Highcliffe Castle

Highcliffe Castle has been described as arguably the most important surviving house of the Romantic and Picturesque style of architecture, which flourished at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century.

It is of international importance too as a large amount of medieval French masonry was shipped across the Channel and used in its construction. It is this Norman and Renaissance carved stone, along with the Castle’s Gothic revival features and ancient stained glass, that make it appear older than it is.

The Castle was built between 1831 and 1836 and is the realisation of one man’s fantasy, Lord Stuart de Rothesay. When he built it he was following in the footsteps of his grandfather the 3rd Earl of Bute, who had built an earlier mansion on the site during the 1770s

Over the years the great and the good, the famous and the gifted have visited, and sometimes stayed, at the Castle. Kings, Queens, Princes and Princesses have come as guests. Kaiser Wilhelm -in order ‘to live the life of an English gentleman’. William Gladstone, four times Prime Minister, Nancy Mitford the best-selling author and
Dame Nellie Melba, the Australian soprano (after whom the dessert Peach Melba is named) was a friend of the family and sang in the Wintergarden when she came to stay.

Fire and Neglect at the Castle! After it ceased to be a family home, with most of its contents sold or bequeathed, the fortunes of the Castle fluctuated. It was a Children’s Home for a short period in the early 1950s, then for 13 years the Claretian Fathers used the building as a seminary training students for the priesthood. Just before they moved out tragedy struck as fire ripped through the Great Hall. A more devastating fire followed the next year, when the Castle was owned by local businessmen. Then for two decades the Castle was left a neglected ruin, exposed to the weather and vandals.Read more