Highcliffe Castle Chimera - East Dorset, UK
Posted by: 
Dragontree
N 50° 44.279 W 001° 42.827
30U E 590759 N 5621476
Highcliffe Castle lies near to the sea at Highcliffe, East Dorset.
Waymark Code: WM3EK7
Location: Southern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/24/2008
Views: 7
The official website for Highcliffe Castle describes it as follows:
Highcliffe Castle is a Grade I listed building which was built between 1831 and 1835 by Lord Stuart de Rothesay. It has been described as "the most important remaining example of the Romantic and Picturesque style of architecture."
The Castle was built on the site previously occupied by High Cliff, a Georgian mansion designed for the 3rd Earl of Bute (a founder of Kew Gardens), with grounds laid out by Capability Brown. The Earl's fourth son, General Sir Charles Stuart who sold the estate apart from Bure Homage, a small house on its outskirts, inherited High Cliff. All that remains of High Cliff today are the two entrance lodges, presently being used as a restaurant and some of the garden walls and features on the present estate.
Please visit the website about Highcliffe Castle's History to learn more about its unique French design.
The Chimera are everywhere on the castle, below the windows, over the door arches and high up on the walls. They are fine and well designed examples of an interesting history.