Christmas is the perfect time to visit England’s grand historic homes. As November turns into December, giant trees go up and twinkling lights and festive trimmings deck these historic halls.
With lots of Christmassy things to do, visiting a stately home is a wonderful way to get into the Christmas spirit. Wander beautifully decorated rooms, admire spectacular trees, enjoy festive markets, walk through illuminated winter light trails or enjoy family activities like wreath-making workshops, afternoon teas and visits from Santa.
In this post you’ll read about 12 festive country estates and castles in England that are perfect for getting into the spirit of the season – from Chatsworth’s bustling Christmas market to Tyntesfield’s elegant Victorian Yuletide decor. Which stately home will you visit this Christmas?
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Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland
Perched high on a rocky outcrop, guarding the stunning Northumberland coastline, Bamburgh Castle is one of England’s most iconic strongholds. The foundations date from Anglo-Saxon times over 1,400 years ago, making Bamburgh one of the country’s oldest continuously occupied castles. It has been privately owned by the Armstrong family since 1894, and it’s still their family home.
Bamburgh Castle’s Christmas displays are always a treat, often weaving in magical elements from Northumbrian folklore. The theme for 2024 is A Christmas Through Time, exploring festive traditions from the past and present, and how they might be in the future.
A Christmas Through Time at Bamburgh Castle is open everyday from 9 November 2024 to 5 January 2025. You can buy tickets on the Bamburgh Castle website.
Harewood House, West Yorkshire
Harewood House is an imposing stately home between Leeds and Harrogate. Built between 1759-1771 in a Palladian style for Edwin Lascelles, the first Baron Harewood, the house contains magnificent Georgian interiors, the perfect background for festive Christmas decorations.
Harewood House’s festive display for 2024 has the theme ‘Mischief at the Mansion’. Designed as a sequel to 2019’s award-winning ‘Night at the Mansion’, Mischief at the Mansion imagines that naughty cherubs have escaped from the Christmas tree, creating a fantastical world in the grand rooms of the house.
Once you’ve visited Harewood House, don’t miss the grounds, which were designed by Capability Brown. The woods below the house run down to the lake, with beautiful views across the rolling Yorkshire landscape.
You can visit Harewood’s Mischief at the Mansion between 15 November 2024 and 5 January 2025. You can book tickets on the Harewood House website.
Chatsworth Estate, Derbyshire
Contributed by Jenny from Peak District Kids
Chatsworth House is one of the grandest estates in the UK and the jewel of the Peak District. Set in expansive parkland where wild deer roam and backed by wooded hills, this stately home is utterly magical over the Christmas season.
Each year a different theme is picked. For the 2024/25 season it is ‘Christmas at Chatsworth: A Christmas Feast’, which runs from 9 November to 5 January.
24 rooms are beautifully decorated with the sounds and scents of the season. From candy cane arches, handmade stockings and mistletoe, and many clever and intricate scenes, it feels wonderfully festive. Pre-booking is essential.
The magic spreads beyond the house with an interactive light and sound trail in the garden, which leads to a spectacular animated light show that transforms the house into a giant advent calendar. There’s also ‘Storytime with Father Christmas’ for younger visitors, and the superb Christmas market (9 November to 1 December), which is arguably one of the best Peak District Christmas markets.
Chatsworth’s 2024 Christmas decorations are open from 9 November 2024 to 5 January 2025. Tickets have to be booked in advance on the Chatsworth website.
Castle Howard, North Yorkshire
Contributed by Hannah from Get Lost Travel Blog
Embark on a whimsical Christmas at Castle Howard in North Yorkshire. Nestled in the Howardian Hills, this stately home turns into a dazzling wonderland each Christmas.
Get ready for extraordinary festivities as each year unveils a unique theme – think Narnia, Into the Woods, and Neverland and for 2024, it’s Alice’s Christmas Wonderland! Wander through lavishly adorned state rooms as a festive tale unfolds at every turn.
From lights, baubles, and swags to towering Christmas trees, Castle Howard’s decor is outrageously over-the-top, reaching new heights of grandeur year upon year. The showstopper is a magnificent tree in The Great Hall, stretching up to the domed ceiling!
But it’s not just about visuals. The show will immerse you in the fantasy with sounds, lighting, and projections. Picture walking the decks of a pirate ship in a stately home!
