For Immediate Release

Contact: Christie’s Press Office Emma Cunningham 020 7389 2664

Historic Houses Association Samantha Jay 020 7932 1847

2011 GARDEN OF THE YEAR AWARD WON BY CASTLE HOWARD, YORKSHIRE

SPONSORED BY HISTORIC HOUSES ASSOCIATION &

CHRISTIE’S

Castle Howard, Yorkshire

London - The magnificent splendour of the historic gardens of Castle Howard in Yorkshire has won the 2011 Garden of the Year award sponsored by the Historic Houses Association and Christie’s. This prestigious national award, now in its twenty-seventh year, is designed to recognise the importance of gardens with outstanding horticultural and public appeal, either in their own right or as the setting for an historic house and Castle Howard, famous as the film location for Brideshead Revisited, embodies both.

“Each year, the Garden of the Year Award, presented by the HHA and sponsored by Christie's is an opportunity to revisit some of this country’s finest gardens. What a pleasure to honour one of our great treasure houses and its garden which has always impressed with its splendour and variety and has been modified and improved by a succession of benevolent custodians,” said Charles Cator, Deputy Chairman, Christie’s International.

A visitor to Castle Howard in 1732 wrote of the

“infinite variety” of the grounds and gardens and this

holds true today. The walled gardens, filled with old and

new roses and the scent of Philadelphus, are surrounded

by spectacular parkland and important woodlands in

which visitors can walk. The landscape and gardens had

fallen into some neglect in the first half of the 20th

century and their reinstatement and improvement is a

great tribute to the work of Simon Howard and his

parents as well as plantsman James Russell and the

present head gardener, Brian Deighton,” said Edward Harley, President of the Historic Houses Association.

The Hon. Simon Howard said: “I am absolutely thrilled to announce that Castle Howard has won the

HHA/Christie’s Garden of Year Award 2011. We have now joined an elite group of spectacular gardens throughout

this country. To say I am surprised that we have received this, would be an understatement! I have always thought that

the grounds and gardens at Castle Howard, although wonderful, would never figure in people’s minds as the sort of

‘garden’ that could win this accolade. All credit should go to all the gardeners here who every year, through all types of

weather, tirelessly strive to achieve a high standard of presentation that is difficult at the best of times as all true gardeners

know! All of those who live, work, and visit here would, I am sure, like to join me in thanking and congratulating the

team on this achievement.”

HISTORY OF THE HOUSE The building of Castle Howard began in 1699 and was really the creation of three men: Charles

Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, and his two architects, Sir John Vanbrugh (who had never built anything

in his life before), and Nicholas Hawksmoor. Together they built the house and also fashioned the

extensive landscape filling it with gardens, waterways, woods, sculpture and monuments.

In 1940 much of the house was damaged in a disastrous fire, but the late George Howard, on returning from the war and unexpectedly inheriting Castle Howard, determined to set about restoring

the house and other buildings. He was in the vanguard of British owners who opened their houses to the public in the 1950s, and it is in no small measure due to George Howard’s remarkable efforts, and that of his son Simon Howard, that Castle Howard is still

home to the family, and enjoys such enormous popularity with the public, many of whom identify Vanbrugh’s magnificent building with the fictional family home of the Flyte family in Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, which has been filmed twice at Castle Howard.

THE GARDENS With such a rich architectural history and dramatic setting, it is the extensive grounds, with its lakes, monuments and statues which connects the house to its magnificent landscape The Gardens Team, led by Head Gardener Brian Deighton, are rightly proud to have been given this year’s award. Mr. Deighton said: “…we are all thrilled to bits. It means so much to me and my team to be given this honour by real gardeners, people who know how much work goes into keeping it all going, year round. We were smiling for days when we heard!” Mr. Deighton, who lives in the Head Gardener’s cottage within the walled garden, says his favourite moment of the day is his walk through the rose garden in the early morning: “For that magic three weeks when they all come out, the scent is incredible. When I first came here, thirty years ago, it was my job to tend the roses. It was a very young garden then and now there are three people doing the job.” While the heroic scale of the grounds with its distant views of spectacular monuments is impressive,

for many people it is the horticultural intimacy of the enclosed compartments inside the 10-acre

Walled Garden that excites most comment.

Monumental Landscape

The monuments include Vanbrugh’s temple of the Four Winds, Hawksmoor’s Pyramid and Mausoleum, and further afield the Obelisk, the Gatehouse, and the Carrmire Gate. The lakes were first fashioned in the 18th century but were added to in the 1850s with the installation of two fountains, a cascade and waterfall under the direction of the landscape architect William Andrews Nesfield. Many of these features have been restored in the last two decades, and are once more fully operational and visible for visitors to enjoy. Ray Wood Set on the site of ancient woodland, Ray Wood is a rare combination of the planter's art and botanical science equally rewarding to the casual visitor as well as the botanist. This sylvan garden of tall trees and dappled sunlit glades holds one of the most extensive plant collections in private hands in Europe. In the 1940s Ray Wood was clear felled, but twenty years later re-planting began under the aegis of award-winning plantsman James Russell. In addition George Howard decided to reinstate a series of winding pathways as a framework for the new ornamental plantings in a woodland setting. Almost 800 species and varieties of rhododendron provide glorious colour during May and June. There are glades of pieris, wild roses, rare magnolias, hydrangeas, viburnums,

maples and rowans, creating year round interest with a diversity of flower, autumn colour and fruit. Ray Wood is managed by Castle Howard Arboretum Trust. The Walled Gardens

