LITERARY PUBS: THE BELL INN, MORETON-IN-MARSH

One recurring feature of Tolkien’s Hobbit tales is the tavern called The Prancing Pony in the fictional town of Bree.  The tavern forms part of an important scene in the first of the trilogy of Lord of the Rings films, being where Frodo and his friends first encounter Aragorn, who is sitting there in a hooded coat smoking a pipe.

While living in Oxford, Tolkien used to frequent the Cotswolds town Moreton-in-Marsh to meet up with his London-based brother. The brothers got together at the Bell Inn, a honey-coloured stone pub in the town’s main street, and this is believed to be the inspiration for the Prancing Pony.  A local branch of the Tolkien Society has had a blue plaque placed by the entrance to commemorate the pub’s connection to Tolkien and his work. The inn was a popular stopover for horse-drawn coaches in the days before the arrival of the railway, and the arched entrance used by the coaches matches the arch in Tolkien’s description of the inn.

Bell Inn Moreton in Marsh back in time. Photo by Ian Alexander, via Wikimedia Commons.

Map of the area.

COMEDY IN THE COTSWOLDS: THIS COUNTRY

 This Country is what is commonly known as a ‘mockumentary’ or mock documentary.  The series charts the lives of siblings Kerry (Daisy May Cooper) and Kurtan (Charlie Cooper), who live in a boring Cotswolds village. Daisy and Charlie, who also wrote the series, are brother and sister in real life.

The series was shot in a number of locations around the Cotswolds, but the main focus is Northleach, which features as Kerry and Kurtan’s home village.  The first episode opens with them at one of their favourite hangouts, the village bus stop.  The bus stop in real life offers connections to both Oxford and Cheltenham. Kerry’s home is a house on an estate in the village, and the house in real life is at 15 Fortey Road. 

Other locations in Northleach to look out for in the series include the village allotments, seen in an episode in which Kerry is put in charge of some chickens.  The village church in the series, St Mary’s, is played by the Church of St Peter and St Paul in the centre of Northleach, known as the Cathedral of the Cotswolds.  Meanwhile, the Westwoods Centre, a village sports and community centre, plays the role of the Vicar’s office.

Northleach is a classic Cotswold wool village; the wool trade hit the big time from 1340 to 1540 when a lot of money was made from exports to Europe.  The village church is a reminder of the prosperity enjoyed during that time.  Today the meadows surrounding the village still resound to the baas of the local sheep.  As well as looking up the locations used in This Country, visitors can explore The Old Prison and its cafe, and Keith Harding’s World of Mechanical Music.  The village lies just off the A40 14 miles east of Cheltenham.

Map of the area.

Northleach, 1994, Market Square - geograph.org.uk - 4707633. Photo by Ben Brooksbank, via Wikimedia Commons.

A VICTIM OF BEECHING REMEMBERED: ADLESTROP, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

 

1966 was a happening year for Britain.  England won the World Cup, The Beatles topped the charts with We Can Work It Out, and Carnaby Street was leading the way for the fashionistas of the Swinging Sixties.  Unfortunately, it was far from a happening year for the tiny village of Adlestrop in Gloucestershire, which lost its railway station as part of the brutal Beeching Cuts, part of a massive overhaul of the country’s railways.  However, this charming country station has been immortalised in the poem Adlestrop by Edward Thomas, written during a journey undertaken by the poet in June 1914.

If the wording of the poem is anything to go by, underuse of the station was a likely reason for the closure:

 

                                                 No one left and no one came

                                                On the bare platform.  What I saw

                                                Was Adlestrop – only the name

 

The poem goes on to describe the flora and fauna around the station, consisting of willows, willow-herb, grass and meadowsweet, and a singing blackbird, with the poet imagining it being joined by all the birds of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

Adlestrop village - geograph.org.uk - 2499726. Photo by Michael Dibb, via Wikimedia Commons.

 

Adlestrop lies at the eastern extreme of the Cotswolds, near the border with Oxfordshire.  The famous Daylesford Organic farm shop is just to the south, and Moreton-in-Marsh is a couple of miles north-north-west.  The station was opened in 1853 on what is now called the Cotswold Line (Moreton-in-Marsh is on the same line, and still retains its station) but was originally part of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway.  The parish church of St Mary Magdalene dates from the 13^th century, but was rebuilt around the mid-18^th century. 

The other notable building in the village is Adlestrop Park, a Grade II listed building built by the Leigh family in the 18^th century.  The house was used as a school for a time, but this closed in 1989.  Jane Austen was a regular guest at the Rectory in Adlestrop, and it is believed that Adlestrop Park was the inspiration for Mansfield Park.  The house is now privately owned.

Adlestrop House - geograph.org.uk - 2485976. Photo by Michael Dibb, via Wikimedia Commons.

Map of the area. 

