Welcome to Highcliffe Castle

Castle Events

Contemporary Events

First High Cliff is built by John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute and one-time Prime Minister of England. An Adam-style mansion, the house has 35 bedrooms, 250 ft long conservatory, lecture theatre and laboratory.

Grounds enjoyed today are set out by Lord Bute with aid from Capability Brown (one of only two coastal landscapes that Brown had a hand in). Tree banks are designed to protect a Botanical Garden on the eastern side of the current site.

American colonists throw British tea into Boston harbour during the 'Boston Tea Party'.

First High Cliff demolished by General Sir Charles Stuart. Two Adam lodges (now the Lord Bute Restaurant), survive the demolition.

Robespierre's execution ends the 'Reign of Terror' in France.

James Penleaze buys the High Cliff estate and erects a small house which is later incorporated into Highcliffe Castle as the Penleaze Wing.

It is not known whether the Penleaze House is the Penleaze Wing or whether the Penleaze Wing is on the site of the Penleaze House and incorporates some of the materials from it.

Britain becomes the first nation to introduce a national income tax.

The British defeat Napoleon's army of Egypt at Alexandria (1801).

The Union Jack becomes the official flag of the United Kingdom (1801).

Charles Stuart ships back materials from France in order  eventually to build a retirement house.

The Prince Regent becomes King George IV upon the death of George III.

Charles Stuart, Lord Stuart de Rothesay, buys back a large part of his grandfather's original estate and begins to acquire more material from France to build a new High Cliff.

Belgium asserts its indep-endence from the Netherlands.

Greece becomes independent from Turkey.

William John Donthorne employed to design the house, which we now know as Highcliffe Castle.

The house is radically redesigned during its construction. Some towers are never built and some additional areas are built. Alterations made as the work went on. Pugin reportedly visits De Rothesay and Donthorne to view the works. He was to have stayed for the weekend but there is a difference of opinion and he leaves before breakfast.

The July Revolution in France forces the abdication of Charles X.

William IV succeeds George IV as King of England, Scotland and Ireland.

House substantially completed.

James Gordon Bennett founds the New York Herald news-paper.

Lord Stuart de Rothesay becomes British Ambassador to the Court of Czar Nicholas I.

Whig prime minister Lord Melbourne resigns, and is succeeded as PM by Sir Robert Peel.

St Mark's Church is built on land donated by Lord Stuart de Rothesay.

China cedes Hong Kong to Britain.

China is defeated in the first opium war.

(January) Church is consecrated.

Louisa, youngest daughter of Lord Stuart, marries Lord Waterford.

A coup in Greece forces King Otto to accept a constitutional monarchy.

(May) - Lord Stuart de Rothesay resigns due to ill health and returns to Highcliffe Castle where in (November) he dies and Highcliffe passes to his widow, Lady Stuart de Rothesay.

Samuel Morse establishes the first telegraph line.

Failure of the potato crop leads to famine in Ireland.

The Stuart Library is sold. 4,300 books which have been collected by Lord Stuart de Rothesay are dispersed.

Florence Nightingale reforms hygiene standards in Crimean hospitals.

Lord Waterford killed in a hunting accident, widowing Louisa, Lady Waterford.

Queen Marie Amelie, wife of King Louis Phillipe of France, visits.

Napoleon III assists the Italian statesman Cavour in a war against Austria.

French inventor Ferdinand Carre develops a refrigeration system.

Lady Canning, eldest daughter of Lord and Lady Stuart de Rothesay, dies in India.

Nicholas II abolishes serfdom in Russia.

Lady Stuart dies and the house passes to her younger surviving daughter, Louisa, Lady Waterford.

Lady Waterford amateur water-colourist of note, also undertakes coast defence works to stabilise the cliffs. Most of that work has been successful even up to the present day. Lady Waterford is heavily involved in village life. Newtown (or Slop Pond) changes its name to Highcliffe,  taking its name from the Castle.

Bismark forms the North German Confederation under Prussian leadership.

French troops withdraw from Mexico; Emperor Maximillian is executed by Suarez.

Queen Sophia Matilda of the Netherlands stays at the Castle for a few days.

English author George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) publishes Middlemarch.

Crown Prince Gustav of Sweden (later King Gustav V) stays at the Castle. He died as late as 1950, living to 92 years old.

Thomas Edison develops the first workable incandescent lamp (light bulb).

