Tag: Highclere castle

Earl of Carnarvon tells Andrew Lloyd Webber Highclere Castle is not for sale

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, the multi-millionaire musical impresario, has expressed a wish to purchase Highclere Castle, near Newbury, Berkshire. The Victorian castle has been the family seat of the Carnarvons since the 1670s, and was home to the fifth Earl of Carnarvon, who funded Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun‘s tomb (watch the video).

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s offer came after the current Earl applied for permission to sell pieces of land on the fringes of the Highclere estate in the hope of raising 11 million to fund badly-needed repair works to the Victorian mansion.

In a letter sent to the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon, as well as to the borough of Basingstoke and Deane, Sir Lloyd Webber wrote: I could provide a secure future for the castle without any development of this kind.

In the letter, seen by The Basingstoke Gazette, he says he would use the castle to display his large art collection, and plans to keep it open to the public. I am longing to provide a permanent home for my art collection. The combination of Sydmonton and Highclere would provide exactly that.

Video: Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter

The 8th Earl of Carnarvon, George Herbert and his wife, 8th Countess of Carnarvon, Fiona Herbert, talk to Heritage Key about their ancestor Lord Carnarvon and the archaeologist he funded, Howard Carter.

According to the Telegraph, the Carnarvons are definitely not intending to sell. They quote Lady Carnarvon saying:

We value the estate hugely. My husband and his family have invested money, time, love and passion on it for centuries. I heard he wanted somewhere to hang his paintings. But it is definitely not for sale. We have every intention of being here for the next 150 years.

Currently, the Victorian mansion and its gardens are open to the public each summer, and can be booked for special occasions throughout the year. The building also hosts an Egyptologyexhibition, ‘Egypt at Highclere’,about the search for and discovery of King Tut’s tomb.

Besides an impressive reconstruction of the KV62 tomb paintings (see it here on video, explained by Lady Carnarvon), ‘Egypt at Highclere‘ features various replicas, artefacts brought from Deir el-Bahri and the Valley of the Kings by the fifth Earl of Carnarvon and tons of photographs and drawings illustrating the quest for Tutankhamun’s tomb, only recently discovered in the family archives. With the exhibition go two bookspenned by Fiona Carnarvon, ‘Carnarvon & Carter’ and ‘Egypt at Highclere: The Discovery of Tutankhamun’.

Discovering Tut – Carnarvon Never Got to See the Golden Death Mask

When you think of King Tut, do you see a young boy, struggling with the enormity of his power; a slender adolescent in control of the world’s greatest empire? Of course not, because you’re like me: you see the magnificent death mask, the coffins, shrines, shabtis, daggers, beds, decrepit mummy(with or without penis) et al. We ancient world-lovers are just magpies with laptops really.

But do you ever wonder why, when Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon burst into the tomb in 1922, they could see so many ‘wonderful things’? Why wasn’t Tutankhamun’s funerary procession made ancient swag, like those of nearly all of ancient Egypt’s kings?

In fact even this isn’t strictly true, as Lady Carnarvon points out to us from the cellar-cum-Egyptian exhibition at Highclere Castle: “Howard Carter estimated that around 60 per cent of the jewellery which (sic) would have been in the tomb…was possibly stolen by grave diggers of ancient times.” Not a motto modern grave diggers will be thrilled about, but it does explain why the legs of the otherwise dazzling golden throne of King Tut are so bare.

“Tutankhamun wasn’t a great general, just a boy who’d married a girl.”

Yet the swathes of stunning objects in the Cairo Museum today are largely thanks to Tutankhamun’s anonymity as a leader. His grandfather Amenhotep III is widely seen as having led Egypt into her cultural and international peak. Yet Amenhotep III’s successes in life would prove his downfall in death: “Because he was a more successful, more renowned pharaoh, people knew to look for his tomb,” says Lady Carnarvon, “whereas Tutankhamun was the minor pharaoh.” Does this mean King Tut, for all his obscurity, is the most powerful pharaoh in the afterlife?

