Beyond the Battlefield: When Stately Homes Went to War
Every year on Remembrance Day, we pause to honour the brave men and women who served in times of war: those who fought, those who supported from the home front, and those who never returned. Yet the story of Britain’s wartime resilience stretches far beyond the battlefield.
Across the United Kingdom, historic homes became hospitals, training grounds, operations centres and places of refuge, quietly shaping the course of history from within their walls. Many of HeritageXplore’s member houses played essential but often overlooked roles, opening their doors to soldiers, airmen, evacuees and refugees at moments of national crisis.
What follows is a reminder that these houses were not only witnesses to history but active participants in the fight for freedom, offering sanctuary, strength and sacrifice when the world needed it most.
Blair Castle
Throughout both World Wars, Blair Castle played a vital role in Britain’s defence and home front efforts. During the First World War, its grand ballroom was transformed into a Red Cross auxiliary hospital under the leadership of the Duchess of Atholl, caring for soldiers wounded on the front lines. The conflict deeply affected the ducal family itself. John Stewart-Murray, later the 8th Duke, commanded the Scottish Horse in the Dardanelles; his brother George was killed in battle in 1914; and another brother, James, spent years as a prisoner of war. In the aftermath, the 8th Duke became a passionate advocate for remembrance, helping to establish war memorials in Edinburgh and across Perthshire.
When conflict returned in 1939, the castle again served the nation, housing evacuees from Glasgow and accommodating a displaced school. The ballroom that had once been a hospital ward became a classroom, offering safety far from the threat of bombing raids. Throughout these turbulent decades, Blair Castle remained home to the Atholl Highlanders, Europe’s only legal private army, whose ceremonial duties symbolised pride and continuity for the estate and its people.
Reopened to visitors soon after 1945, Blair Castle’s legacy of service continues to be a defining part of its story.
Gwrych Castle
Amid the turmoil of the Second World War, Gwrych Castle became a place of refuge and rebuilding for around 200 Jewish children who had escaped Nazi-occupied Europe through the Kindertransport. Arriving in Britain without their families, the young refugees, mostly teenagers, were settled at the castle between 1939 and 1941 as part of a hachshara, or agricultural training centre.
Despite the castle’s deteriorated condition and limited facilities, the children created a remarkable community. Only a few rooms were usable, water had to be carried by hand, and makeshift latrines were dug in the grounds, yet they balanced farm work with education and religious life, forging strong bonds with the people of nearby Abergele.
Gwrych offered safety, purpose and the hope of a future at a time when their world had been torn apart. For many, it became a sanctuary that ultimately saved their lives. After the war, the estate was sold, but its wartime role remains one of the most significant chapters in its history: a Welsh castle transformed into a haven for those fleeing persecution.
Harlaxton Manor
During both World Wars, Harlaxton Manor played a remarkable role in Britain’s military history. In the First World War, its parkland was used to train troops in rapidly evolving tactics such as trench warfare and gunnery, while the newly formed Machine Gun Corps operated nearby. The Royal Flying Corps established a training aerodrome close to the estate in 1916, drawing pilots from across Britain, the Empire and the United States to prepare for crucial reconnaissance missions.
The owner, Thomas Sherwin Pearson Gregory, supported the war effort by offering up the house when he was unable to serve himself, while his son, Philip Pearson Gregory, fought overseas and was awarded the Military Cross for his actions at Passchendaele.
Military activity returned in the Second World War, when Harlaxton became RAF Harlaxton, a relief landing ground for damaged aircraft, and later the headquarters of the 1st Airborne Division as they prepared for Operation Market Garden and the attempt to seize the bridge at Arnhem. After the battle, surviving members of the division returned to the manor and created the Pegasus memorial in the courtyard to honour their fallen.
Through two global conflicts, Harlaxton evolved from stately home to training ground, command centre and place of remembrance, leaving an enduring legacy of service and sacrifice.
Grimsthorpe Castle
In both World Wars, Grimsthorpe Castle was transformed from a peaceful Lincolnshire estate into an active military site. During the First World War, its parkland was used by the Royal Flying Corps and later the Royal Air Force as an emergency landing ground. Two decades later, part of the grounds became a bombing range for air-crew training, while the castle itself was once again placed at the disposal of the armed forces.
By late 1943, soldiers of the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment were stationed at Grimsthorpe. Their headquarters occupied the castle’s historic rooms, while companies lived under canvas in large marquees across the park. The surrounding countryside provided ideal terrain for physical conditioning, night manoeuvres and navigation exercises as the men prepared for the next stage of the war. In 1944, the battalion returned from Italy and trained here for Operation Market Garden, departing for Arnhem from nearby RAF Folkingham.
Today, a small exhibition in the chapel commemorates those who passed through Grimsthorpe’s gates on their way to one of the most ambitious and costly airborne operations of the war.
A Living Legacy
These historic houses stand today as monuments not only to architecture and art but to a nation's collective determination in its darkest hours. Walking through their halls and grounds, visitors encounter spaces where history was made: where wounded soldiers recovered, where children found safety, and where men trained for battles that would change the course of the world.
Their stories remind us that the war effort extended far beyond the front lines, touching every corner of Britain and transforming even the most elegant estates into instruments of survival and resistance. As we remember those who served and those who fell, we also honour the houses that sheltered them and the families who opened their doors when duty called.
To visit these houses is to walk in the footsteps of history, and to ensure that the sacrifices made are never forgotten.
