Highcliffe Castle - Weddings in the New Forest

The Early Years

Highcliffe Castle is a Grade I listed building owned by Christchurch Borough Council. It was built between 1831 and 1835 by Lord Stuart de Rothesay. It has been described as "the most important remaining example of the Romantic and Picturesque style of architecture."The Castle was built on the site previously occupied by High Cliff, a Georgian mansion designed for the 3rd Earl of Bute (a founder of Kew Gardens), with grounds laid out by Capability Brown. The Earl's fourth son, General Sir Charles Stuart who sold the estate apart from Bure Homage, a small house on its outskirts, inherited High Cliff. All that remains of High Cliff today are the two entrance lodges, presently being used as a restaurant and some of the garden walls.

The son of Sir Charles Stuart, also Charles Stuart, resolved that one day he would repurchase his grandfather's estate and build his own home there. A distinguished diplomat, his long and accomplished career resulted firstly in being given a knighthood, and culminated in his being raised to the peerage by George IV. In 1828 Sir Charles Stuart became Lord Stuart de Rothesay. Early retirement meant Lord Stuart could pursue his dream and by 1830 he had bought back much of the eastern end of the estate.

He employed architect William Donthorne, a founder member of RIBA, to design his new home, Highcliffe Castle. The design incorporated large quantities of carved medieval stonework which Lord Stuart had acquired from the Norman Benedictine Abbey of St Peter at Jumieges and from the Grande Maison des Andelys, both of which had become derelict following the French Revolution. The most famous pieces are an entire oriel window and also a complete window of stained glass, both from the sixteenth century. Examples of stained glass from France and other European countries, dating as far back as the twelfth century, were also introduced.

The Castle was built almost "L" shaped and positioned on a south-east axis with the oriel window placed centrally on the south-east elevation. This was to incorporate a vista through landscaped gardens across Christchurch Bay to the Needles and the Isle of Wight. The end result was a remarkable and unique building in the Romantic Picturesque style, which remained in the family until 1950 when much of the estate was sold separately from the castle. The land has since been developed almost up to the castle walls, with bungalows. Since then the future of the Castle has not been so assured. At the beginning of the 50s the Castle was a children's home, before being sold in 1953 to the Claretian Missionary fathers as firstly a noviciate, then for use as a seminary. However, rising costs and a restructuring of the scholasticate (body of students studying for priesthood) saw the Claretians moving in 1966 to be attached to Heythrop College. This led to the Castle being put up for sale once more.

Chronological Diary

The 1950s and 1960s

Calls were made to demolish the Castle but a study carried out in 1953 by Hampshire County Council led to the building's Grade I listing.
The Claretian Fathers who occupied the building until 1966 purchased the Castle in 1953. Shortly after they vacated the building there was the first of two severe fires.
The Castle was then purchased from the Fathers at auction by a group of local developers whose application to demolish the building was rejected owing to its Grade I listing.
Fires in 1967 and 1968 damaged the building, areas such as the East Tower were demolished or removed. The remaining valuable stained glass was also removed for storage. The continuous adverse affects of the weather contributed to the rapid deterioration of the building fabric.

The 1970s

Christchurch Borough Council compulsorily purchased Highcliffe Castle in January 1977. The following June the grounds were open to the public to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

The 1980s

During the 1980s public opinion was strongly against money being spent on the Castle and the Council concentrated on attempting to keep it safe from intrusion and vandalism. Against this background it must be remembered that Christchurch is one of the smallest local authorities in the country with a population of a little over 40,000.
Discussions with English Heritage over the future of the Castle concluded in 1987 with a partnership between the two bodies and the commissioning of a feasibility study, which examined possible options for the Castle.
The climate of local opinion was changing and in 1990 a further application for demolition was overwhelmingly rejected.

The 1990s

In order to secure the building from further decay and the effects of future storms, roofing and temporary protection of important elements of the Castle were carried out at a cost of £200,000 each to the Council and English Heritage.
Following public consultation and recommendations from the Buildings at Risk Trust, a zonal plan of repair and conservation works was adopted.
The first phase of repairs and conservation was completed in 1994 when the Conservatory was officially opened: this now forms part of the Visitor Centre and is licensed for civil weddings. Phases 2 and 3 were completed in 1996 and 1997 respectively.
In 1995 an application to the newly launched National Lottery to fund the final phase of repair (phase 4) was successful in obtaining a grant of £2.65 million. This phase was completed in November 1998 when the final scaffold was removed.
In April 1999 the council took over the management of the castle as a tourist attraction comprising gift shop, exhibition spaces, tea room and ground events.
By 2001 visitor figures have reached 40, 000 per annum with around 100 weddings performed at the castle each year.

