One wishes to climb the steep hill behind Highclere to
visit what appears to be an ancient ruin, to know its space
as much as to view Highclere from above. Upon learning
this monument's name, 'Heaven's Gate,' it affirmed my
feeling of its separateness. Highclere might architecturally
symbolize the religious fervor of the Christian renewal
and pursuit of a new Jerusalem, which in equal parts
with commerce and military success characterized the
imperial ethos of 19th century Great Britain. One would
hope that Jan Morris would see Highclere in similar terms.
This house personifies so much of what she writes about
in her three volume history of the British Empire.
HYLAND
