The National Trust's Movie Map!

The National Trust has recently published a movie map of all their sites that have hosted film shoots since 1960.  You can see it here. It's fascinating to see the number and variety of films that have been shot using National Trust sites. Not all the films are costume dramas. The long gallery, library and backstairs at Osterley Park featured in the latest Batman film as did the Henrhyd Falls in Wales, which doubled for a waterfall scene set in remote jungle! Ham House in Richmond was used to represent a grand New York mansion in the sci-fi adventure John Carter and Antony in Cornwall, which is a gorgeous and quirky little house, was the setting for Alice in Wonderland.

Unsurprisingly, though, it is the costume dramas that feature most in the roll call of famous locations. From Pride and Prejudice at Basildon Park to The Duchess at Kedelston Hall, the grand houses of the National Trust provide the opulent interiors and impressive scenery need for epic style productions. My personal favourite though is Great Chalfield Manor in Wiltshire, which was used as the Boleyn family home in The Other Boleyn Girl. It’s not a grand house, more a cosy medieval manor complete with moat and topiary gardens! I could easily imagine living there. (Oh, I wish!)

It's great that villages like Lacock (used in the TV series Cranford) and even cities like Bath can also feature in period dramas so you might be out shopping and stumble across a film crew! Do you have a favourite place that has been used as a film set or is there anywhere you’ve seen in a film that you would like to visit?

Persuasion, a film location, and a reading

Last Thursday evening I was invited along by Helen Wilkinson of P and P tours to come and do a reading of Willoughby's Return to a group she was leading on their Persuasion/Sense and Sensibility tour. Most exciting was the fact that the house I was to be giving my talk in was the very one they used in the BBC 1995 version of Persuasion which is a favourite film of mine. The house is stunningly beautiful and is also a B&B so you can actually stay in the house where Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds played Captain Wentworth and Anne Elliot. Here is a link to a website about the house:Bathwick Gardens
I was invited to supper beforehand which was taken in the dining room. Apparently, the BBC painted the walls especially for the film - the swags of fabric you can see in the photo are painted - a wonderful trompe l'oeil. Everyone had dressed for dinner and all looked so gorgeous - quite a few ladies, and two very brave gentlemen! I also met Hazel Jones, the author of Jane Austen and Marriage - click here for her website which has information on Jane Austen courses that she runs.
We made our way upstairs to the splendid drawing room afterwards passing a large window on the stairs which I recognised (and its view) from the film. The drawing room is beautiful with so many lovely features from the floor length windows to the fireplace. I was made very welcome by everyone and had a really lovely time even though I felt very nervous. I enjoy reading aloud very much and always used to love reading to my children and to the pupils I used to teach. I realised how much I miss it - now my children are grown up and I no longer teach - I really would like to do readings more often.
After a mug of hot chocolate I left them all watching Persuasion in the very room where Captain Wentworth tells Sir Walter that he wishes to marry Anne. I only wished I could be joining them on their further travels!
Thank you so much Helen, I do hope you'll ask me again!
Jane Odiwe