Secrets of Highclere Castle

The castle keeps most of its secrets
This is a beautiful film, but none-the-less it left me somewhat disappointed. I had ordered it hoping to see the 95 percent or so of the castle and estate that you never see on Downton Abbey. After watching the DVD, that unseen portion has dropped to maybe 90 percent. I'm still wondering what nearly all of the rooms in that massive building look like - you only get to see a few that aren't used in the show. I wonder what relics might lie hidden in the huge, rambling attics and cavernous cellars. I speculate about the massive brick structure attached to the rear of the castle. Never saw THAT in the TV series! What the heck's in there?

I wonder if there are any hidden pasageways or secret rooms in the castle? How on earth do they heat the place and where did the power and water come from before modern utilities? What are some of today's maintenance challenges? Are there still farms on the estate? What do they grow?

Perhaps the current owners didn't want to...

A Must for Downton Fans
I saw this special when it aired on PBS this year and greatly enjoyed seeing the ins and outs of the workings of the modern day castle and hearing from it's current occupants. You are shown the rooms so familiar from the Downton Abbey series and learn the history of this beautiful estate.

Excellent documentary of the history of this famous country manor
PBS has completed a series of famous manors and palaces located through Great Britain. The "Secrets of Highclere Castle" is another extremely interesting documentary of the history of this famous castle located 90 miles southwest of London. Highclere Castle for over 300 years has been the home of the Carnarvans. The most famous of the Carnarvan Dynasty was Lord Carnarvan of the 1920's who was the backer and financier of the famous archeological find in history, that of the Ancient Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Today, the claim to fame of this castle is that it is the castle of "Downton Abbey", the great series on PBS. The documentary tells the fascinating story of how it was built in the 1600's and for over 300 years it was the "playground" of the rich and famous of Great Britain. King George V stayed here a few times and was entertained and dined. The bill for that weekend alone came to over $500,000 dollars in today's exchange! When Highclere Castel was the social scene Lady and Lord...

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