Beyond the themed trail, grab a few gifts at the Christmas shop, or savour a scrumptious festive afternoon tea.
Alice’s Christmas Wonderland, Castle Howard’s 2024 extravaganza, runs from 15 November 2024 to 5 January 2025. You can book tickets on the Castle Howard website.
Tyntesfield, near Bristol
Contributed by Justine from Wanderers of the World
Tyntesfield is a 540-acre estate on the outskirts of Bristol. While today it’s looked after by the National Trust, in the 1800s, Tyntesfield was home to William Gibbs who commissioned the Victorian Gothic architecture you see today. And it’s this connection to the Victorians that’s celebrated every year via Tyntesfield’s “Very Victorian Christmas” event. For 2024, the ‘Christmas Past’ event will have Christmas decorations in each room created by local community groups, along with a Dickensian Christmas street scene. There’s also a reindeer trail in the grounds.
I love seeing the traditional Victorian decorations at Tyntesfield – from bouquets of poinsettias, garlands and wreaths to Christmas stockings at the foot of the beds. There are also usually multiple Christmas trees to find downstairs; each individually decorated to go with the style of each room.
This year, you can also look forward to festive crafts on selected dates throughout the event, such as making your own Christmas cards and wreaths.
In previous years and whenever I’ve visited, you’d also find actors playing the Gibbs family throughout the house. Fingers crossed they’ll be there again this year!
While Tyntesfield is open year-round, this year’s Christmas event runs from 2 December to 31 December 2024. There’s no need to book to see the house, but booking is advised for the festive crafting sessions. You can find more information about the craft sessions and book on the Tyntesfield website.
Highclere Castle, Hampshire
Contributed by Tabitha Bailar from Travel Compositions
Any fan of Downton Abbey cannot pass up the opportunity to visit Highclere Castle for Christmas!
Admire the ornate festive decorations throughout the castle and marvel at the real Christmas tree in the great hall, which stands at nearly 30 feet tall.
As Highclere is still the private residence of the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon, public access is very limited during the Christmas season, and no photography is allowed inside, but that makes it even more magical and exclusive to visit!
Christmas at Highclere focuses on special events. Christmas tours with an afternoon tea are available during late November and into December, although many dates are already sold out. Tours with a Christmas carol concert will take place between 5-8 December, and there’ll be evening tours with Champagne on 13 and 14 December.
On 18 and 19 December, you’ll be able to watch a reading of the famous festive story A Christmas Carol, read by the great, great grandson of Charles Dickens.
Christmas at Highclere events take place between 20 November and 19 December 2024. Early booking is essential on the Highclere website.
Stourhead, Wiltshire
Contributed by Sarah from Slow Travel
Stourhead is an 18th Century Palladian mansion in central Wiltshire, set in one of the most beautiful landscaped gardens in the country. It’s the quintessential stately home with countless rooms, grand staircases, walls covered in fine art and kitchens filled with gleaming brass pans and servants’ bells.
A house like this is perfect for the festive season and they really do know how to show it off to its best. There are countless Christmas trees through the rooms with presents wrapped up underneath, boughs of holly and ivy decorating the mantelpieces over roaring fires, rooms laid out for dinner parties, and everywhere the twinkling lights reflected in the gold picture frames and the sparkling chandeliers.
The 2024 festive season at Stourhead is from 22 November to 1 January. The house will be decorated from 22 November to 23 December, while their famous illuminated trail runs from 29 November to 1 January. There are a range of Christmas crafting events as well as Storytime with Santa sessions for children.
Booking is essential for the Christmas at Stourhead illuminated trail, Santa and craft events. You can buy tickets on the Stourhead website.
Burton Agnes Hall, East Yorkshire
Contributed by Sinead from York Travel Expert
Burton Agnes Hall is a grand, privately owned stately home in Driffield, East Yorkshire, approximately a one hour drive east of York. If you are in York at Christmas and would like to visit one of the several decorated stately homes in the region, I highly recommend visiting the lesser known Burton Agnes. Part of this elegant four storey stately home dates back to the 12th century and has been owned by the same family throughout the centuries.
