A LITTLE PIECE OF NORWAY IN WALES: ROALD DAHL/CARDIFF

 A walk around the shopping and entertainment district of Cardiff Bay offers the chance to take in a variety of architecture, most of it modern, the most striking examples being the Welsh National Assembly building, otherwise known as the Senedd, and the Wales Millennium Centre, a cultural centre staging theatre and other shows.  However, one building in particular which stands out from the rest is a charming little white former Lutheran church, dating from the19th century.  This is the Norwegian Church Arts Centre, housed in a church founded in the 19^th century by the Norwegian Seamen’s Mission at a time when Norwegian merchant ships were bringing timber from Norway for use in the Welsh  mines.  Later, during the Second World War, the church was frequented by Norwegian seafarers who were unable to return to their homeland, which had been occupied.

The Norwegian Church - geograph.org.uk - 984537. Photo by pennie winkler, via Wikimedia Commons.

In the late 19^th century, the Dahl family moved to Llandaff, Cardiff, from Norway when Harald Dahl founded a ship-broking company.  Harald’s son, Roald, went on to become a well-known author, specialising in children’s books.  The family used to worship at the Norwegian Church, which in those days occupied a site in the Docks area of the city.  However, the church fell into disrepair during the 1970s, and Roald set about campaigning for it to be saved.  This would involve dismantling and repairing the church before moving it to its current location.  The project was completed in 1992, but sadly Roald did not live to see his campaign come to fruition, having died several years before.

Nowadays, the church houses a gallery, gift shop and cafe, where visitors can enjoy lovely views over the Bay.  The venue can also be hired for events.  (Please note that at the time of writing this piece the church has been temporarily closed due to coronavirus restrictions.)  Dahl’s memory lives on in the Bay in the form of Roald Dahl Plass (‘plass’ being Norwegian for ‘square’), a centrepiece for events taking place in the Bay, such as the annual Christmas Market.  There is also an annual Roald Dahl Day on 13^th September, Dahl’s birthdate.

Roald Dahl Plass-3. Photo by V4nco, via Wikimedia Commons.

Map of the area.

CUMBRIAN CAPERS: WITHNAIL & I

 

The British actor Richard E. Grant has appeared in many films and TV series over the years, but the film he will be most remembered for must surely be Withnail & I, released in 1986, in which two unemployed actors, Withnail (Grant) and his friend (Paul McGann, appearing as ‘& I’ in the credits) retreat to the wilds of Cumbria for an eventful holiday.

It is Withnail’s Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths) who provides the accommodation for the holiday, in the form of a cottage called Crow Cragg.  The real-life cottage seen in the film is Sleddale Hall, an early 19^th century derelict cottage near Shap to the west of the A6.  The view from the cottage takes in a reservoir, seen in the scene in which Withnail declares “I’m gonna be a star!”  This scene was shot in an elevated position overlooking Haweswater Reservoir in the valley of Mardale, between Ullswater and the M6.  The dam was started in 1929 to supply water to the large conurbations of the north-west such as Manchester, causing great controversy due to the necessity of moving people out of the local farming villages and flooding them. 

Longsleddale Haweswater reservoir - panoramio (1). Photo by  jim walton, via Wikimedia Commons.

Of the remaining scenes shot in Cumbria, among the most memorable are the scene in which Withnail takes to a red telephone kiosk to chase up his agent and the scene where he attempts a bit of fishing with a shotgun.  The red phone box is located in the village of Bampton, Cumbria, next to a bus stop on Wideworth Farm Road.  The phone box itself is something of a piece of national heritage, since phone boxes in general, and red ones in particular, are hard to come by in the age of the mobile phone.  I don’t know whether it was retained because of the film, but it has become something of a visitor attraction, with a book inside for visitors to leave comments.  The fishing scene was filmed on a picturesque stone bridge over the River Lowther near Shap.  The bridge is a short walk downhill from Sleddale Hall.  A good Ordnance Survey map should show the way, with the runoff from the reservoir clearly seen flowing into the river.

Bampton, Heading out the Village - geograph.org.uk - 2525564. Photo by Mick Garratt, via Wikimedia Commons.

A desperate quest for food has the pair knocking at the door of the local farmer’s mother, Mrs Parkin, who yells out at them through the closed door.  This scene was shot at Keld, Cumbria (not to be confused with the Keld in the Yorkshire Dales).  In a subsequent scene the farmer remonstrates with the pair for leaving a gate open, allowing an angry bull access to the lane they are about to walk down.  The gate in question is located at Scar Side Farm in Bampton. 

