Thornewood Castle has stood for over one hundred years, nestled among old growth fir trees on four acres at American Lake in Washington State. Its fascinating history, however, goes back more than five centuries.
This English Tudor/Gothic mansion is one of the few genuine private castles in the United States and the only one on the West Coast.
THE HOUSE THAT LOVE BUILT
Thornewood Castle was built to the specifications of Mr. Chester Thorne and his wife, Anna. Chester, having been a successful financier and one of the founders of the Port of Tacoma, spared no expense when it came to the planning and construction of this unique country estate for his family.
The creation of Thornewood was truly a labor of love. In 1907, Mr. Thorne purchased a 400-year-old Elizabethan manor in England and had parts of it dismantled and shipped piece by piece to be included in the main house. Renowned architect Kirtland Kelsey Cutter was in charge of this most interesting Tudor Gothic project.
Thornewood Castle is constructed with concrete and steel on a solid three-foot-thick foundation. Exterior walls are brick and concrete with steel reinforcement. The floors are ten inches of concrete. Construction took three years to complete, from 1908 to 1911, with many of the materials, including the front door, oak paneling, and oak staircase, coming from the castle in England. The red brick facing on the outside of the estate was imported from Wales. Three ships were commissioned to transport these building supplies around Cape Horn to the Pacific Northwest.
The Grounds
The three acres of grounds and lakefront can be enjoyed from a breezy summer porch, the sunken garden, the beautiful loggia, and our private dock and beach. Our sunsets over the lake are a sight to see!
The “secret" sunken English garden was designed by the Olmsted Brothers and exists today much as it did when the Thornes lived here.
The Sights of Thornewood
The Castle offers over 27,000 square feet of living space, graciously arranged under one tile roof, and boasts 54 rooms, including 22 bedrooms and 22 baths.
There is something to behold around every corner at Thornewood.
A priceless collection of rare artwork, hand painted onto glass and surrounded by panes of crystal, are mounted in windows throughout the estate. Created between the 15th and 17th centuries, they were previously owned by an English duke who spent 40 years collecting the shards and panels of lost art.
The staircase and the enormous front doors were hand-hewn from 500-year-old ancient English oak and are held together by wood dowels.
Beautifully sculpted fountains, located in the circular drive and sunken gardens, are the focal points of our statuary collection, which includes many pieces, including the “Kingsdale Hounds," the only set of these statues in the United States.
The suites are luxuriously appointed and elegantly decorated, filled with antiques and historical pieces.
Over 100 pieces of stained glass, salvaged from 15th & 16th-century churches, can be found throughout the Castle.
Thornewood Today
The current owners have lovingly restored the Castle to its current state, and it is now an official historical site. Thornewood offers overnight rooms, vacation rentals, and a venue for special events, weddings, and corporate retreats.
Thornewood has also been used as a location for several films and photo shoots. Most famously, Thornewood Castle starred as the haunted mansion in Stephen King's ABC television mini-series Rose Red.
The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, based on the book of the same name by Ridley Pearson, is the prequel to Rose Red, and was also filmed in large part at Thornewood Castle.
More recently, an exterior shot of Thornewood Castle may be seen in the Oscar-winning Daniel Day Lewis film There Will Be Blood.