Plan To Restore Fire Damaged Room At Castle Howard

Plans have been lodged to restore a culturally significant room at Castle Howard that was damaged by a fire in 1940. The 145-room stately home near Malton, North Yorkshire, is one of the largest in Europe, and draws over 250,000 visitors a year. It is not actually a castle, but it is thought that a fortified structure originally stood on the grounds.

In 1940, a fire destroyed many rooms of the house, including the central hall, the dome, the dining room, and the cabinet room. Antonio Pellegrini's ceiling decoration, the Fall of Phaeton, was lost when the dome collapsed, and several other valuable artworks were destroyed in the blaze.

The cabinet room has been left derelict since the fire, but now an application has been made to restore the ornate plasterwork, giant tapestries, and period furniture.

The BBC reports that a document submitted with the planning application states: "The proposal to restore this derelict interior into a new version of the Tapestry Drawing Room marks a very significant moment in the long and gradual recovery of these interiors following the fire of 1940."

A Historic England spokesman said it was "a welcome step forward on the process of gradual reinstatement of lost interiors of this outstanding building. We consider that the alterations proposed will on the whole have a positive impact on the special architectural and historic interest of the Grade I listed building."

Construction began on the house in 1699, and it was continually added to over the next 100 years. It remains the home of the Carlisle branch of the Howard family today. it has been used as a filming location several times, for two separate adaptations of the Evelyn Waugh novel Brideshead Revisited, and for episodes of Bridgerton and Victoria.

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