The locations featured in the film are easily reached from the eastern part of the Lake District, and the nearest large town is Penrith, to the north, in the Eden Valley, just to the east of the M6.

Map of the area.

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL THEN AND NOW: ASKRIGG AND GRASSINGTON, YORKSHIRE DALES

 All Creatures Great and Small, an everyday tale of veterinary doings and country folk in the Yorkshire Dales based on a series of books by James Herriot, first hit our screens in 1978 and was enough of a hit for the series to last until 1990.  Last year, a remake of the series began screening, with a whole new cast and a new set of locations, still in the Yorkshire Dales.  Both series centre around the fictional village of Darrowby, but the real-life locations are different for each.

The Darrowby of the original series was mostly represented by Askrigg in Wensleydale.  The frontage of the vets surgery seen in the series is in real life that of Skeldale House, which now offers self-catering apartments for anyone wanting to immerse themselves in the Darrowby experience.  The vets often spent their leisure time supping in the local pub The Drover’s Arms.  The real life hostelry used in the series is The King’s Arms, which still bears reminders of the filming with photos adorning the walls.

The King's Arms, Askrigg

The latest series switches the action to Grassington in Upper Wharfedale as the setting for Darrowby.  The Drover’s Arms is still the watering hole of choice for the vets, but in this series two different pubs are used: the Green Dragon at Hardraw, a mile or so north of Hawes, famous for the Hardraw Force waterfall, is used for the interior shots, and the Devonshire in Grassington for the exterior shots.  The delightfully eccentric Mrs Pumphrey, one of the vets’ clients, features heavily in the new version – she was originally played by the late Diana Rigg, but following her sad death has been replaced by Patricia Hodge.  The location used for Mrs Pumphrey’s house is Broughton Hall near Skipton.

Main Street - geograph.org.uk - 2376729. Photo by Keith Evans, via Wikimedia Commons.

 Askrigg is in Wensleydale, a few miles to the west of the dale’s main town, Leyburn.  In addition to the locations used in the series, there is the beautiful St Oswald’s Church, which dates largely from the 15^th century.  The market town of Grassington is in Wharfedale, a few miles north of the A59, with the lovely River Wharfe at the western edge of the town.  Bigger and busier than Askrigg, there are a range of hotels, pubs, cafes and shops, as well as the Grassington Folk Museum and the National Park Centre.

Map of Askrigg.

Map of Grassington.

THE REAL BRIDESHEAD: MADRESFIELD COURT, WORCESTERSHIRE

I am currently reading Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited for the first time, and inevitably I found myself wondering whether there is a real-life property which served as the inspiration for the stately home occupied by the family of Sebastian Flyte, the close friend of the protagonist Charles Ryder.  My mind instantly drifts to Yorkshire and Castle Howard, which was famously used for the filming of a TV serialisation of the novel in 1981, and again in 2008 for a feature film.  However, on further digging I discover that the property which at least partly served as the inspiration for Brideshead was Madresfield Court near Malvern in Worcestershire, home of the Lygon family for nearly 900 years.  One of the family’s sons, Hugh Lygon, was a friend of Waugh, and it was he who was partly the inspiration for Sebastian.

Madresfield also played a role in two other works by Waugh.  The author wrote most of Black Mischief while at the property in 1932.  Then, in 1934, in A Handful of Dust, Madresfield was turned into Hetton Abbey.

Madresfield Court - geograph.org.uk - 816042. Photo by Angus McCulloch, via Wikimedia Commons.

The history of Madresfield Court dates back to the 12^th century, when the original house was built.  However, the current house is Victorian, with 160 rooms, and surrounded by a moat.  The gardens and house are open to visitors on pre-booked guided tours only (running from April until June in 2023).  The interior of the house is notable for its many works from the Arts and Crafts movement.  The gardens cover an area of 69 acres, having been enlarged in 1865.  The grounds include a pet cemetery where the animals who have lived at the house over the years are buried.  The gardens are enhanced by the sight of the nearby Malvern Hills, which form a dramatic backdrop.

Map of Madresfield Court and surrounding area.

Map of Castle Howard and surrounding area.

SUMMONING THE PAST IN SUFFOLK: THE DIG

 There are many interesting places to visit in Suffolk, as we discovered on a long weekend break a few years ago, but one place that particularly stands out in my memory is the site of the archaeological dig at Sutton Hoo and its museum full of replicas of Anglo-Saxon treasures.  The initial finds were made by amateur archaeologist Basil Brown on land owned by widow Edith Pretty.  Brown made the extraordinary discovery of a 7^th century ship burial, but a Cambridge archaeologist took over the excavation on realising its significance and Basil was left somewhat sidelined.  This is the subject of the Netflix film The Dig, starring Carey Mulligan as Edith Pretty and Ralph Fiennes as Basil Brown. 

