Christmas lovers: early visits for inspiration at Castle Howard

From 19 November 2016

Christmas enthusiasts, crafters, social media bloggers and anyone seeking new ideas for their festive decorations are being encouraged to get their inspiration from the range of new installations at Castle Howard, when the stately home opens its doors early for the Christmas Season 2016.

“Christmas is one of our busiest periods, and we know that early visits are particularly popular amongst those who like to plan ahead to see Castle Howard’s elegant interpretation of the latest Christmas trends. With our expert team dressing many of the rooms at Castle Howard from top to bottom in exquisite decorations, and a special guide to explain the theme in each room, the extra week of opening will enable keen followers of fashion to plan their designs before the frantic month of December starts,” comments marketing manager, Rachel Underwood. “We’ve taken a whole 12 months to plan this year’s displays, visiting Christmas shows last January to ensure that Castle Howard provides unrivalled inspiration for the thousands of visitors who will enjoy the seasonal adornments.”

With many of the baubles displayed on the trees throughout the house available to purchase from the gift shop, visitors often produce their own replicas of the Castle Howard trees at home. “We love people taking and sharing photographs of our displays on social media, this is the perfect place for Christmas enthusiasts and craft clubs to enjoy a day out and be inspired” adds Castle Howard’s retail manager, Kelly Smith. “It’s traditionally quieter in November – particularly midweek – with fewer visitors, so it is the ideal time to visit for anyone who wants to spend the day here drawing inspiration from the displays.”

For anyone who prefers to be up to the elbows in flour rather than foliage, a huge gingerbread model of Castle Howard and many of the architectural features around the grounds, created by architectural foodies Bompas & Parr, will also be on display – the ultimate inspiration for any keen bakers wanting to create their own Christmas confection. The new Christmas afternoon tea is the perfect festive indulgence, with pistachio streusel topping adding a twist to the humble mince pie, and a sage, cranberry and sausage rolls to rouse any festive buffet.

Early visitors will also save on admission prices by booking online in advance, with a 20% discount on prebooked tickets for visits between 19 and 25 November, and 10% for the remainder of November and December.

A special ‘Twilight opening’ on 18 December will enable families to experience the house as darkness falls, with the house illuminated with hundreds of candles and a festive sing-along in the garden; for the Twilight opening, last entry to the house will be 7.00pm.

Castle Howard is open daily from 19 November to 23 December from 10.00am (last entry to the House 4pm, 5pm at weekends) with admission prices of £18.95 for adults with concessions available. Under 4s get in free, and family tickets (two adults and up to three children) are available for £47.85.

For more information on all of Castle Howard’s Christmas events, or to prebook, please visit www.castlehoward.co.uk.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

About Bompas & Parr

Bompas & Parr leads in experience design, immersive research, architectural installations and contemporary food design.

From 2007, when Bompas & Parr was founded as a craft jellymonger, the studio has rapidly grown from just Sam Bompas and Harry Parr to its current complement of sixteen - a team of creative specialists, designers, architects, cooks, technicians and administrators who work across a wide range of projects. 

The team works to experiment, develop, produce and install projects, artworks, jellies and exhibitions, as well as archiving, communicating and contextualising the work. Additional to the projects realised in-house, Bompas & Parr contracts structural engineers and other specialists, and collaborates with curators, cultural practitioners and scientists.

Bompas & Parr has published five books, the most recent of which the studio republish Memoirs of a Stomach, a lost-and-forgotten 18th century tome brought up to date with visuals from inside the digestive tract of food writer, pop-up chef and Sunday Times columnist Gizzi Erskine.

The studio works with some of the world’s biggest companies (Diageo, Cargill, Mercedes-Benz) and the world’s foremost cultural institutions (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Garage Centre for Contemporary Culture, Moscow).

www.bompasandparr.com 

@bompasandparr