Quartet, released in 2012 and directed by Dustin Hoffman, is based around Beecham House, a home for retired musicians, where the residents celebrate the birthday of Giuseppe Verdi every year with a concert in his honour. This year’s concert is disrupted by the arrival of the ex-wife of one of the residents, Jean, a diva in the true sense of the word.
Jean is played by national treasure Dame Maggie Smith (alongside such luminaries as Michael Gambon, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly and Pauline Collins). Another national treasure plays the role of the residence in question: Hedsor House, Taplow, between Slough and Maidenhead, which was used for almost the entirety of the filming, along with Taplow’s St Nicholas’ Church.
Hedsor House, which stands in 85 acres of parkland overlooking the River Thames, forms part of an estate dating from 1166, when it was owned by the de Hedsor family. During the 18th century it was home to Princess Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales and mother of King George III. The following century it was regularly visited by Queen Victoria. Latterly, the house became the property of the Shephard family, being gifted to one of its number, Alexander Shephard, by his great grandparents as a wedding present. The house was requisitioned during World War 2 for military use, then in 1952 the Americans moved in, using it as a secret communications base before it was returned to the Shephards in 2003. The house has 100 rooms and features include a ballroom, a grand hall with a gallery and a sunken garden.
Alexander and his wife now live in a farmhouse on the estate. The main house has become popular as a wedding venue, and for filming. One of Alexander’s sons recalls walking into the kitchen in the farmhouse during the filming of Quartet to find Dustin Hoffman sitting there, having decamped to the farmhouse while a wedding was going on in the main house. Hoffman apparently made the bride and groom’s day by posing for photos with them. During the filming Hoffman had a summer-house built in the grounds, and he left this for the family as a gift.
Other films featuring Hedsor House include Legend (2015) about the Kray brothers, and The Golden Compass(2007), a fantasy adventure film starring Nicole Kidman.
Map of Hedsor House and environs.
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| Hedsor House, Hedsor Park, Taplow, Buckinghamshire-4879995433. Photo by Ami and Debo Mukherjee, via Wikimedia Commons. |
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