Photo: Highclere Castle by Richard Munckton from Windsor, Melbourne, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
About this place
Built in its current form in the 1840s, Highclere Castle is the seat of the Earls of Carnarvon and sits in Highclere, Hampshire, around five miles south of Newbury.
Charles Barry designed it in a Jacobethan style during the same period in which he was completing the Houses of Parliament.
The fifth Earl of Carnarvon was a passionate Egyptologist, and it was at Highclere that news of Tutankhamun's tomb reached Britain in 1922.
The Carnarvon family continues to manage the castle independently and opens it to the public on selected dates throughout the year.
Plan your visit
Open seasonally in spring and summer, with additional special openings throughout the year; check the official website for current dates.