The castle is 30,000 sq ft with a total of 300 rooms with 61 being bedrooms on 6,000 acres of land. I read this article today about how much is costs to maintain the castle and was shook.
Fancy living at Downton Abbey? Here’s how much it’ll cost you... | PrimeLocation
The bill for just maintaining the Victorian gothic stately pile is, in fact, more than £668,200 a year.
At a whopping £383,400, more than half of your bill will go on employing staff, according to research by Aviva.
Another big slice – £115,000 – will need to be spent keeping Downton Abbey’s picturesque grounds in tip top condition. That includes the cost of maintaining 1,000 acres of rolling parkland and 5,000 acres of farm and woodland, as well as gardens.
It’s not the most exhilarating part of maintaining the stately pile, but your energy costs will also be substantial. At £85,000-plus annually, they ring in at the third biggest expense.
With all those precious family heirlooms, you’ll also need to ringfence £16,000 a year for 21st century state-of-the-art security to monitor the estate. Think modern CCTV and a fitted home alarm to trigger any unusual activity – and a central security room. Why not throw in some security dogs and guards at an extra cost?
And expect to fork out £3,800 on water for the house alone. More than 30 family and staff will use up to 64 baths each day – that is the equivalent to three quarters of an Olympic swimming pool over a year! Remember this cost will go up in summer when you're also using water for the grounds.
- £72m market value
- 300 rooms, including 61 bedrooms
- 170 single glazed windows
- 1,000 acres of parkland
- 5,000 acres of farm and woodland
Maintenance Cost
Staff £383,400
Garden £115,000
Energy costs (gas, electricity and oil) £85,000
General maintenance £65,000
Security £16,000
Water £3,800
TOTAL £668,200
