In addition, there are homemade cocktails at Hechill Castle, which include gin, quinine water, orange juice and peels, and are decorated with rosemary in the garden.
The castle has hosted many members of the royal family
The family of Hecriel Castle maintained long-standing ties with the royal family, and the current Earl of Caernarfon was reportedly the Queen's godson.
In the Netflix drama series "The Crown", Pooch (Lord Bochester) is a friend of the Queen, and in real life, Pooch is the seventh Count of Kanafon and the father of the current Count.
According to the Countess, many members of the royal family have visited Highclere Castle, including Edward VII, Edward VIII, George V and Queen Mary.
Among the fans of Downton Abbey are members of the royal family, including Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, who visited Highclere Castle in 2015 and expressed her love for the show.
And Prince William congratulated the show before the finale of "Downton Abbey". It is said that the Queen of England has also seen this play.
Rumors of the ghosts of Hecriel Castle
There is no castle that is not rumored to be haunted, and Hecriel Castle is no exception. According to the Countess, during the filming of Downton Abbey, some of the crew did not want to come back out of fear.
The Countess also said she planned to write some supernatural stories about Hecriel Castle.
One of the many haunted rumors at Heclier Castle is about a male servant who committed suicide in the castle many years ago.
The Countess recalls playing in the basement with her toddler when she "turned around to see a man coming toward us from the darkness". At that moment, she rushed into the door with the child, and the ghost stopped. Later, the countess invited the monks to the castle, and she has not seen a ghost since.
As for the ghost of the maid, the Countess did some investigation after that and found that the "ghost" of the maid was a 19th-century man who had an affair with the maid who took care of the countess's children. One day, when the maid followed the maid out of the room, the countess's child died. It is said that because of guilt, the maid ended his life very close to the castle.
Lucky couples can get married at Highclere Castle
A lot of people want to have a wedding in the castle, and if you're a big fan of Downton Abbey, it's a beautiful dream to get married at Heclear Castle, where you were filmed, and it's really a chance to see, or you can take wedding photos here.
According to the website of Heclear Castle, brides can walk down the stairs in a wedding dress like Mary, satisfying the fantasies of theater fans.
Couples can host intimate weddings for up to 40 people in the castle, or outdoor receptions and afternoon tea parties for up to 80 people.
According to People magazine in 2013, a wedding at Heclear Castle would cost a minimum of about $24,000. If interested, you can contact the castle website to make an appointment for a time and the project.
Maintaining a castle costs a lot of money and time
Running a huge castle and manor house requires a lot of time and money, and the manor where Heclier Castle is located has 6,000 acres, for which the Count and Lady of Caernarfon have put a lot of effort into it.
Countess Caernarphon said in an interview that she needed to welcome visitors from all over the world and work with the staff to maintain the state of the castle. Due to the boom in tourism, they had to recruit more staff.
According to the Countess, it costs around £1 million a year to keep Highclere Castle running. Most of that money, she said, is used to pay wages.
Due to the castle's long history and large size, the cost of maintenance alone can be very high. In addition to tourism and special events income, they also increase their income by operating their own brands.
In fact, not just the Earl of Caernarfon and his wife, but many of Britain's ancient castle owners are earning income by opening up to the outside world, and much of this income is used to maintain the castle itself.
In this day and age, the "nobility" itself is a "label" that can make money, but in order to maintain this label, it needs to spend more money...
That's it for today
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