“Just a boy”

One of the tomb’s most famous treasures, the Golden Throne was mercifully one of a few artefacts Lord Carnarvon saw before his tragic death in 1923 aged just 56. And while most pieces stress the king’s authority, power and dominance, the throne (shot beautfully by Sandro Vannini) sheds light on Tut as a tender young man, gripped by the love of his wife Ankhesenamun. “He wasn’t a great general,” says Lady Carnarvon, “just a boy who’d married a girl.” The touching scene serves to highlight the throne’s ‘indescribable beauty’, points out Lady Carnarvon.

Lady Carnarvon is showing us a replica of the throne, and other items, at Highclere. Another replica on show is that of the king’s chest, a multicoloured homage to Tut’s kingship, and Egypt’s prowess over her neighbours. Tutankhamun is seen on a hunt astride a magnificent chariot drawn by plumed horses. “He’s wrapping the reins round his waist,” says Lady Carnarvon, “which looks blooming dangerous to me! Health and safety would say no.”

A Crusher of Nations

Yet there’s a grander purpose to the hunting scene than a few juicy racks of meat: both sides of the chest are decorated with Egypt’s two greatest enemies. Protected by the Sahara to the east and west, Egypt was only at risk at its northern and southern borders. However, despite the southern Nubians and the northern Hittites’ presence on the chest, Lady Carnarvon suspects Tutankhamun would not have attacked them – Egypt’s relative stability under his rule is testament to this.

Sadly the chest was to be one of the last things Lord Carnarvon saw before his untimely end. Yet Lady Carnarvon has no doubt he and Carter witnessed the glory of the boy-king together that fateful day in November 1922: “As Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter looked through the little hole they’d made, they’d have seen a glint of gold.” It was, as history confirms, so much more.

HD Video: Discovering King Tut – Carnarvon and the Artefacts

(Click here to read a transcript of this video)

Look our for our Ancient World in London series, where we’ll be exploring the great names of the Age of Discovery in Britain. You can even see us exploring the great archives of the Egypt Exploration Society in London, which feature the most famous archaeologists in history, here.

Fiona Carnarvon has written two books on the King Tut tomb raid: Carnarvon & Carter(buy here) and Egypt at Highclere: The Discovery of Tutankhamun(buy here). You can watch every instalment of our special Discovering Tut video series right here at Heritage Key:

Discovering Tut – The Life of Lord Carnarvon and Lady Almina

“There is a bit of an Indiana Jones style to that portrait of my great-grandfather, and it rather sums up his character.” George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon looks up at the image of his namesake forebear admiringly. A dashing 5th Earl of Carnarvon looks playfully down the barrel of a cigarette, rogueish grin etched upon his face. No wonder he’s smiling: George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon is an archaeological legend – the man who alongside Howard Carter unlocked the 3,200-year-old secrets of Tutankhamun, Egypt’s boy-king.

Adventure, it seemed, was in Carnarvon’s blood. Born into immense wealth, the young aristrocrat could have carved an easy life moving between mansions, estates and the family seat at Highclere Castle. “”He loved Highclere and he loved the very comfortable, Edwardian life here,” says his great-grandson. “But he also loved travel and adventure.”

“There is a bit of an Indiana Jones style to my great-grandfather, and it rather sums up his character.”

But it wasn’t just the ancient world which fascinated Carnarvon. Well versed in aviation, he helped Geoffrey de Havilland get one of his first designs off the ground in 1909. But cars were his greatest love. A lifelong petrolhead, he pioneered racers at the turn of the 20th century, travelling the continent in search of speed. It would nearly prove his end when, in Germany, he swerved, hit a pile of rocks and smashed into the scenery. Carnarvon escaped, albeit with a seriously damaged leg: doctors urged him to eschew the cold wet winters of Britain for warmer climes.

Lord Carnarvon and his wife Lady Almina on a visit to Egypt in 1921. Egypt beckoned, but Carnarvon wasn’t happy with the high life of his peers: “A lot of people went out to Egypt as part of a social life in Cairo,” says the 8th Earl, “but that wasn’t his interest at all: he’d have been bored stiff if he was stuck just doing that.” The early 20th century was seeing some spectacular archaeological breakthoughs. The excitement of the technologies of the future were twinned with a fascination for the past.

