Description

SX 79 SW DREWSTEIGNTON

5/25 Castle Drogo

20.2.52

GV I

Large country house, "the last castle built in England". Built between 1911 - 1930
for Julius Drewe by Sir Edwin Lutyens. It is built entirely of granite with
massive ashlar facing.
Plan and exterior description: built along the top and east of a high granite spur
Castle Drogo has a most dramatic setting overlooking the steep-sided woooded gorge
of the River Teign. Its style of construction (with solid stone walls) and
appearance (with embattled parapet and even a portcullis to the main doorway) is
that of a medieval castle but it was nevertheless a domestic house with large
mullion-and-transomed windows containing rectangular panes of leaded glass. Well-
illustrated plans and descriptions are published (see below), and these cover the
interior with its furnishings and fittings. Since the house is so recent it is
virtually as it was finished, complete with the original furniture, some of it
designed by Lutyens.
In short it is a perfectly preserved architectural masterpiece and although Luytens
was prevented from realising his full scheme it must still be regarded as one of the
finest C20 houses in Great Britain.
Source: ASG Butler Castle Drogo, Devonshire, Parts 1 and 2. Country Life August 3,
1945 pp 200-203 and August 10, 1945 pp 244-247.
National Trust, Castle Drogo guide (1982).

Listing NGR: SX7218490038

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Castle Drogo at Wikipedia
• Castle Drogo official website
• Wikidata Q746819

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)