Castle Howard
/ About
Castle Howard is the Yorkshire seat of the Howard family, begun in 1699 by Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor for the 3rd Earl of Carlisle and still lived in by the family nine generations on. The dome over the Great Hall rises 70 feet, and the house sits in the Howardian Hills among lakes, temples and fountains, 30 minutes from York. It has played Brideshead and Bridgerton on screen.
The House and Grounds are only occasionally let exclusively, for anything from a private dinner for eight to a party for several hundred. Inside the house, the Long Gallery is the principal room: 160 feet of Charles Heathcote Tatham's neoclassical interior, hung with Panini and Ricci landscapes and family portraits, with a decorative scheme completed in 2025. It dines 228 on banquet tables and takes 250 for a reception. The Great Hall under the dome, the columned Grecian Hall and Grecian Gallery, and the Garden Hall facing the Atlas Fountain carry smaller dinners and receptions, and the Temple of the Four Winds at the end of the lawned terrace seats 20 in its own domed room.
The in-house team cooks seasonal menus under the Executive Head Chef, and the house will also bring in a caterer of the client's choosing to its kitchen. Tours of the house and the estate can be built into the evening.
/ Rooms Available
Boar Garden
Exclusive HireA lawned garden beside the Palladian West Wing, sheltered by hedging and named after the 1768 boar statue at its centre. Let for outdoor receptions and dining.
Long Gallery
Exclusive HireCharles Heathcote Tatham's neoclassical gallery in the Palladian west wing, 160 feet long with the Octagon at its centre. It holds Italian landscapes by Panini and Ricci and family portraits, under a decorative scheme of new gilding and marbling completed in 2025. The house's largest room for dinners and banquets.
Grecian Hall
Exclusive HireA columned hall with sculpture, a fireplace for winter and tall windows onto the Boar Garden. The house calls it its most versatile room, for intimate dinners, meetings and drinks receptions.
Great Hall
Exclusive HireVanbrugh's centrepiece, with the dome rising 70 feet above painted frescoes, carved columns, statues and the grand staircases. Used for grand dinners and drinks receptions, and the room where Arctic Monkeys filmed from the floor and balconies.
Grecian Gallery
Exclusive HireThe passage between the Grecian Hall and the Chinese Dining Room, used as an extension for a bar, drinks table or buffet, or as a dining space in its own right.
Garden Hall
Exclusive HireA hall on the principal floor with Portland stone floors and oak doors opening onto the South Steps, looking out to the Atlas Fountain and the Pyramid.
Temple of the Four Winds
Exclusive HireA domed folly completed in 1738 at the end of the lawned terrace, built for refreshment and reading, with views over the Howardian Hills, New River Bridge and the Mausoleum. It has its own wine cellar.
/ Perfect For
/ Features
Catering
- – In-House Luxury Dining
- – External Catering Allowed
- – Bespoke Menus
Venue Specs
- – Wheelchair Accessible
- – Dedicated Events Team
/ Getting Here
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