the loss of revenue from weddings. Subsequently, the Earl handed control of the estate to his son, Charles, Lord Courtenay, now the 19th Earl of Devon. The licence to host weddings, civil ceremonies and civil partnerships at the Castle has now been reinstated. In 2017 Mary Berry visited and filmed an hour-long programme as part of her 4-part series, Mary Berry's Country House Secrets, broadcast on BBC One. Powderham Castle features as the photographic location of the rebranding of the Historic Houses Association in 2018. In 2018 the Castle opened up new rooms, and previous private family-only areas as part of two new guided tours, the first time the tours have been altered since opening in the 1950s. Concerts and Events On 2 August 2004, Irish boy band Westlife held a concert for their Turnaround Tour supporting their album Turnaround. Rock band Status Quo played a concert at Powderham Castle in 2003, in support of their Riffs album. The band played there again in 2009, alongside other performers including ABC, Go West, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Howard Jones, Nik Kershaw, Cutting Crew, Doctor and the Medics, Altered Images and Marc Almond. Powderham Castle hosted BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in May 2016, featuring Ellie Goulding, Coldplay, The 1975, Craig David, Nick Jonas, and Iggy Azalea. Since the Big Weekend, Powderham has hosted concerts by artists such as Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Little Mix, Bryan Adams and Tom Jones. In 2019 Powderham Castle started running its own Food Festival (Powderham Food Festival) which has food and drink stalls from across the West Country and attracts a large and diverse audience of visitors. As a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Powderham started hosting a Christmas Light Trail and Experience (Named Christmas at the Castle) which now attracts over 35,000 visitors per year. Featuring light displays across the grounds, a Santa's Grotto, Miniature Railway as well as opening the Castle for themed tours and visits. In popular culture In 1924 the Great Western Railway named a 4-6-0 'Castle class' locomotive "Powderham Castle"; the main GWR line from Exeter to Plymouth runs alongside the castle grounds and passengers can see the castle from the train as they pass. References Sources Cherry, Bridget & Pevsner, Nikolaus, The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 1991, pp. 692–5 French, Daniel (Ed.), Powderham Castle: Historic Family Home of the Earls of Devon, 2011. Visitor guidebook. Further reading