TREASURE HUNTING IN SUFFOLK: DETECTORISTS

Detectorists is a gentle comedy with an unusual theme: metal detecting.  The series follows the exploits of a small group of metal-detecting enthusiasts, including Andy (Mackenzie Crook) and Lance (Toby Jones).  Much of their time is spent scouring the gentle green fields around their neighbourhood, dreaming of the discovery of the next “Staffordshire Hoard”, but more often than not their finds are confined to metal ring-pulls or cheap badges.

The green fields in question are located in Suffolk, chiefly in the area in and around Framlingham – meant to be the fictional town of Daneby in Essex.  The Scout Hall where the detectorists meet up is in Framlingham, better known as St Michaels Rooms.  The most important landmark in the town is the castle, and near the entrance to the castle is the Castle Inn – this appears in the series as the Two Brewers pub, although the interior pub scenes were filmed in The Crown in Great Glemham, a few miles away.   Other pub scenes were filmed in the coastal village of Orford, at the Kings Head.  

Pastel street scene, Framlingham, Suffolk - geograph.org.uk - 1475942. Photo by nick macneill, via Wikimedia Commons

Back in Framlingham, the distinctive red brick facade of Framlingham College features in series two, doubling as a university.  During series two a round-tower church, one of 38 in Suffolk, becomes integral to the storyline.  The church is Aldham St Mary, in the village of Aldham, eight miles west of Ipswich.  Apparently, the landowner there allowed Mackenzie Crook to do some detecting in his spare time while filming was taking place, and he found some interesting items including some musket balls.

St Mary Aldham - geograph.org.uk - 985095. Photo by Keith Evans, via Wikimedia Commons

Framlingham is about 12 miles to the north-east of Ipswich, and its main attraction, the castle, is at the north-east edge of town.  Music fans may be interested to know that Ed Sheeran grew up in Framlingham, and his song “Castle on the Hill” was inspired by Framlingham Castle.  Orford is on the coast to the south of Aldeburgh, and it also has a castle, as well as the rather eerie Orford Ness with its wartime relics, such as a model atomic bombing range.  The site is also a National Nature Reserve run by the National Trust.

Map of Framlingham.

BOURNE TO FIGHT: GLADIATOR HITS SURREY

During the spread of the Roman Empire large swathes of Europe came under the rule of these powerful conquerors.  Traditionally associated with Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, it is easy to forget that the Empire also spread to more northern regions, from our own Britannia in the west to Eastern Europe and the shores of the Baltic.  Germania was the name given to the part of the Empire mostly inhabited by Germanic peoples, and it extended from the Danube to the Baltic and from the Rhine to the Vistula. 

Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott,  is one of my favourite films, mainly for the superb acting by Russell Crowe as Maximus and by Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus (he was robbed at the Oscars in my opinion), not to mention the late, lamented hellraisers Richard Harris and Oliver Reed, who actually died during filming.  Some amazing computer and filming wizardry brought Reed back to life for the scenes involving him which were yet to be filmed. 

However, the film is also notable for its camerawork, making use of an array of stunning locations.  The stirring opening scene of Gladiator, depicting a battle in the forests of Germania set to the warlike music of Hanz Zimmer, was actually filmed in Surrey, in an area south of Farnham known as Bourne Wood, an area of mainly coniferous woodland.  The woods here have been purposely designated as a filming area, the Forestry Commission allowing them to be used for this purpose for up to 8 months a year, subject to certain restrictions such as the use of helicopters.  Other films making use of the woods include Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood and War Horse.  On the small screen the woods featured in the miniseries Band of Brothers, and they were used as jungle for It Ain’t Half Hot Mum.  They also appear in a number of adverts and in the video for Coldplay’s The Scientist.

Map of the area.

Bourne Wood - geograph.org.uk - 317184. Photo by Ben Gamble, via Wikimedia Commons