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Devon’s Downton is considered to be the ‘last castle to be built in England’.

Castle Drogo is the story of one family, one village and a world at war. It tells us about class, conflict and community. The building is also a memorial to a lost heir. His memory is in its mortar.

Work on Drogo began in 1912. Overlooking Dartmoor and the Teign valley, it was to be the family home of the Drewes and paid for with money amassed from Home and Colonial Stores. Julius Drewe commissioned Edwin Lutyens to design the castle and grounds. Lutyens would also design the Thiepval memorial and the Cenotaph. His contribution links local, national and international memory.

Built from local stone, the castle required skilled workmen from the villages of Drewsteignton, Chagford and Moretonhampsted.

In 1914, many of those men enlisted along with the three Drewe sons. Like many of the craftsmen, Adrian, the heir to Drogo, died at war. The building work was curtailed and the castle was not completed until 1930. It includes a memorial room to its lost son. Its walls are memorials to its lost community of craftsmen.

Location: Drewsteignton, Castle Drogo, Devon EX6 6PB
Image: Construction of Castle Drogo, courtesy of the National Trust

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