REGENCY WRONGDOINGS: MCDONALD AND DODDS/BATH

Some of the best crime series on TV are those filmed in scenic parts of the country: Vera (ITV) showcases the windswept landscapes of Northumberland and the gritty streets of Newcastle; Inspector Morse and its spinoffs Endeavour and Lewis (ITV) take us on a tour of the venerable streets and colleges of Oxford; and Shetland (BBC) speaks for itself. These are just three examples among many.  In McDonald and Dodds, screened on ITV over three seasons, we are transported to the regency elegance of Bath and surrounding areas, as we follow the intricate caseloads of  “down from London” DCI Lauren McDonald (Tala Gouveia) and her new sidekick the drearily old-fashioned (but brilliant) DS Dodds (Jason Watkins).

 

We are shown some lovely aerial shots of the city, with two of the most famous landmarks standing out: the Royal Crescent and Pulteney Bridge.  Parade Gardens, near the weir below Pulteney Bridge, is where Dodds has a chat with Max Crockett (Robert Lindsay) in The Fall of the House of Crockett (season 1, episode 1), and also features in The War of Rose (season 2, episode 3), in which McDonald and Dodds are seen discussing the case of a murdered vlogger in the gardens, with Bath Abbey looming majestically in the background.   In A Wilderness of Mirrors (season 1, episode 2),  featuring an addiction treatment retreat, we are given a brief glimpse of the interior of a Bath institution, The Bell Inn on Walcote Street, a watering hole famous for its live music.  Queen Square makes several appearances in the series showing people playing boules. 

Pulteney Bridge

 

The countryside around Bath is studded with stunning properties, and some of these were used as locations in the series.  The Crockett household in The Fall of the House of Crockett is Crowe Hall in real life, a grade II listed Georgian mansion in Widcombe, to the east of the city centre heading out towards the University.  Eastwood Park  near Wotton-under-Edge in nearby Gloucestershire was used as the Mara Retreat in The Wilderness of Mirrors.  Other landmarks near the city used in the series include the Box Tunnel, where a murder takes place in We Need To Talk About Doreen (season 2, episode 2), and Dundas Aqueduct where the dramatic final scene of Clouds Across the Moon (last episode of series 3) was filmed.  In some scenes from Clouds Across the Moon we are taken further afield to the mystical town of Glastonbury and its famous Tor. 

Eastwood Park, Falfield - geograph.org.uk - 379225. Photo by Peter Wasp, via Wikimedia Commons.

 

The Royal Crescent in Bath was started in 1767 and consists of 30 Grade I listed terrace  houses, including the city’s most luxurious hotel.  The construction of Pulteney Bridge, designed by Robert Adam in the Palladian style, began in 1769, intended as a link between the city and land owned by the Pulteney family.  There is a small charge to enter Parade Gardens, which provide a pleasant riverside oasis within the city.  There is no charge to enter Bath Abbey, but donations are encouraged.  Queen Square, surrounded by elegant Georgian houses, was opened in 1728.  As in the series, in real life the square is used for playing boules, and is the venue for the annual Bath Boules tournament held in July. 

 

The gardens of Crowe Hall are open to the public several times a year for a small entrance charge.  Eastwood Park, near the M5 to the north of Bristol, is a conference and wedding venue.  The Park consists of a large Victorian house surrounded by 200 acres of countryside.  The Box Tunnel, opened in 1841, cuts through Box Hill on the railway line between Bath and Chippenham.  At the time of building the tunnel was claimed to be the longest railway tunnel ever built.  The Dundas Aqueduct, which opened in 1805, carries the Kennet and Avon Canal over the River Avon and the railway line between Bath and Westbury.  The town of Glastonbury has a unique atmosphere due to the many “new age” style shops and attendant eccentrics such as self-styled wizards and other spiritual types.  It is reputed to be the burial place of King Arthur, and to have been a site of Pre-Christian worship.  The tor, topped by St Michaels Tower, commands splendid views over the surrounding Somerset Levels.  The tor can often be glimpsed in shots of the Glastonbury Festival, which takes place near the village of Pilton, some distance away.

Glastonbury Tor from north east showing terraces 2. Photo by Rodw, via Wikimedia Commons.

Map of Bath.

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. 

WHAT THE BUTLER SAW: THE REMAINS OF THE DAY, DARLINGTON HALL

It is a long time since I read The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, but I still remember how impressed I was by the authenticity of the dialogue of the period in which it was set, all the more so given the Japanese origins of the writer.  The focus of the story is Darlington Hall, where the butler James Stevens (Anthony Hopkins) and housekeeper Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson) develop a slow-burning relationship against the backdrop of the pre-war years (Lord Darlington is a Nazi sympathiser, a fact which Stevens turns a blind eye to).



As is so often the case in films, the scenes involving Darlington Hall were shot in a number of different properties, scattered between Gloucestershire, Devon and Wiltshire.  The scenes showing the driveway and exterior of the mansion were shot at the National Trust property Dyrham Park in Gloucestershire.  Also in Gloucestershire, nearby Badminton House was used for the scenes involving the servants’ quarters.  Some of the outside scenes were also filmed here, such as the scene where Stevens’ father (Peter Vaughan) suffers a fall and where Reginald Cardinal (Hugh Grant) is found having a sneaky cigarette.

