Travel Information

Castle Drogo, is known for being the last castle to be built in Britain. It was never intended to be used as a castle in a defensive manner and was in fact built as the family seat of an ambitious and very wealthy entrepreneur. This enormous property is built entirely of granite and was fully intended as a display of the wealth of its owner Julius Drewe. A man of relatively modest background, he made a fortune through the Home and Colonial Stores, one of  Britain’s largest retail chains which he built from a single store in Liverpool. Although Drew had fabulous wealth, he was intent on elevating his position within society and saw the building of the castle as a lever into the gentry. He commissioned a reluctant Edwin Lutyens to design the house for him. The famous architect was keen for Drewe to build a beautiful house, but the enormous budget that was available persuaded the reluctant architect to take the commission and design the castle. Unfortunately although the design of the castle was an undoubted success, as a building able to keep out the notoriously bad Dartmoor weather, the castle was and is a disaster.  The castle leaked from so many areas of its enormous roof as well as through the pointing between the granite blocks and even the 900 windows  that Drewe’s Great Grandson could no longer cope with the enormous task of trying to keep the property watertight and as a result gave the property to the National trust in order to save it for the nation. Today, the trust is trying to raise £11 million to save the castle from the ever encroaching water, so by visiting castle Drogo in your Devonshire motorhome hire, you will not only have a fabulous day out, but you will also help to save this amazing building for future generations. Please note that the entrance lane is quite narrow. For further information on this fairy tale castle, please click the blue link below.

Castle Drogo
Drewsteignton
Near Exeter
Devon
EX6 6PB

Telephone: 01647 433306

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