Sutton Hoo ship-burial model. Photo by Steven J. Plunkett, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Suffolk coast, particularly the southern part of it, is characterised by a series of estuaries, and it is the River Deben that runs alongside the Sutton Hoo site.  In the opening scene of the film we see Basil taking his bike on a foot ferry across the River Deben – this was actually filmed on the Butley Foot Ferry on the Butley River near Orford.   Other coastal locations used in the filming include Thorpeness Beach, just up the coast from Aldeburgh, and Shingle Street, a hamlet midway between Orford and Felixstowe (which also featured heavily in Daughters-in-Law by Joanna Trollope, covered elsewhere in this blog). 

 

Butley Ferry - geograph.org.uk - 1303087. Photo by Keith Evans, via Wikimedia Commons.

Two wildlife reserves make an appearance: the Boyton Marsh RSPB site and Snape Marshes, run by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.  Boyton Marsh is where we see the ruined house where Peggy Piggott (Lily James) has a fling with Edith Pretty’s cousin Rory Lomax (Johnny Flynn).  Snape Marshes is used for the scene in which Basil is seen smoking his pipe while sitting on the banks of the River Alde after making his first significant find, and a restored 19^th century sailing barge called the Cygnet is seen appearing before him. 

 

Boyton Marshes - geograph.org.uk - 1298304. Photo by Keith Evans, via Wikimedia Commons.

Pretty’s house, which in real life was part of the Sutton Hoo estate, and is now a museum, was actually in Surrey in the film, represented by a property called Norney Grange near Shackleford, which was used for both interior and exterior scenes.  The scenes of the actual dig were also shot near here.  As for the village scenes, the post office in Diss was played by the village shop in the village of Shackleford, and the hamlet of Hambleden in Buckinghamshire was used for the scenes of the inquest in Sutton.

 

The real-life Sutton Hoo site is run by the National Trust.  The objects on display are replicas; the real items are now housed in the British Museum.  Tranmer House , where Edith Pretty lived, houses a museum telling the story of the discoveries and her role in them.  Norney Grange is not open to the public, but a history of the property can be found on the Shackleford website.

The Butley ferry is currently closed, but is due to reopen on Easter weekend.

Map of Sutton Hoo.

A POOR MAN'S JANE AUSTEN RICH IN LOCATIONS: BRIDGERTON

 

When fans of the Regency period in general, and Jane Austen in particular, got wind of the imminent arrival of the Netflix series Bridgerton they were no doubt salivating at the anticipation of the prospect of flirtations between cleavage-bursting young women and dashing young men sporting sideburns and knee-high boots.  However, as the series got underway opinions were deeply divided between those who found the series embarrassingly lightweight (with plenty of dark mutterings about ‘wokeness’) and those who thought it was a wonderfully entertaining tonic for these dark covid times.  One thing that cannot be denied, though, is the splendour of the locations used in the series.

I have previously blogged about Bath and its Jane Austen connections, and this handsome, honey-coloured city in the west of England plays a large part in Bridgerton.  The Royal Crescent puts in an appearance with number 1 serving as the Baron Featherington household, with digital enhancements on the facade.  Filming also took place at the Assembly Rooms and Trim Street is where we see the exterior of Gunter’s Tea Shop.

Royal Crescent, Bath. Photo by MontanNito, via Wikimedia Commons.

The stately piles occupied by the various families involved in the story are played by photogenic properties scattered around the country.  An art museum in Greenwich called Ranger’s House was used for the Bridgerton family home, with the addition of wisteria and ivy to the facade to make it look more homely.  The property belonging to the dashing Duke of Hastings was represented by three different properties: Wilton House near Salisbury for interior and exterior shots, with further interior work done at Syon House in Middlesex and Badminton House, Gloucestershire, which we last encountered as Darlington Hall in The Remains Of The Day.  Badminton House and Wilton House were also used for some of the interior scenes depicting the home of Lady Danbury, who acts as a kind of mother figure to the Duke.  The exterior of Lady Danbury’s house, meanwhile, was shot at the Holburne Museum of Art, taking us back to Bath.

Wilton-House-02-2004-gje. Photo by Gerd Eichmann, via Wikimedia  Commons.

Soaring up to the heights of Regency society, we encounter Queen Charlotte, whose residence in the series is an actual palace in real life, namely Hampton Court Palace.  Wilton House pops up again here, with some of its interiors used in the filming, along with those of Lancaster House in London. 