This Christmas, you can tour the house and see fully furnished rooms packed with homemade decorations, many of which are made using dried greenery from the estate garden. Kids can try to find a hidden felt snowman in each room.
I recommend leaving time to explore the gardens, including the walled garden. You can also follow the candy cane trail in the wintry woodland.
While Burton Agnes has not yet released information about their 2024 displays, the event is likely to run from mid-November to just before Christmas.
Hampton Court Palace, London
Contributed by Kat from Wandering Bird
One of the best stately homes to visit at Christmas is Hampton Court Palace. Once home to King Henry VIII and his (many!) wives, this palace still knows how to celebrate.
In the run-up to Christmas, there is an entire programme of activities and things to do. Inside the house, you can enjoy stunning traditional decorations, plus watch cooking demonstrations in Henry VIII’s kitchens and enjoy musical performances from the Tudor period.
Outside, there’s even more to do. Every year there’s an incredible ice skating rink constructed in the palace grounds (booking ahead is a must) where you can skate around with the illuminated backdrop of one of the most famous palaces in England. There’s also not one but two local fayres- one focussing on foods and the other on gifts and local produce.
In 2024-25 the ice rink is open every day from 22 November to 5 January, excluding Christmas Day. The fayre and festivities take place on 6-8 December and 13-15 December, then daily between 21 December to 5 January, excluding Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. You can book your ticket to the Hampton Court Christmas events and ice rink slots on the Hampton Court website.
Dyrham Park, South Gloucestershire
Contributed by Anne from The Platinum Line
Dyrham Park, which is on the edge of the Cotswolds, close to Bath, is one of our favourite places to visit at Christmas. The house was built by William Blathwayt in the 17th Century. He was a friend of William of Orange and the house and gardens were very much influenced by Dutch architecture.
The house is set in 270 acres of parkland and you get wonderful views over the southern Cotswolds and the Severn Estuary.
For Christmas 2024, rooms in the house will be decorated in the style of different eras, from Tudor times to the 20th century. Dyrham Park is well known for its pear orchard, so there will also be pear-themed decorations.
We love visiting the nearby church which is always beautifully decorated. For the weekends leading up to Christmas, local choirs will be singing carols.
This year, the Christmas activities at Dyrham Park run from 21 November to 5 January, excluding Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. There’s no need to pre-book, but you can find opening times and directions on the Dyrham Park website.
Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire
Contributed by Alex Trembath, Lincoln and Beyond
Doddington Hall is a magnificent Elizabethan Hall surrounded by six acres of walled sculpted gardens in the Lincolnshire countryside. It has been a family home for more than 400 years and is a fabulous place to visit throughout the year, but December is an especially magical time.
Doddington Hall’s interior will be brought to life for the festive season with twinkling decorations on the theme of ‘A Christmas Chorus’. Special scenes installed across the hall’s three floors are created through a collaboration between the hall’s staff alongside local volunteers, artists and Lincoln College students, and will let you step into the music of the festive season.
Doddington Hall is located around five miles outside Lincoln city centre and is easy to reach by car, with free parking for visitors. Doddington Hall’s ‘A Christmas Chorus’ event runs from 9 November to 23 December 2024. Booking is essential, with tickets available from the Doddington Hall website.
Holkham Hall, Norfolk
Contributed by Anisa from Norfolk Local Guide
Holkham Hall, located near Wells-next-the-Sea in North Norfolk, has been the residence of the Earls of Leicester since the 1750s. During the Christmas season, the historic estate opens its doors for its Holkham by Candlelight event on select days.
We took a guided tour, but there is also the option to see the meticulously planned and uniquely curated Christmas decorations that take a year of planning by Lady Leicester and Christmas aficionado Catherine Zoll, independently. All visits to Holkham by Candlelight include a delightful offering of mince pies and prosecco.
Lady Leicester and Catherine actively seek inspiration at Christmas markets, incorporating trends into their designs. Emphasising sustainability, they often repurpose decorations from previous years.
While at Holkham, we like to visit the Courtyard for Christmas shopping and dining, Additionally, if the weather cooperates we like to walk around Holkham Park and the nearby Holkham Beach.
Holkham by Candlelight events will take place between 29 November and 20 December. Booking is essential on the Holkham Hall website.
Will you be visiting a historic home this Christmas? Let me know your favourite festive places in the comments!
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