Highclere Castle is a Grade I listed country house built in 1679 and largely renovated in the 1840s, with a park designed by Capability Brown in the 18th century. The estate is in Highclere in Hampshire, England, about south of Newbury, Berkshire, and north of Andover, Hampshire. It is the country seat of the Earls of Carnarvon, a branch of the Anglo-Welsh Herbert family. Highclere Castle has been used as a filming location for several films and television series, including 1990s comedy series Jeeves and Wooster, and achieved international fame as the main location for the ITV historical drama series Downton Abbey (2010–15) and the 2019 and 2022 films based on it. The house, Egyptian exhibition, and gardens are open to the public for self-guided tours during the summer months and at other times during the rest of the year, such as Christmas and Easter. The house also holds ticketed events, such as the Battle Proms picnic concert, and special guided tours throughout the year. History Early years The first written records about the estate are dated 749 when an Anglo-Saxon king granted the estate to the Bishops of Winchester. The original site was also recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. In the late 14th century William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, built a medieval palace (bishop's residence) and gardens in the park. An itinerary of King Edward II lists him as spending 2 September 1320 with Rigaud of Assier, the Bishop of Winchester, at Bishop's Clere, alias Highclere. The same tour has him on 31 August 1320 at Sandleford Priory, where he apparently stayed for the night, and on 29 and 30 August he was at Crookham, Berkshire. In 1551 during the English Reformation King Edward VI confiscated the property from the Church of England. Robert Sawyer Originally granted by the king to the Fitzwilliam family, Highclere Castle had several owners during the next 125 years. The palace was rebuilt as Place House in 1679 when it was purchased by Sir Robert Sawyer, the Attorney General to Charles II and James II, who was a lawyer, MP, Speaker, and college friend of Samuel Pepys. In 1692, Sawyer bequeathed the mansion at Highclere to his only daughter, Margaret Sawyer, the first wife of the 8th Earl of Pembroke, Thomas Herbert. Their second son, Robert Sawyer Herbert, inherited Highclere, began its portrait collection and created the garden temples. His nephew