Enthralled with Egypt’s rich history, Carnarvon set out to discover its hidden secrets. By this time he was accompanied by his wife Almina Wombwell: ostensibly the daughter of an army captain but really the illegitimate child of banking tycoon Alfred de Rothschild.

De Rothschild doted on his daughter, giving her and her husband the money they needed to conduct more and more adventurous digs. An early mission saw months of work rewarded with just one mummified cat. Unpeturbed, Carnarvon continued in his quest, with Almina constantly by his side. “She was his friend, partner and wife,” says Fiona, 8th Countess of Carnarvon, “who started with these huge amounts of money. And clearly it developed into a great relationship.”

The couple would soon make the greatest discovery in history. But for that, and the tragic events surrounding Carnarvon’s death, you’ll have to check in to the next in our special series. Look out for our forthcoming ‘Ancient World in London’ series, when we’ll be exploring the great names of the Age of Discovery in Britain. You can even see us exploring the great archives of the Egypt Exploration Society in London, which feature the most famous archaeologists in history, here.

HDVideo: Discovering King Tut – 5th Earl of Carnarvon – Adventurous Life

(Click here to read the transcript)

A Great Day Out of London: Ashmolean and Highclere

London is one of the world’s best cities to see ancient culture. You can ramble round Roman London, see Seti’s sarcophagus at the Soane, explore the hidden pleasures of the Petrie Museum, or get lost in the British Museum, where you’ll see amazing artefacts from all over the world – including the Elgin Marbles, Rosetta Stone and great Mesopotamian relics.

But what about the wonders lying just outside the city limits? There are Roman villas dotted all round London, and ancient treasures are never more than a short train journey away. One of the best days out can be had heading out west, where two homes of Britain’s spirit of adventure are waiting no more than an hour away. Why not try this easy guide and see both in one go?

First Stop: London to Oxford

By rail: London Paddington to Oxford, 57 minutes, 19.90.
By car:London to Oxford, 60 miles, 1hr30mins approx.

Oxford is a city worth seeing even without its mighty Ashmolean Museum, the oldest museum in the world. Open to the public since 1683, the museum has just emerged from a 61million, two-year revamp: its elegant lines and bright corridors bring it steaming into the 21st century in style. Highlights among its huge collection include the 9th century Saxon Alfred Jewel, the Egyptian king Scorpion’s macehead and an eerie 7,000 BC shell-inlaid skull from Jericho.

After you’ve admired the Ashmolean, try one of Oxford’s excellent pubs. Many date back hundreds of years, and you can get top-notch British ale and steaming hot pub-grub while watching the doctors, statesmen and lawyers of tomorrow zipping off to their next lecture on antiquated bicycles. Don’t be tempted with that second/third pint though – there’s much more to see yet…

Second Stop: Oxford to Highclere Castle

By rail: Oxford – Reading – Newbury, 45mins approx, 10, then taxi to Highclere Castle (10mins, 5-10)
By car: Oxford to Highclere Castle, 30 miles, 40mins

Just south of the picturesque town of Newbury, famous for its historic horse-racing course, is Highclere Castle: a giant 17th century mansion sitting astride a 6,000-acre estate complete with gardens and temples. Yet this is more than a stunning British country manor: Highclere has been the seat of the Earls of Carnarvon for centuries, including George Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, who alongside Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922.

But you can do more than simply stroll around the caslte and its grounds; symbols of the great spirit of adventure which spurred the 5th Earl towards Ancient Egypt. The castle’s current residents, George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon and his wife Fiona, 8th Countess of Carnarvon have installed their own Egyptian exhibition in the castle’s labyrinthine cellars. As well as original artefacts and an authentic mummy from Egypt, the show stores a myriad replica King Tut relics, including his golden death mask and wall paintings.

VIDEO: Discovering King Tut – Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter

If you’ve got your walking boots on, you may even want to hike up to a tiny hilltop cemetery in the estate’s distant boundary: it’s the final resting place of the 5th Earl. After that you’ll be gasping with thirst, so treat yourself to a cuppa in the castle’s tea rooms. If you want to learn more about the discovery, Fiona has written two books: Carnarvon& Carterand Egypt at Highclere: The Discovery of Tutankhamun.