For the marital home of a certain pair of newly-weds we are whisked to the north of England, to Castle Howard, 15 miles north of York, where the exterior scenes were filmed, while Wilton House and Badminton House are once again used for interiors, along with North Mymms Park, a wedding venue south of Hatfield, Hertfordshire.  Staying in Hatfield, Hatfield House, a property which has been used in numerous previous productions, provided some of the interior shots of the Featherington residence.

Castle Howard and garden. Photo by Pwojdacz (talk), via Wikimedia Commons.

The city of Bath nestles in a dip in the Somerset countryside with the River Avon running through it.  Jane Austen once lived there, and as a reminder of this time there is an annual Jane Austen Festival.  Visitors who are feeling a bit flush and who want to immerse themselves in the Bridgerton experience can stay at the Royal Crescent Hotel, the city’s finest, although the less moneyed can make do with a visit to No. 1, which is a heritage museum.  The Holburne Museum of Art is next to Sydney Gardens on the east side of the city.  The Assembly Rooms are run by the National Trust and are a short distance to the east of the Royal Crescent.  For visitors coming from outside the UK the nearest international airport is Bristol Airport. 

For Bridgerton fans visiting the London area, Ranger’s House, which lies on the boundary between Greenwich Park and Blackheath, is run by English Heritage and is home to the Wernher Collection.   Syon House to the west of London is across the Thames from Kew Gardens and is the London home of the Duke of Northumberland.  The house forms part of the wider Syon Park, which is open to visitors.  Hampton Court Palace is further upstream and is famous for having been the seat of Henry VIII.  Lancaster House is near St James’s Palace and is managed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 

Further afield, North Mymms Park is just off the A1 (M) south of Hatfield and offers wedding and events services, while Hatfield House forms part of Hatfield Park, both of which are open to visitors, and is a short distance to the east of Hatfield.  Heading further west, Wilton House, just outside Salisbury, is home to the Earl and Countess of Pembroke, but is open to visitors.  Badminton House is part of Badminton Estate and has been the main seat of the Dukes of Beaufort since the 17^th century.  The Estate is open to visitors for house tours and garden visits.  Finally, to Yorkshire and Castle Howard, 15 miles north-east of York just off the A64 Scarborough road, which belongs to the Howard family, going back several generations.  The house and gardens are open to visitors. 

AN ELIZABETHAN SAGA IN CORNWALL: THE GROVE OF EAGLES/FALMOUTH

 

The late Winston Graham is best known for the Poldark books, not least given the latest dramatisation of the series on the TV.  However, I recently read another excellent work by him set earlier in time, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.  I have always been fascinated by this period in the country’s history, characterised by such a strong female monarch, the discovery of the New World and the triumph over the Spanish Armada.  My mother’s side of my family came from Mousehole, which bore the brunt of an invasion by the Spanish during this time, and I often wonder whether I have a trace of Spanish blood coursing through my veins from the raping and pillaging that went on there.

 

The invasion of Mousehole and West Cornwall is the subject of one of the most dramatic sections of The Grove of Eagles, but it is the estuary town of Falmouth which forms the main geographical focus of the story.  The main character, Maugan Killigrew, is the illegitimate son of John Killigrew who lives at Arwenack House in what is now Falmouth, and who was the Governor of Pendennis Castle.  He becomes involved in the war against the Spanish, spending time as a prisoner in Spain, followed by a spell as secretary to Sir Walter Raleigh once back on British soil.  Arwenack House can still be found in Falmouth today, just across the way from Discovery Quay, home to the National Maritime Museum. 

 

Arwenack Falmouth Cornwall. Photo by Steve Barnes, via Wikimedia Commons.

In those days Penryn, just up the Fal from the present-day Falmouth, was the main port in the area, and some of the early action of the story takes place here, with Maugan getting into trouble with the locals.  The Elizabethan manor house Trerice also features in the early part of the story, being the home of John Arundell, who also served as a Governor of Pendennis Castle.  

 

Pendennis Castle. Photo by Willhsmit, via Wikimedia Commons.

The most enduring feature of Maugan Killigrew’s story is his love for Sue Reskymer, who he loses touch with when he goes to Spain, and who marries and moves to West Penwith.  The pair are reunited when the far west of Cornwall is invaded by the Spanish and Maugan goes in search of her.  As mentioned before, this is one of the most dramatic episodes of the story, with the local men converging on Mousehole, Penzance and the surrounding areas in search of the invaders.

The Fal estuary

 

Trerice is a short distance inland from Newquay, and is nowadays run by the National Trust.  Pendennis Castle, which occupies a commanding position overlooking the mouth of the Fal estuary, is run by English Heritage.

Map of Falmouth.