Bibliography

BOOKS AND ARTICLES ABOUT HIGHCLIFFE CASTLE OR ITS INHABITANTS OR WITH SIGNIFICANT REFERENCES TO SAME
AUTHOR'S NAME	TITLE	PUBLISHER
Bill Mena	A Priest in the Castle - My Two Lives	AuthorHouse 2006 ISBN : 978-1-4259-5470-3 (sc)
Harry Salsbury	Highcliffe Castle & the Claretians 1953-1966	Natula Publications Christchurch Dorset - 2000
John Harris	NO VOICE FROM THE HALL - Early Memoirs of a Country House Snooper	John Murray
Sarah Medlam	The Bettine, Lady Abingdon Collection. The bequest of Mrs T R P Hole	Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996
Harry Salsbury CMF	Highcliffe Castle Hampshire. A History and Guide	The Catholic Records Press, Exeter, circa 1960
Sheila D Herringshaw	A Portrait of Highcliffe	Sheila Herringshaw/ Stones Printers, Milford on Sea, 1981
Robert Franklin	Lord Stuart de Rothesay. The Life and Times of Lord Stuart de Rothesay of Highcliffe Castle 1779 - 1845	Images/Robert Franklin, 1993 ISBN 1 897 817 06 1
Robert Franklin	The Stuarts of Highcliffe	Natula Publications, 1998 ISBN 1 897 887 17 5
The Honourable Mrs E Stuart Wortley CBE *	A Prime Minister and his Son from the correspondence of the Third Earl of Bute and Lt. General The Honourable Sir Charles Stuart, KB	John Murray, 1925
The Honourable Mrs E Stuart Wortley CBE *	Sophy, The Winkle Picker	Stuart Wortley/ The Christchurch Times, 1930
Violet Stuart Wortley *	Highcliffe and the Stuarts	London John Murray, 1927
Violet Stuart Wortley *	Life Without Theory. An Autobiography	Hutchinson & Co Ltd, 1946
Violet Stuart Wortley *	Magic in the Distance, A Chronicle of 5 Generations	Hutchinson & Co Ltd, 1948
Violet Stuart Wortley *	Grow Old along with Me	Secker and Warburg, 1952
Ian Anstruther	The Knight and the Umbrella. An Account of the Eglinton Tournament 1839	Geoffrey Bles, 1963
Augustus J C Hare	The Story of Two Noble Lives (in three volumes)	George Allen, 1893
Tahu Hole	Highcliffe Castle	Hole/Privately Printed, 1972
Tahu Hole	Fragments from a Family Tapestry	Hole/Privately Printed, 1972
Christopher Hussey	"Highcliffe Castle" Article	Country Life, XCI, 1942 pp 806 - 809, 854 - 857, 902 - 905
Giles Worsley	"Highcliffe Castle, Dorset" Article	Country Life, CLXXIX (1986), pp 14, 28 - 32
Louisa, Lady Waterford	Highcliffe in the Eighteen Thirties. Recollections up to the Age of Twelve	Highcliffe Parish Magazine, June 1891, republished by Highcliffe Parish Magazine, 1950s
Roderick O Donnell	W J Donthorne, (1799-1859): Architecture with "great hardness and decision in the edges". Article	Architectural History, 21, 1978 pp 83 - 92
No Identified Author/Editor	Bournemouth, Christchurch, Wimborne, New Forest, Winchester Illustrated Guidebooks	Ward Locke and Company, various editions
Alice M Coats	Lifelines 27, Lord Bute. An Illustrated Life of John Stuart, 3^rd Earl of Bute 1713 - 1792	Shire Publications Ltd, 1975 ISBN 0 85263 272 X
Barbara Nicholson and Drina Nunn	Highcliffe Castle, The Guide Book of Highcliffe Castle Charitable Trust	Nicholson/Nunn/C H S Creative Solutions, 1996
Arthur Mee	The King's England. Hampshire with the Isle of Wight	Hodder and Stoughton, 1939
J H Powell	Highcliffe Castle, Nr Christchurch, Hampshire	Transactions of the Ancient Monument Society, XXV 1967 pp 82 - 94
Virginia Surtees	Charlotte Canning	John Murray 1975
Nancy Bell	From Harbour to Harbour	G Bell and Sons 1916
Eustace Remnant FRIBA	The Problem of the Cloisters of Jumi�ges	Reprinted from Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vols XX, XXI 1957 - 58
Karl W Schweizer (Ed credited)	Lord Bute - Essays in Re-interpretation	Leicester University Press 1988
Cynthia Gladwin	The Paris Embassy	Collins 1976 ISBN 0 00 2166 0000 2
Rothesay Stuart Wortley	Letters from a Flying Officer	Oxford University Press First published 1928
Rothesay Stuart Wortley	Letters from a Flying Officer	Allen Sutton Publishing Reprinted 1982 ISBN 0 86 299 017 3
William Page SSA (Ed)	The Victoria History of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Volume 5	Constable 1912
P Campion	The Wessex Series. A Recent History of Hampshire Wiltshire Dorset	J Looker Ltd Wessex Press Circa 1922
Christopher Hussey	English Country Houses. Late Georgian 1800-1840	The Antique CollectorsClub. 1984 (limited to 1200 copies)
David Watkin	The English Vision. The Picturesque in Architecture Landscape & Garden Design	John Murray 1982 ISBN 0 7195 3972 2
Julia Wolton	Endangered Domains	SAVE Britain's Heritage1985 ISBN 0 905 978 20X
Alexander Cresswell	The Silent Houses of Britain	Macdonald Illustrated 1991 ISBN 0 356 196 80 1
John Cornforth	The Country Houses of England 1948 - 1998	Constable 1998 ISBN 0 09 479150 03
Charles Allen	Leaves from the Indian Journals of Charlotte Canning	Michael Joseph 1986 ISBN 0 7181 2667 X
Virginia Surtees (Ed)	Sublime & Instructive. Letters from John Ruskin to Louisa, Marchioness of Waterford, Anna Blunden and Ellen Heaton	Michael Joseph 1982 ISBN 0 7181 0994 5
Michael Joicey	Louisa Anne, Marchioness of Waterford	The Trustees of the Lady Waterford Hall, Ford, Northumberland 1991
Gordon Honeycombe	Selfridges	Selfridges Ltd 1984
Robert Franklin	The Fringes of History - Life & Times of Edward Stuart Wortley	Natula Publications ISBN 1 897 887 35 3
Timothy Mowl	Historic Gardens of Dorset	Tempus Publishing 2002 ISBN 0 7524 2535 8
Virginia Surtees	Charlotte Canning	John Murray 1975
* The Hon. Mrs. E Stuart Wortley and Violet Stuart Wortley are the same author.

Time Line

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