Howsham Hall North Yorkshire For Sale – My Lord and My Lady
Howsham Hall in North Yorkshire for sale for My Lord and My Lady. Downton Abbey has ended for the season, now what? I found a home fit for My Lord and My Lady to live in while they wait for next season.
A wonderful Historic home (using the word home loosely here) err castle Circa 1610. It has only been on the market three times since 1573 when the land was acquired. The listing price is different. Details are “Offers Over” L5,000,000. I read this can mean trying to create a bidding war and/or it means an unclear price the seller actually wants for their property.
Practical Lady Mary Crawley would like Howsham Hall. It is a rare combination of formal rooms together with practical family areas designed for today’s living.
Howsham Hall is perfectly suited for the Crawleys’ to be milling about the property in their finery. The Downton Staff, Mr.Carson and Mrs. Hughes can rest in the ground floor staff sitting room, two staff bedrooms and a bathroom. As if they will be sitting; always something to be done for The Crawley’s.
A little about Highclere Castle before we look at Howsham: It’s in Hampshire, but the fictional Downton Abbey is in County of Yorkshire. The towns mentioned in the show lie in North Yorkshire. So off to Yorkshire I went and found Howsham Hall.
Here’s the spoiler about Highclere Castle. It is used to shoot the exterior scenes, but the kitchen, servants’ quarters and working areas and some of the upstairs bedrooms are a set at Ealing Studios.
I have looked on Craigslist for a floor to ceiling mirror smaller than this one of course. So far no luck, but wouldn’t it be grand. 
Five formal reception rooms. 
Updated kitchen includes walnut floors.
Seven bedrooms. 
All manner of other rooms like an entertainment room, study, library, gentleman’s retreat with snooker table and caterer’s kitchen, gun-room, boot room, cloak rooms, and a playroom to list a few. All on about 83.5 acres.
The Howsham Hall Curse:
Called the Curse of Kirkham. After the Kirkham Monastery was demolished because of the Protestant Reformation, stones, timbers and other material from it were taken and used by the owners of Howsham Hall to build it. That was considered sacrileges at the time. The curse is no happiness would ever come to the male heirs of the estate and that they would perish. This indeed has come to pass. All the families that lived at Howsham became extinct due to lack of heirs.
If you watch Downton Abbey you know Lady Rose met the Prince of Wales. During that meeting, a letter the Prince wrote to a married woman got into the hands of a card shark that would leak the scandal. Lady Rose and Robert set into motion a plan to retrieve the letter back from the unscrupulous card shark to save the Prince’s reputation.
Time Entertainment reports that in real life the Prince of Wales, future King Edward VIII, did indeed write many letters to a married woman named Freda whom he loved at the time. In 2003 over 300 of these letters were auctioned in value up to $150,000. Last November, a single letter sold for more than $8,000. There is a book about the letters called Letters from a Prince.
Head over to Savills for more views of Howsham Hall estate.
Want more castles?
Rossdhu Gate Scottish Tudor Castle
Melrose Castle Buy a Fairytale
Copenhaver Castle On Camelback Mountain in Arizona
Modern Medieval with Forest, Footbridge
See a list of Historic Old Houses here.
Yes, I want to wear a blue dress with matching blue hat.
Oh, I suddenly feel very lady-like and I think this mansion was built for me!
Servants,yes, we would have servants and go ride horses in the afternoon.
I am trying to imagine living here with a few servants of course.
This is truly something, Such grandeur and formality. Truly they don’t build them like this anymore!
It is such a wonder that these estates exist.
I like the modernization of the house. The kitchen is beautiful and the grounds are amazing. I am not sure I could keep up with that much land.
I guess I had better get in and finish my last episodes of Downton Abbey.