Three 100-year-old greenhouses at the stately home where Downton Abbey was filmed may be torn down – in order to protect a flock of chickens belonging to a wealthy Countess.
The Highclere Estate, a sprawling Hampshire manor owned by Lord and Lady Carnarvon, has applied to demolish three of the buildings within its Capability Brown-designed walled kitchen garden.
One of the reasons put forward for their demolition is that they are ‘overrun with vermin’ which is said to affect Highclere’s flock of poultry.
Chickens owned by the Countess of Carnarvon, which are named after Jane Austen characters, live behind the greenhouses in a run known as Highclutch Castle.
Lady Carnarvon has previously posted on social media about how ‘cute’ the rare breeds and appeared in a film saying where the flock lives on the estate is ‘one of her favourite places’.
The plans intend to ensure the ‘future useability and longevity’ of the estate, the application claims.
Every season of the award-winning historical ITV drama Downton Abbey was filmed there.
Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith and Lily James starred in the show which was watched by more than 400 million people worldwide.
Chickens owned by the Countess of Carnarvon (pictured with them) could be behind the demolition of three greenhouses at the stately home
Lady Carnarvon with her husband, Lord Carnarvon, outside Highclere Castle with their Labradors Stella and Frea
These are the greenhouses that may be demolished in order to protect the Countess’s chickens
The greenhouses, which aren’t Grade I listed, are located some distance away from the 17th century Highclere Castle.
Lady Carnarvon’s chickens live behind the walled gardens, and are named after characters from Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion.
The flock – including Jane, Lizzie, Kitty, Mary, Lydia and Emma – are all at risk, the planning application says, because of the ‘vermin’.
A fourth greenhouse is due to be restored to its original historic appearance.
The greenhouses were originally built between 1894 and 1909 for agricultural use.
The planning application to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council claims: ‘The glasshouses that occupy the site are derelict and have fallen into disuse.
‘The glasshouses now pose an active risk to health and safety on site, and have now become overrun with vermin, affecting the surrounding agricultural land and nearby chickens.’
The area will be levelled after the removal of three greenhouses, with the fourth to be restored on a like-for-like basis, retaining its original appearance but improving its condition.
The flock – including Jane, Lizzie, Kitty, Mary, Lydia and Emma – are all at risk, the planning application says, because of the ‘vermin’
Pictured is inside one of the greenhouses that has been overrun and may be demolished
Highclere Castle pictured alongside the cast of Downton Abbey, which pulled in audiences around the world
Lady Carnarvon’s chickens live behind the walled gardens, and are named after characters from Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion
The application’s design statement reads: ‘The implications of the proposed alterations to the existing glasshouses from the Walled Kitchen Garden will be minimal, retaining historic fabric where feasible and only removing it where absolutely necessary.
‘The outlined proposals recognise the site as an important part of the Highclere Estate’s long history; seeking to ensure its future useability and longevity.’
Historic England was consulted on the plans, and it had no objection to the application on heritage grounds.
Speaking on the 2021 video of the Highclere Estate’s farming activities, Lady Carnarvon showed off the chicken flock, which at the time numbered more than 20.
‘There’s nothing better than a fresh laid egg,’ she said, before extolling the virtues of the ‘lovely cooing, soothing sound’ the birds make when being fed.
Lady Carnarvon met her husband, the Earl of Carnarvon, known as Geordie, in 1996, two years after his first marriage broke down. The couple have a 20-year-old son Edward together.
The Earl’s first marriage was to daughter of racehorse owner Kenneth A. Wilby and Princess Prospero Collona di Stigliano, Jayne M. Wilby, on 16 December 1989, but the couple divorced in 1998.
His eldest son Lord Porchester will inherit the Highclere estate after the Earl’s death.
Lady Carnarvon is a former accountant with Coopers & Lybrand and is the eldest of six sisters. She studied English and German at the University of St Andrews, attended by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, in Scotland.
She and Lord Carnarvon, who was Queen Elizabeth II’s godson, inherited the estate on the death of his father, the 7th Earl, in 2001.
The 7th Earl, Henry Herbert, was the Queen’s racing manager and one of her dearest friends whom she affectionately called Porchey.
The Carnarvon family has lived at Highclere Castle since 1679.