By now you’ll no doubt be lagging after your long day of ancient discovery. So hop on a train or drive your way back to London for a well-earned rest. You’ll need it if you’re going to see anywhere near what the city has to offer.

Watch a video featuring Lord and Lady Carnarvon, on the discovery of Tutankhamun, here. You can also purchase Fiona Carnarvon’s books right here at Heritage Key –

Buy Carnarvon & Carter HERE
Buy Egypt at Highclere: The Discovery of Tutankhamun HERE

Video Shoot at Highclere with Lord Carnarvon

Heritage Key takes a trip to explore the British spirit of adventure, where we’ll be meeting with Lord and Lady Carnarvon at Highclere Castle . We are shooting some new video that will dig deeper into information about the man who funded Howard Carter’s work as well as the history of the incredible castle itself. We hope to be able to share new images and more insight into the tomb paintings and key artefacts of King Tut.

Let us know if you have any questions – You might get them onto the video. You can use the comments box below, our contact page – or you can email me direct.

It’s an archaeovideo journey to the heart of one of the nation’s great explorers – from his very own descendents. But there’s much more to our trip to Hampshire than the life story of Lord Carnarvon. We’ll be speaking to Lady Carnarvon on Tutankhamun‘s mysterious wall paintings – available

Was Carnarvon struck by the mummy’s curse?

in stunning detail in King Tut Virtual. We’ll also be heading out and about in the castle in its grounds, showing you the magnificent headquarters for the ancient world’s greatest discovery.

Lord Carnarvon is one of the Era of Discovery’s biggest names, and our special series of videos will show you the story behind his intrepid journeys into Egypt, and the myriad issues which befell his and Howard Carter‘s fateful mission to locate KV62, the richest tomb in Ancient Egypt.

Carnarvon was a true explorer with a passion for history, photography and motor car racing. Was he the victim of the mummy’s curse? And how close were the pair to ending their Theban odyssey? Whose discovery was it? And why was the Lord buried in a remote corner of the Highclere Castle grounds? We’ll be answering all these questions and much, much more right here at Heritage Key!

Don’t forget we’ve got a whole host of archaeovideos out nearly every day – from the perils of Venice to the riddle of the Sphinx. This week’s highlights include an interview with Petrie Museum curator Stephen Quirke on the museum’s origins under founder Amelia Edwards. Heritage Key – Unlock the Wonders.

Watch a video featuring Lord and Lady Carnarvon, on the discovery of Tutankhamun, here. You can also purchase Fiona Carnarvon’s books right here at Heritage Key –

Buy Carnarvon & CarterHERE

Buy Egypt at Highclere: The Discovery of Tutankhamun HERE

Carnarvons’ Highclere Castle Could Become Financial Ruin

It may once have funded the most famous ever excavation in Egypt. But the modern-day plight of Berkshire’s Highclere Castle couldn’t be further from the dripping opulence of King Tut’s tomb. For the stately manor, once home to Howard Carter‘s esteemed cohort Lord Carnarvon (orGeorge Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon to give him his full name), needs a staggering level of funding if it is to survive the most difficult period in its history. No less than 12 million pounds are needed to repair the building’s sagging treasures – and its current occupant, the Lord’s great grandson the 8th Earl of Carnarvon, admits he’s losing sleep over the manor’s delicate future.

Once a showcase for austere English architecture and glamour, Highclere has witnessed a sharp decline since the superstardom of Lord Carnarvon, who became an overnight celebrity alongside Carter following their earth-shattering discoverys in Egypt.

Images of the castle’s interior published in the Mail Online today reveal mouldy walls, piles of rubble, and collapsed ceilings.

