Keepers Of The Castle (From Western Telegraph)

Keepers Of The Castle

How many children can claim to have rested their bottom on a chair once occupied by Her Majesty? My son enjoyed that honour during a tour of Picton Castle this summer and enthusiastically recounted his brush with royalty for some time after the big event. The delightfully patient and knowledgeable tour guide led our party into the elegant dining room where we were told that members of the Royal family, including the Queen, had dined with the Philipps family during official visits to Pembrokeshire. The children were all invited to sit around the Regency mahogany table. Imagine George's delight when told he had plumped for the Queen's throne? He beamed for the rest of the day. That sums up the appeal of Picton Castle, a building swathed in wonderful history but accessible to the public. Priceless china, ancient tapestries, fine antiques and valuable paintings, including a small, unsigned painting thought to be by Renoir, adorn the rooms, somewhat vulnerable but duly respected by the hundreds of people who visit every year. Perhaps it is the sense of being under the watchful eye of generations of the Philipps family that keeps everyone in order. Their paintings hang from every wall, descendants of Sir John Wogan who built the stone Edwardian hall-keep in the 13th century. The Philipps' had occupied the castle, with its semi-circular flanking towers at the corners and a small twin-towered gatehouse, for eight centuries. The principal rooms were re-modelled in the 1750s by Sir John Philipps, the sixth Baronet, to provide fine Georgian rooms with plastered ceilings and fireplaces by Sir Henry Cheere. It retains its medieval features in the undercroft. A vast tapestry hangs in one of the hallways, purchased by Jeremy Philipps' grandfather, Sir Laurence Philipps. He had owned a string of race horses and bought the tapestry with his winnings, from a major race. Many famous people have stayed at the castle over the centuries including Horatio Nelson. A ball was held in his honour and all the local gentry were invited to this lavish event. The castle has a charm all of its own but there are many people who will visit Picton between April and October for its gardens alone. Forty acres of woodland gardens, at their best in May and June, and a well-preserved walled garden complete with a fish pond, fountain and fernery, are sufficient reason to spend a day there. Picton Castle is managed by the Picton Castle Trust, a charitable trust established in 1987, which oversees a repair, conservation and refurbishment programme to secure the castle's long term future. Jeremy Philipps and his family live elsewhere on the estate. Upkeep of the castle and its grounds is expensive and the need to generate income was the principal reason for licensing the site as a wedding venue. The Trust's administrator, David Pryse-Lloyd, says the venture has been very successful. Other revenue raisers include open-air concerts, plant sales and conferences.