Carlton Towers: A Timeless Blend of History and Modernity
Overview
Resembling a Cambridge college and owned by the Stapleton family since 1301, Carlton Towers was extravagantly rebuilt in the 1870s. Now managed by Lord Gerald Fitzalan-Howard, it has been revitalized as a family home and a venue for weddings and events, known for its Gothic Revival interiors and a growing focus on regenerative farming.
History
Carlton Towers has more the look of a Cambridge college about it than a stately home. It was acquired by the Stapleton family – from whom the current owner, Lord Gerald Fitzalan-Howard is descended – in 1301, and there’s been a house on the site ever since. The current one, with its memorable clock tower – erected in 1777 by Thomas Stapleton – was extravagantly rebuilt in the 1870s by Henry Stapleton, 9th Baron Beaumont and the architect Edward Welby Pugin. His son Miles married Ethel Tempest, an heiress from Broughton Hall, near Skipton, whose money helped pay off the significant debts that had accumulated in the rebuilding of Carlton. When Miles died aged 45, having accidentally shot himself climbing a stile, his infant daughter Mona inherited Carlton. In 1914, she married Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 3rd Baron Howard of Glossop, then heir to another Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk. When Bernard Norfolk died in 1975, Mona and Bernard’s son Miles became 17th Duke of Norfolk, and Carlton was subsumed into the Norfolk estates. Miles Norfolk’s younger son Lord Gerald Fitzalan-Howard and his wife Emma moved into a fairly dilapidated Carlton in 1990 with their young family, and set about tidying it all up, installing en suite bathrooms, and making the house a home again, as well as a popular wedding and events venue.
Best known for
Its Gothic Revival interiors, designed by John Francis Bentley: the ornate fireplace in the Venetian Drawing Room alone makes it worth the trip.
As seen in
ITV’s Victoria, where it stood in for Windsor Castle.
Future planning
In 2023, the Fitzalan-Howards reintroduced livestock to the estate, with 32 English Longhorn cattle, as part of their regenerative farming plan, and are looking to increase the farm’s intake with pigs, chickens, and sheep.
Don’t go home without seeing
The Stables Tearoom with views of the walled garden at Carlton, where the Fitzalan-Howards have started up a vineyard.
Drop by
The Little Black Dog Brewery and Taproom, just a few minutes from Carlton, to try a local ale.
Need another local heritage fix?
Back towards Leeds is Temple Newsam House, 26 miles away, with its collection of Chippendale furniture.
Our favourite line
‘In spite of appearances, the Victorianism of Carlton Towers is only skin deep’ – Mark Girouard, 1971