Royal Yacht Osborne lands a royal party at Highcliffe Castle which includes the Prince and Princess of Wales, Queen Alexandra of Denmark and her five children.

Australian bushranger Ned Kelly is hanged for murder.

Gladstone succeeds Disraeli as British Prime Minister.

The same royal party re-visits the Castle.

US President Garfield is assassinated by Charles J Guiteau.

Mr and Mrs William Gladstone visit.

Gustave Eiffel designs the Eiffel Tower for the Paris Exposition.

(May) Lady Waterford dies at Forde Castle.

Estate passes to second cousin, Major General Edward Stuart Wortley, in the same year as his marriage to Violet. They spend part of their honeymoon at their new residence, Highcliffe.

English novelist Thomas Hardy writes Tess of the D'Urbervilles.

Prince of Wales visits Highcliffe when the famous photograph of the Honourable John Scott Montagu and the Prince of Wales is taken aboard the 1899 12hp Daimler.

The Boers begin a guerrilla war against the British occupation forces.

British politician Keir Hardie helps to found the Labour Party.

King Alphonso the XIII of Spain visits.

The San Francisco earthquake kills 700.

The German Emperor Wilhelm II (the Kaiser) visits Highcliffe during November and December.

The Kaiser was to stay for a week but stays for three weeks. He pays for the redecoration of the Conservatory and has a window in stained glass featuring the German Eagle incorporated later removed/damaged by others.

Rasputin gains influence at the court of Russian emperor Nicholas II.

A Triple Entente is formed between Britain, France and Russia.

Edward Stuart Wortley joins the Kaiser for manoeuvres in Germany. Following  publication in the Telegraph of an interview between E.S.W. and the Kaiser. a political storm erupts.

Dame Nellie Melba visits the Castle, singing 'Ave Maria' from the organ loft at St Mark's Church. Beverley Nichols is amongst the house guests.

The General Strike breaks out in Britain involving 3 million workers.

The Stuart Wortley's only son, Rothesay, dies. Rothesay would have been the heir to Highcliffe Castle.

Comedy team Laurel & Hardy appear in their first film Putting Pants on Philip.

Major General Edward Stuart Wortley dies and the estate passes to the widow of the Stuart Wortley's son, Marie Louise. She sells the estate to her brother-in-law, Lord Abingdon, who had married the Stuart Wortley's eldest daughter, Elizabeth, affectionately referred to as 'Bettine'. However, Mrs Stuart Wortley continues to live at the Castle until 1950, when the Castle is sold along with its contents. Lady Bettine retains some important pieces of furniture, paintings and artefacts which will eventually find their way into the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Hitler becomes Fuhrer (leader) of Germany after Hindenburg's death.

The British ocean liner The Queen Mary  is launched.

On its sale, the Castle becomes a children's convalescent home. The owners also had another home at Lynton and Lynmouth in Devon there may in the future be a small book about this.

President Truman orders the development of the hydrogen bomb.

Cartoonist Charles Schulz creates the 'Peanuts' comic strip.

The Castle is listed as Grade I, being recognised as the most important remaining example of the Romantic and Picturesque style of architecture.

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay are the first to climb Mount Everest.

Highcliffe Castle is bought by the Roman Catholic Order of Claretian Fathers and it becomes a seminary. It also becomes a centre for Roman Catholic worship in Highcliffe.

The Fathers convert the Great Hall into a Chapel. The stairs are removed and a choir gallery added. Part of the Castle also houses Proselytes (young boys destined to become monks). They continue to bring the community to the Castle with annual garden parties and visits. They build a tennis court in the grounds where the car park now stands.

American Rock 'n' Roll musician Bill Haley records 'Rock around the Clock'.

Anthony Eden succeeds Winston Churchill as Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Film star James Dean is killed in a car crash.

The Castle is sold to a local businessman who wishes to demolish it to develop the site; shortly before the sale is finalised, a fire damages the Great Hall. Permission is denied to demolish the Castle owing to its Grade I listing, a debate which eventually reaches the House of Commons.

The Six Day War between Israel and the Arab States ends with Israeli victory.

Dr Christiaan Barnard performs the first successful human heart transplant.

A second mystery fire severely damages the Castle. For about ten years the Castle lies open to the elements and vandalism and is subject to much debate and speculation.

US Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King Jnr is assassinated.

More than 500,000 US troops are deployed in Vietnam.

With the decay of the building around it, the East Tower becomes unstable and is demolished owing to its danger.

The Beatles pop group is disbanded.

The Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet airliner enters service.

Christchurch Council begins compulsory purchase of the Highcliffe Castle site.

Black student protestors are massacred in Soweto in South Africa.

The grounds are opened to the public in June for the Queen's Silver Jubilee but although the grounds are well maintained, the building continues to deteriorate. A valuable pedestrian link to the beach is established.

Rock n Roll performer Elvis Presley dies.

The first Apple II personal computer is marketed in the US.

The Sunday Times article on important historic houses in need of love and care features Highcliffe Castle.

A hole in the ozone layer is detected over Antarctica.

A major nuclear reactor disaster takes place at Chernobyl in the Soviet Union.

English Heritage, which for some years has been concerned about the Castle, together with Christchurch Borough Council, commission Niall Phillips Architects to look at the feasibility of restoration. The feasibility study looks at several options and costs each. These range from demolition (if it were even to be conceivable) through to restoration of all the building and conversion to a range of uses.

Demonstrations in East Germany lead to the demolition of the Berlin Wall.

Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu is deposed and killed.

Winter storms damage most of the remaining roof.

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher resigns; she is succeeded by John Major.

East and West Germany are reunited.

Iraq invades Kuwait, beginning the Gulf War.

Roof collapses on Great Hall and English Heritage and Christchurch Borough Council cocoon the building in scaffold and plastic, protecting it from the elements. The temporary roof is also erected.

Leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus establish the Commonwealth of Independent States.

October - decision to proceed with the first phase of repairs taken. Works include structural repairs, conservation of masonry, new roofs, doors and windows.

Buckingham Palace opened to tours by the general public.

HM The Queen and HRH The Prince of Wales agree to be liable for income tax.

April - Work starts on Conservatory, Library and Drawing Room; these works are finished in November.

December - second phase of work starts on the Octagon and Library Annexe areas. These works are completed in August 1995.

April - election of Nelson Mandela as President of the Republic of South Africa.

South Africa rejoins the Commonwealth.

Brazil win football World Cup, held in USA.

January - Application made to the Heritage Lottery Fund for £2.65m grant that would complete all the repairs and provide the infrastructure to start to cater for possible future uses.

June - Heritage Lottery Fund   award made.

September - Third phase of work starts on site on the Penleaze Wing and the base of the East Tower to the Oriel Window is postponed until Spring 1996 when there will be no adverse effects arising from frost damage.

Parts of the demolished East Tower is found in nearby woodland.

January - major earthquake hits Kobe in Japan killing nearly 5,500 and making 300,000 people homeless.

March - deadly nerve gas attack paralyses Tokyo's Underground system.

The Historic Landscape Study is completed and the Council decides to commence refurbishment of the grounds in a manner that will aid current and future uses of the Castle.

June - The Visitor Centre extends into the Library and hosts the first of the costume exhibitions, Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.

September - The Council makes a further bid for Lottery funding to recreate the historic landscape that remains unbuilt and to turn it into a Heritage and Conservation Park.

Olympic Games held in Atlanta, USA.

March - Work starts on site on the last phase of repairs to the building including the Great Hall, Porte Cochere, Inscription elevation, Butler's Pantry. The East Tower is also to be rebuilt.

April - historic paths are reinstated in the woodland areas.

October - work begins on the refurbishment of the grounds. The vista to the Needles is re-opened in line with its historic proportions, the woodlands are cleared of collapsed trees and debris, landscaping and planting takes place and the building of a new set of public conveniences is started.

May - Election of Labour Government in Britain after 17 years of Conservative rule. Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister.

June - Lionel Jospin's Socialist party sweeps to power in the French elections.

June - Hong Kong reverts to China.

August - Princess Diana killed in car crash in Paris.

January - archaeological exploration reveals the position and layout of the original planted beds in the Parterre Garden. These are to be reinstated before spring.

June - the repaired Oriel Window is once more opened up to public viewing the first time in eight years.

August - "Arnie" the stag is repositioned over the Porte Cochere roof and the scaffold shroud starts to come down.

October - large concrete blocks up to 9 tons in weight are "floated" out of the Castle using hovercraft technology. They are recycled with over 30 other such blocks as part of the local sea defences.

November - the repair and conservation work on the Castle is completed after just five years.

May - 50th anniversary of foundation of state of Israel.

July - France win football's World Cup on their home soil.

February - Castle Manager appointed. Weddings begin at the Castle.

Spectacular year with over 32,000 visitors. New tearooms open.