It rises from the English countryside, its commanding profile and soaring spires instantly recognizable to millions of fans around the world.
Highclere Castle, tucked away in a remote corner of Hampshire about 65 miles west of London, is famous for the fictional adventures filmed there over the years, most notably the Downton Abbey TV shows and movies that have made it one of England’s most iconic landmarks.
But its true-life stories are no less compelling. Lords and ladies of the realm have prowled its halls for centuries. The castle was the home of the fifth Earl of Carnarvon, who funded the expedition that discovered King Tut’s tomb in 1922 and was at the site when the tomb was opened.
Now Highclere Castle is making its presence felt on this side of the pond, where a mattress line produced by Landover, Maryland-based AW Industries continues to gain ground. That bedding maker brought the Highclere Collection to the U.S. market in 2022 and has been steadily expanding it ever since.
U.S. retailers and consumers love the British cachet that the line embodies, AW officials say.
Adrian Wertz, vice president of sales for AW Industries, says the Highclere Collection stands apart from other mattress lines for a simple reason. “It’s the story,” he asserts. “It’s a completely unique story.”
In a mattress landscape cluttered with marketing messages, the Highclere Collection is winning the day with that story, one of a beautiful country estate that has set the stage for memorable television and film productions and has also provided the country home for generations of the illustrious Carnarvon family.
AW Industries says its Highclere Collection, which currently comprises 17 beds retailing from $999 to $4,999, is “inspired by the breathtaking beauty of Highclere Castle, an authentically British landmark famous for its rich history and scenic surroundings. Taking inspiration from the castle’s interior and exterior, we’ve created a premium product, designed to offer luxury at an affordable price.”
The collection debuted with a light-colored palette accented with gold, but added richer looks earlier this year when the Limited Edition line debuted. Those dark covers feature the outline of the castle woven with gold threads, and are dotted with gold details.
“The Limited Edition line has elevated the brand and taken it to another level,” Wertz says. “As one retailer said to us, ‘That is one of the prettiest mattresses I have ever seen.’”
The Limited Edition models, retailing from $2,799 to $4,999, include two two-sided mattresses and three one-sided mattresses. The wool quilted into those covers was shorn last summer from sheep living on the castle grounds. Those sheep were bred from New Zealand Romney sheep and Lleyn sheep from the Lleyn Peninsula on the Welsh coast. That crossbreed is well suited to the downland grass on the estate and the conservation grazing practiced on the parklands surrounding the castle.
The Limited Edition mattress labels picture a flock of sheep on the grassy lawn outside the castle.
Other Highclere Collection mattresses salute the follies on the grounds, including Jackdaw’s Castle at Highclere Castle, London Lodge at Highclere Castle and the Temple of Diana at Highclere Castle, distinctive structures that add to the rich tableau of architectural elements on the estate’s lands.
All of the beds convey the elegance of the castle’s buildings, AW officials say.
Highclere Castle has been featured in movies, television shows and special programs for decades. The list of movies includes “The Secret Garden” (1987), “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” (1991), “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999) and “Back to the Secret Garden” (2001).
The Downton Abbey TV shows were filmed there from 2010 to 2015, making the castle an international star. Two Downton Abbey films followed, in 2019 and 2022. A third Downton Abbey movie will be released next fall.
Before the castle and its grounds became famous, it hosted famous people for centuries.
Highclere Castle was the home of George Herbert, the fifth Earl of Carnarvon, who stood with archaeologist Howard Carter on the threshold of King Tut’s tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings on Nov. 26, 1922. “Can you see anything?” the Earl asked as Carter peeked into the tomb. “Yes, wonderful things,” was Carter’s historic reply.
The discovery of Tut’s tomb and its golden treasures caused a worldwide sensation, and shortly thereafter gave rise to tales of a deadly curse. Five months after Herbert witnessed the opening of the tomb he was dead — of blood poisoning from an infected mosquito bite. Other expedition members and tomb visitors died in the next few years, but many also lived out their lives. Modern science dismisses talk of a pharaoh’s curse.
The Carnarvons continue to call Highclere Castle home. The current resident, George Reginald Oliver Molyneux Herbert, the eighth Earl of Carnarvon, who goes by Geordie, lives there with his wife, Fiona, the Countess of Carnarvon. She is the author of “Seasons at Highclere,” a book on gardening, growing and cooking at the castle.
In that book she writes: “Geordie and I are the stewards … of the beautiful, inspirational home known to millions as ‘Downton Abbey.’”
The couple welcomed bedding consultant Mark Hobson to Highclere Castle a few years ago when he arrived to discuss the licensing deal that ultimately brought the Highclere Collection to AW Industries.
Hobson was impressed by the line when he reviewed it in the AW Industries showroom at the recent High Point Market.
“The Highclere Castle image is truly iconic and instantly identifiable among the many millions of passionate followers of Downton Abbey,” he says. “In and of itself, that would be enough to trigger conversations on the retail sales floor, but in addition, Adrian and the team at AWI have invested significant time and resources to create a compelling line of products that reflects the quality, comfort and aesthetics expected of the Highclere Castle name.”
He called response to the mattress line “very encouraging” and noted that it should benefit from another surge of interest when the third Downton Abbey movie is released in the U.S. in September 2025.
The Highclere mattress line now has some brand company in the United States.
Hobson facilitated a licensing partnership between the castle and Standard Fiber for a complete line of Highclere Castle textiles, including pillows, sheets, dressing gowns and even pet beds. That line is off to a strong start, he says.
“A landmark as distinguished and well known as Highclere Castle offers a number of licensing possibilities,” Hobson says. “Highclere Castle has evolved over the centuries and the brand’s growing reach enables it to connect with consumers across the United States.”
