Highcliffe Castle
| Highcliffe Castle | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Georgian Gothic Revival |
| Town or city | Highcliffe, Dorset |
| Country | England |
| Construction started | 1830 |
| Renovated | 1977 onwards |
| Client | Charles Stuart, 1st Baron Stuart de Rothesay |
| Owner | Christchurch Council |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | William Donthorne |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect | Niall Phillips Architects, Bristol |
|
Listed Building – Grade I
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| Official name | Highcliffe Castle |
| Designated | 14 October 1953 |
| Reference no. | 1110077 |
Highcliffe Castle, situated on the cliffs at Highcliffe, Dorset, was built between 1831 and 1835 by Charles Stuart, 1st Baron Stuart de Rothesay in a Gothic Revival style near the site of High Cliff House, a Georgian Mansion designed for the 3rd Earl of Bute (a founder of Kew Gardens) with the gardens laid out by Capability Brown. The design, by William Donthorne, a founder member of RIBA, incorporated large quantities of carved Medieval stonework salvaged from the Norman Benedictine Abbey of St Peter at Jumieges and the Grande Maison des Andelys.
The Earl's fourth son, General Sir Charles Stuart sold the estate apart from the nearby smaller Bure Homage House. All that remains of the original High Cliff are the two entrance lodges, now used as a restaurant, also some of the garden walls and features in the lands. The son of Sir Charles Stuart, also Charles Stuart, decided to buy his grandfather's estate and build a new house there.
Charles Stuart was born in 1779, the eldest son of General Sir Charles Stuart and Anne Louisa who was the daughter of Lord Vere Bertie.
Educated at Eton college, in 1801 he entered the diplomatic service, serving it in Vienna, St Petersburg, French occupied Spain, and Portugal. It was as ambassador in Spain that he became indispensable to the Duke of Wellington, and accompanied him during Napoleon's Hundred Days through to the Battle of Waterloo. After the defeat of Napoleon, Charles escorted the exiled French King Louis XVIII back to Paris and became British Ambassador there. During his ambassadorship in Paris he married the wealthy Lady Elizabeth Yorke, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Hardwicke. They had two daughters Charlotte (later Lady Canning), and Louisa (later Lady Waterford). His greatest achievement was the treaty which enabled Brazil to become independent of Portugal in 1825. In 1828 he was made Baron Stuart de Rothesay, and in the same year was appointed for a second term as ambassador to France.
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Wikipedia