Castle Drogo

Castle Drogo is a country house near Drewsteignton, Devon, England. It was built in the 1910s and 1920s for Julius Drewe (businessman and founder of the "Home and Colonial Stores") to designs by architect Edwin Lutyens, and is a Grade I listed building. [ [http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-castledrogo/w-castledrogo-seeanddo.htm National Trust | Castle Drogo | What to see & do ] ] Castle Drogo was the last castle to be built in England, and probably the last private house in the country to be built entirely of granite.

The stately home borrows styles of castle building from the medieval and Tudor periods, along with more minimalist contemporary approaches. A notable feature is the encasement of the service staircase, around which the main staircase climbs. Its defensive characteristics are essentially decorative.

The castle has a fine formal garden, designed by Lutyens with planting by Gertrude Jekyll, which contrasts effectively with its striking setting on the edge of Dartmoor. The garden is noted for its rhododendrons and magnolias, herbaceous borders, rose garden, shrub garden and circular croquet lawn.

The property was given to the National Trust in 1974 and was the first 20th-century property the charity acquired.

References

External links

* [http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-castledrogo/ Castle Drogo information at the National Trust]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/southwest/series6/castle_drogo.shtml BBC article from October 11, 2004 about Castle Drogo's repairs]