On select dates throughout December, visitors to Castle Drogo on Dartmoor will get to experience a 1920s Christmas party inspired by the festive traditions of the former owner, Julius Drewe and his family.
Open every Friday to Sunday up to 18 Dec and then daily from 19 to 23 December, this is the first Christmas at the castle since the National Trust reached the end of a 9-year conservation project to make it watertight earlier this year.
In the Entrance Hall, guests will be greeted by a 14ft tree, which reaches the top of the impressive Lutyens-designed ceilings. An...
Following nine years of major conservation work, the National Trust’s ambitious project to save Castle Drogo, one of the country’s most iconic buildings, is complete.
Castle Drogo is the last castle to have been built in Britain, between 1911 and 1931, by the renowned architect Edwin Lutyens. It was built for Julius Drewe, a food retailing magnate, whose dream was to create an imposing ancestral home situated on a granite outcrop overlooking Dartmoor that would appear to have existed for hundreds of years.
However, the castle had suffered major structural problems ever...
Castle Drogo will be open for Christmas for the first time since a major conservation project began seven years ago to make the building watertight.
Although the building work now has the end in sight, there is still much work to be done to restore the castle’s grounds and interiors back into the Drewe’s family home, which is likely to continue into 2020. However, the building is now watertight, meaning that Christmas can return to the castle once again.
From Saturday 30 November until Monday 23 December, Castle Drogo will be open and decorated for Christmas, inspired by...
Scaffolding which has enclosed the National Trust’s Castle Drogo for nearly six years has started to come down, as the project to make the castle watertight progresses, however there’s still work to be done both inside and out.
Whilst the project continues, some scaffolding will remain on a smaller scale for final works to complete around the bottom sections of the castle walls. Visitors over the summer will be able to see the exterior slowly being unwrapped as the first phase of the scaffold ‘strike’ to remove the main bulk progresses. It’s expected to take about six weeks to...
Castle Drogo is calling for volunteers at an exciting time in the castle’s history as the project to make it watertight starts to reach its conclusion.
More volunteers than ever are needed to share Castle Drogo’s stories and become part of the team, whether for a couple of hours to spare or to volunteer more regularly.
To find more volunteers, Castle Drogo is holding two volunteering open days on Wednesday 10 April and Saturday 13 April, from 12-3pm in the community space, for anyone who would like to find out more about volunteering there. Alternatively, information on...
Following six years of major restoration work, the National Trust’s ambitious project to save Castle Drogo, the last castle built in England, is nearing completion. Building work will still be visible, with some external work to be carried out during 2019, however, for the first time in its life the building will be watertight.
Staff now have a big task ahead of them as they begin the huge job of moving all the contents, many of which have been in storage, back in. It’s a job which is expected to take all year. There’s plenty to do - from painting and decorating, to rediscovering...
This summer, Castle Drogo is exhibiting a collection of prints, drawings and sculptures by Royal Academician Peter Randall-Page.
The prints and drawings focus on observations of the natural world and include delicate linocuts of botanical and animal subjects. Recent prints such as Honeysuckle, Fig Tree, Spiders and Frogs are shown alongside Peter’s early studies of exquisite seed pods. One of the highlights of the exhibition is Randall-Page’s 7m wide ‘Rorschach Screen’ with its mirror image panels of drawings that reference the bi-lateral symmetry of Rorschach ink blots. Peter says...
Castle Drogo is holding two volunteering open days on Sunday 22 and Wednesday 25 April, from 12 noon until 3pm, for anyone who would like to find out more about getting involved at the property. This is the most exciting time in the history of Castle Drogo since its initial construction. After receiving funding in 2012 from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Interreg, a European grant, the restoration project to make the castle watertight is now in its last phase. More volunteers than ever are needed to share the exciting interpretation that has been created and become part of the Castle Drogo...
This week, artist and architectural designer Edward Crooks has launched a new theatrical installation called ‘Holding Up’ at Castle Drogo, a National Trust property on Dartmoor. The installation, which will be on display in the Library until 4 November, celebrates Castle Drogo as the product of fabricated stories and unbuilt proposals. ‘Holding Up’ is a large scale architectural installation, over 3 metres high, alongside a set of drawings, models and films, which invites visitors to explore the foundations holding up a vast unbuilt tower above Castle Drogo. Sampled from the building, the...
This half-term there are lots of family events on at Castle Drogo including crafty castle capers, a bird detective trail and meet the builder’s day. On Saturday 3 June from 11am-4pm Castle Drogo will be giving visitors the chance to get hands on and learn more about the ongoing building work to make the castle water tight.
In 2013 one of the largest projects ever undertaken by the National Trust began at Castle Drogo. The castle has suffered major structural problems ever since completion which has resulted in serious leaks and water penetration throughout the building. If...