Lord Carnarvon and his wife Lady Almina on a visit to Egypt in 1921. Even some of the pharaohs’ own residences are in better shape than Highclere, which the 8th Earl, 52, argues needs immediate repair work totalling 1.8 million. Stonework is crumbling and ceilings are being soaked into an early grave; even the castle’s inspired stone turrets are on the brink of extinction unless urgent work is carried out. In fact, only the ground floor remains intact thanks to six-figure repair bills, and provides some revenue by hosting weddings and parties. Various fundraising ideas have been mooted by the Earl – most controverially the building of a housing estate in the castle’s grounds. One venture which appears to be working is the castle’s Egyptian exhibition, held in its cellars, alongside two books written by Fiona, 8th Countess of Carnarvon: Carnarvon& Carterand Egypt at Highclere: The Discovery of Tutankhamun. But he admits he fears for the future of a great building which can count itself one of the south of England’s most lavish abodes since its 14th century birth.

“Worrying about how I am going to keep it all going does give me sleepless nights,” the Earl explains to the Daily Mail. “It is a wonderful responsibility and a great privilege to live at Highclere Castle, which is part of the most beautiful landscape in southern England. It is a quite incredible house, set in beautiful 18th century grounds – but with that comes a great responsibility for the building and everything else that encompasses the estate.” How times have changed: just a few years back Highclere was paid regular visits by Her Majesty, a great friend of the Earl’s father. Nowadays the majestic castle faces ruin, and barely makes money from kitschy celeb nuptials, like the wedding of Peter Andr and Jordan in 2005. It may have funded the greatest archaeological discovery of all time, but time is exactly what Highclere doesn’t have right now.

Watch a video featuring Lord and Lady Carnarvon, on the discovery of Tutankhamun, here. You can also purchase Fiona Carnarvon’s books right here at Heritage Key –

Buy Carnarvon & CarterHERE

Buy Egypt at Highclere: The Discovery of Tutankhamun HERE

Image by JB + UK_Planet.

Egyptian Exhibition opens at Lord Carnarvon’s Highclere Castle

Lord Carnarvon, the man who funded the discovery of KV-62 – the tomb of Tutankhamun – and died five months later in mysterious circumstances before he could actually see the mummy’s face, was a superstitious man who wore the same lucky bow tie all his life. Such anecdotes are part of the ‘Egyptian Exhibition’ at Highclere Castle.

Rising in the ~~Berkshire~~ Hampshire countryside south of Newbury, England, the castle kept many secrets on its own. As the old Earl did not want to talk about Egypt, the collection was hidden away until 1987. But the long-hidden collection of Egyptian antiquities is now presented in its full glory – bigger room, better lighting, new cabinets – in the cellars of the castle, along with hundreds of unpublished photographs taken by Lord Carnarvon between 1907 and 1914, photographs from the discovery in 1922 of the Tomb of Tutankhamun and letters, notes and drawings from Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter. They were discovered two years ago in the family archives by Fiona, the Eighth Countess of Carnarvon who recently published ‘Egypt at Highclere’ and has also written ‘Carnarvon & Carter’.

“These pictures reveal the enormous scale of excavations that Lord Carnarvon and Carter carried in the decade before their most sensational finding. They tell the story of two amazing men, who have never been fully recognized in England for the discovery they have made,” the Countess of Carnarvon told Discovery Channel News.

Among the antiquities on display, are a splendid 3,500-year-old painted coffin of a woman named Irtyru, from Deir el-Bahri, a calcite shabti showing the head of Amenhotep III, silver bracelets from the Delta, faience bowls, a 5,000-year-old calcite dish used in priestly offerings, coffin faces carved in wood and alabaster vessels found at the entrance to the tomb of King Merneptah, the son of Ramesses II and the razor that caused the Fifth Earl of Carnarvon’s death.

Does the Highclere castle looks strangely familiar to you? Don’t worry, this could be perfectly normal, as the castle’s front was used for exteriors of the orgy scenes in the Stanley Kubrick film Eyes Wide Shut. We do advise to adhere the rules of proper and decent behaviour when visiting! 😉

Highclere Castle, it’s Grounds, Gardens and the Egyptian Exhibition are open Sunday to Thursday each week the 3rd of September 2009. From 11am until 4.30pm. Last admission is at 3.30pm.

Curious for images from the exhibition? Discovery News has a video interview with the Eight Earl of Carnavon showing parts of the exhibition.