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Castle Drogo

Sir Edwin Lutyens, Devon, 1930

 

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Entrance tower  

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  • Entrance tower     
  • Entrance court looking south    
  • The driveway approach from the north    
  • Passage to the crypt chapel    
  • South elevation rising dramatically from the moor    
  • The east facade    
  • The dining room staircase    
  • View of the complex roof terraces    
  • The finished castle in 1930    
  • View of facade from the north    
  • View from the west    
  • The southern tower    
  • View of the north east facade    
  • The dining room with mahogany panelling    
  • The library     
  • The library    
  • Mr. Drewe    
  • 1930 completed plan    
  • The final scheme with the great hall omitted and replaced with a chapel    
  • 1910 asymmetrical design    
  • 1911 splayed courtyard scheme    
  • 1911 U-shaped courtyard scheme    
  • 1911 approved scheme    
  • October 1912 truncated scheme    
  • October 1912 truncated design    
  • Perspective of U-shaped scheme from 1911    
  • Southern perspective from 1910    
  • Presentation perspective from 1911    
  • 1920 sketch with south tower in the foreground    

Granite castle built on an exposed outcrop incorporating living accommodation, great hall, chapel and landscaped gardens

Completed in 1930 having taken 20 years to build, the house borrows styles from the Medieval and Tudor periods, along with more minimalist contemporary approaches.

The truncated design consists of bedrooms, kitchens, library, study, billiard room, dining room, drawing room, sitting room and basement chapel.

The walls are of solid granite with mortar joints, the floors and the flat roof are constructed of concrete and steel with an asphalt screed and vertical asphalt layer running between the internal and external walls.

Notable features include the encasement of the service staircase, around which the main staircase climbs and the supply of electricity for the lifts and lighting which is powered by two turbines on the river below.

Castle Drogo was the last castle to be built in England, and probably the last private house in the country to be built entirely of granite.

Data

  • Begun: Apr 1911
  • Completed: 1930
  • Floor area: 1,303m2
  • Sector: House
  • Total cost: £60,000
  • Address: Castle Drogo, Drewsteignton, Exeter, Devon, EX6 6PB, United Kingdom

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