Castle Dro(n)go

Early last week we decided to visit Castle Drogo, also on the  edges of Dartmoor. It was somewhere to go on a wet and windy day! At least the trip around the house would be dry. It turns out that the 'castle' was completed in the early 1930s as the 'stately' home of a grocery magnate .... about 400 years after it would be really useful to have had one. Perhaps that was why the firm he headed eventually went bust in the early 70s and soon after the expensive to maintain and not highly livable premises found their way into the hands of the National Trust. They're now struggling to make essential repairs to the decaying premises - especially leaking roofs.

The next few photos show parts of the house, which is similar in feel to two others I've reported on: Hearst Castle and Filoli House, both in California. Basically, some wealthy dude wants to etch his moniker onto the landscape in a dramatic way! Judge for yourself whether the end-product was successful, starting with the exterior!

Now for glimpses of the interior, starting with the original owner:

It's rather homely in a c 1930s style where the owner could employ masses of servants to keep the wheels ticking. However I got the impression of a place built and maintained in a time warp!

AS