Highclere Castle, Country mansion in Hampshire, England
Highclere Castle is a country house in Highclere, Hampshire, rebuilt from 1838 for the 3rd Earl of Carnarvon by Charles Barry in a Jacobethan and Italianate style, with Bath stone dressings of a cream-gold colour and neo-Renaissance turrets. Its exterior walls carry cut-leather ornament, and the building stands on a gravel forecourt beside a lawn.
The estate was granted to the Bishops of Winchester in 749 and recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. Sir Robert Sawyer rebuilt the house as Place House in 1679; Charles Barry transformed it into the present castle from 1838, with the foundation stone laid in 1842 and work largely finished twelve years later. Thomas Allom completed the west wing and interiors by 1878.
Highclere has appeared on screen since the 1990s comedy series Jeeves and Wooster, and served as the main location for Downton Abbey (2010–2015) and its 2019, 2022 and 2025 films. The house also hosts ticketed events such as the Battle Proms picnic concert and special guided tours through the year.
Visitors can tour the house, the Egyptian exhibition or just the gardens, depending on which ticket option they choose. It helps to allow enough time for the grounds, since they cover a large area.
The fifth Earl of Carnarvon funded the expedition that discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, and later brought Egyptian finds back to the house. A dedicated room now displays pieces from that collection, including replicas and original objects from the excavation period.
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