First look at renovated Castle Howard interior 

A new look inside Castle Howard in North Yorkshire has been shared, following a major renovation of its interiors.

The renovation project, called its ‘21st Century Renaissance’ includes the unveiling of its lost Tapestry Drawing Room, which has been restored to its original 18th-century splendour for the first time since a fire in 1940.

Visitors will also be able to see the renovated Long Gallery and Grand Staircase and a complete rehang and redisplay of its collection of paintings, sculptures and tapestries.

The restoration work is being continued by the present generation of custodians, Nicholas and Victoria Howard, with work led by architect Francis Terry and designers Remy Renzullo and Alec Cobbe.

The Tapestry Drawing Room was gutted by the fire of 1940 and has remained a shell since. Visitors will soon be able to see the fully restored and redecorated space, with the tapestries that originally hung in the room returned to their original positions for the first time since the beginning of the 18th century

Following the re-hang, visitors will immediately be introduced to the Grand Tour history of the house, with antique sculptures and artefacts collected by the 4th and 5th Earls on their travels, displayed alongside a series of newly commissioned plaster casts and busts.

The Long Gallery, which contains Italian and Grand Tour paintings are displayed throughout the gallery.

  Nicholas and Victoria Howard said the re-creation of the Tapestry Drawing Room is “at the centre of our contemporary evolution”.

Castle Howard ‘refuses to die’ as it reopens room lost to historic fire

“Spreading out from the Tapestry Drawing Room, we have re-purposed, re-hung, and re-decorated, re-vivifying the house that has refused to die.”

The country house will reopen to the public on 25 April 2025.