HIGHCLIFFE CASTLE
Christchurch, Dorset
One of only two Capability Brown seaside sites
Highcliffe Castle is a Grade I listed seaside
residence built between 1831 and 1835 by Lord
Stuart de Rothesay using mostly salvaged
materials shipped from France. It has been
described as "the most important remaining
example of the Romantic and Picturesque style
of architecture."
The Castle was built within the grounds of High
Cliff, a Georgian mansion designed for the 3rd
Earl of Bute, a founder of Kew Gardens and
grandfather of Lord Stuart. High Cliff was built
between 1773 and 1787 and Capability Brown
was involved in some part with the design of the
grounds. The south front of the original house
was fronted by lawns which extended to the cliff
edge with a carriageway down to the beach.
However, the cliffs were very unstable and
erosion over a period of 30 years or so claimed
much of the gardens to the south of the house,
and eventually the house was demolished before
it too fell into the sea.
High Cliff was one of only two Capability Brown
seaside sites the other being Cadland. Both of
these sites were in Hampshire but in 1974 the
County boundary was moved eastwards, thus
placing the earlier “Brown” park and its
successor house, Highcliffe Castle, in Dorset.
High Cliff is well documented but the
involvement of Brown is less well recorded.
There is positive evidence that he worked for
Bute and that he invoiced Bute for work carried
out at High Cliff; there are contemporary
descriptions of the grounds and some sketches
and paintings; Humphry Repton references a
“bathing Box” to Brown at High Cliff and that is
believed to be an octagonal Chinoiserie building
on the cliff between the beach and the house.
The “bathing box” could well be one of the first
ever beach huts and is almost certainly the first
and last beach hut designed by Capability
Brown.
The views from the grounds towards the Isle of
Wight Needles was, and still is, stunning and
was described by Lord Bute as: “the fairest
outlook in England”. However, very little remains
in the current grounds that can currently be
positively referenced to Brown at the moment.
There are many buildings and walls in private
ownership to the east of the Castle and these
are known to be part of Brown’s kitchen
gardens, botanical gardens, and ménage for the
original High Cliff which were sited behind the
main house to the north.
Capability Brown at High Cliff is a story with
beginning and end, but the middle chapters are
still being researched and written. A current bid
www.hha.org.uk
HIGHCLIFFE CASTLE
Christchurch, Dorset
to Heritage Lottery Fund involves landscape
work preceded by garden archaeology and it is
hoped that this will add to the ongoing story and
mystery surrounding Brown’s known
involvement. Inside Highcliffe Castle you will
find the story of High Cliff as it is currently
know.
www.hha.org.uk