The Rose Garden Set within the 18th-century walled garden, the Rose Gardens originally comprised two adjoining gardens - Lady Cecilia's Garden and the Venus Garden. With their romantic Italianate trellises, hornbeam hedges and backdrop of brick walls, these gardens are a sheltered paradise of colour and intoxicating perfume, where visitors will enjoy a spectacle of massed roses. Lady Cecilia's garden was established in 1975, dedicated to the

memory of Lady Cecilia Howard, and is filled with the old roses, Albas, Gallicas and Damasks - some seldom seen elsewhere. The garden is at its best during late June and into July, when soft, pure colours contrast with the under plantings of gillyflowers and lavender and the scented Philadelphus. Within the two and a half acre space there are 2000 modern roses of all types, including David Austin's English roses, making this one of England's most comprehensive collections. Throughout the summer, within each garden and along every alley there is an abundance of colour and fragrance.

The Potager or Ornamental Vegetable Garden

In 2006 the Gardens Team at Castle Howard embarked on a new project to create an ornamental vegetable garden in the 18th-century Walled Garden. Historically this area was a working garden supplying fruit, vegetables and

flowers for the household. Vegetables and herbs are grown alongside garden plants in the Potager and their ornamental appeal, arranged in formal patterns, is just as important as their productiveness. The Potager usually yields its first harvest by mid-June and the produce supplies the Courtyard Café - a reminder of a previous age when houses and estates were almost wholly self-sustaining.

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MEDIA OPPORTUNITY Presentation of the award to Castle Howard and informal Garden Tour: On: Friday, 20 May 2011 At: 11.00 am Interviews with the Hon. Simon Howard & Photo Opportunity 12.00 midday Formal Ceremony with Champagne RSVP: Emma Cunningham, Christie’s Press Office Tel: 020 7389 2398 email: ecunningham@christies.com

Notes to Editors: Please note that the HHA have changed the date of the award to correspond to the year it is presented, rather than as in previous years when it was awarded for the year preceding.

CASTLE HOWARD

Castle Howard, York YO60 7DA Telephone 01653 648333 house@castlehoward.co.uk www.castlehoward.co.uk Opening Information Grounds & Gardens: Open all year from 10am (except Christmas Day) House: Open 26th March to 30th November, 26th November to 16th December 2011 Farm Shop & Café, Gifts Shops and Garden Centre: Open all year from 10am with free admission Please visit www.castlehoward.co.uk for admission prices to the House & Grounds The first event of our season is Easter, details as follows: Traditional Easter Fair Friday 22nd to Monday 25th April 2011 Traditional fairground rides, face painting, Shire horse dray rides, children’s Easter trail and meet Molly the Rabbit. All activities are included in the admission price. Open from 10am. Visit www.castlehoward.co.uk for more details of this and other events. For further information please contact: Rachel Jack, Marketing Manager 01653 648624 or email rjack@castlehoward.co.uk

THE HISTORIC HOUSES ASSOCIATION

The Historic Houses Association (HHA) represents the interests of Britain’s historic houses, castles and gardens that remain in private ownership. These owners make a very substantial contribution to the preservation of Britain’s heritage and to rural economies through tourism and other commercial activities. Currently representing over 1500 members, the HHA is an association of these owners which exists to assist the people who own important properties with the special range of challenges and problems they face. The ‘Garden of the Year’ award is designed to reflect public enjoyment of gardens rather than specialised historical or botanical interest. FRIENDS OF THE HISTORIC HOUSES ASSOCIATION The winner of the ‘Garden of the Year’ award is decided through the votes of the HHA’s 31,000 Friends. The Friends scheme gives free access to around 300 HHA houses, castles and gardens which open on a regular basis. For a single subscription of £40 Friends also receive the HHA’s quarterly magazine and can join organised outings in the UK and overseas, often to houses which are not open to the public. For further information please contact: Peter Sinclair - Tel: 020 7259 5688 or Samantha Jay - Tel: 020 7932 1847 Visit the HHA’s website at www.hha.org.uk CHRISTIE’S About Christie’s Christie’s, the world's leading art business had global auction and private sales in 2010 that totaled £3.3 billion/$5.0 billion. Christie’s is a name and place that speaks of extraordinary art, unparalleled service and expertise, as well as international glamour. Founded in 1766 by James Christie, Christie's conducted the greatest auctions of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, and today remains a popular showcase for the unique and the beautiful. Christie’s offers over 450 sales annually in over 80 categories, including all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewellery, photographs, collectibles, wine, and more. Prices range from $200 to over $100 million. Christie’s has 53 offices in 32 countries and 10 salerooms around the world including in London, New York, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Dubai and Hong Kong. More recently, Christie’s has led the market with expanded initiatives in emerging and new markets such as Russia, China, India and the United Arab Emirates, with successful sales and exhibitions in Beijing, Mumbai and Dubai. For further information please contact Christie’s Press Office, Tel: 020 7389 2664 Visit Christie’s website at www.christies.com