At Dyrham Park 2018 020.  Photo by Mike Peel, via Wikimedia Commons

The county of Devon plays its part in the form of Powderham Castle on the estuary of the River Exe, which was used for the Blue Staircase, hall, master bedroom and music room.  The scene at the end featuring the trapped pigeon was also filmed there under the domed ceiling.  Corsham Court in Wiltshire, meanwhile, provided the library and dining room scenes, including the scene of the conference in the ‘Cabinet Room’.

Powderham Castle, east side-geograph-4066229-by-Stephen-Craven, via Wikimedia Commons

Dyrham Park is just off the A46 and to the south of the M4, handy for anyone staying in Bath.  The house, with treasures including a collection of Dutch Masters, dates from the 17^th century and the grounds include a deer park.  The Badminton Estate is to the east of the A46 a little further north, and is famous for its annual Horse Trials.  Visits to the house and gardens are available by special arrangement for group tours.  The estate has a history stretching back centuries: it was mentioned in the Domesday Book as ‘Madmintune’, and the grounds incorporate the remains of several Roman Villas.



Powderham Castle, just off the west bank of the mouth of the River Exe, is open from March to the beginning of November.  There are a number of special events held during the year, such as a Food Festival and the Two Moors Festival of classical music.  The original structure was built in the late 14^th century by the 2^nd Earl of Devon, but much of the present-day building dates from the 18^th century.  Corsham Court is open daily during summer but at weekends only in winter, closing in December.  It is a handsome country house built in the typical honey-coloured stone of the area, and the parkland surrounding it was designed by the prolific landscape designer Capability Brown.  The history of the estate dates back to Saxon times, when it was reputedly the seat of Ethelred the Unready.

Corsham Court. Photo by Hugh McKechnie, via Wikimedia Commons

Map of Dyrham Park

Map of Badminton Estate

Map of Powderham Castle

Map of Corsham Court

POLDARK REVISITED: THE GRAND HOUSES

The latest Poldark series is now upon us, and for this second piece on the locations used in the filming, rather than the gorgeous Cornish coastline, which I have already extensively covered in a previous piece, I thought I would focus on the grand houses occupied by the more well-to-do characters.  There are principally three of these, none of which are in Cornwall.

One house which has been seen since the start of the first series is the home occupied by Elizabeth and her family, Trenwith.  The property which was used for filming the interior and exterior scenes of Trenwith is Chavenage House, an Elizabethan house located near Prince Charles’ Highgrove in Tetbury, Gloucestershire.  The interior of the chapel at Chavenage was used to represent Sawle Church.  The house has a fascinating history; one of its former guests was Oliver Cromwell and his general Ireton, who stayed there in 1648.  Visitors to the house will get a guided tour included in the ticket price, during which, as well as the history of the property, they will hear about the various ghosts lurking in its darkest recesses.

Chavenage House 3 - geograph - 3507432. Photo by Philip Halling, via Wikimedia Commons.

Another imposing property inhabited by members of the Poldark upper crust is the house known as Killewarren, home to the Penvenen family, formerly the now deceased uncle of Caroline, Ray Penvenen, and more recently by Caroline and her husband Dr Dwight Enys.  The house portraying Killewarren is Great Chalfield Manor, a short distance west of Melksham in Wiltshire, owned by the National Trust.  The 15^th century moated manor house was built for a clothier who was a member of the local landed gentry.  Visitors to the property must join a guided tour in order to explore the manor house.  The garden, in the Arts and Crafts style, includes features such as topiary and a rose garden.  The southern aspect, with its grassy expanse leading down to the tranquil pond, will be familiar to Poldark fans.  This is where Caroline and Dwight were seen enjoying a moment together in a recent episode.

Great Chalfield Manor - 11. Photo by Stuart Buchan, via Wikimedia Commons.

In the more recent series of Poldark we have unfortunately been increasingly exposed to the odious George Warleggan, whose Georgian town house is filmed at Dyrham Park, a National Trust property in South Gloucestershire, just to the south of the M4 motorway.  Convenient for Bath, this 17^th century mansion with its garden and deer park will take up the best part of a day out.  The house itself is full of artistic treasures, while the grounds offer extensive walking and the Orangery offers an insight into an 18^th century greenhouse.  The deer park is home to some 200 fallow deer.   The estate has been used before for filming, including for the film version of Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains Of The Day.

Dyrham Park lower park. Photo by Rwendland, via Wikimedia Commons.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG: SHERBORNE PARK ESTATE, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Normally my pieces about Britain on the small screen centre around locations featured in TV dramas and suchlike.  However, this time I have decided to feature the location of this year’s Springwatch, the eternally popular wildlife spectacular which has the whole nation cheering on fledging blue tits and cooing over playful badgers and fox cubs among other engaging creatures.  More often than not the series comes from an RSPB reserve or similar, but this year’s Springwatch HQ is Sherborne Park Estate, a swathe of beautiful Cotswolds parkland and farmland adjacent to the former hunting lodge at Lodge Park, all run by the National Trust.

The area covered by the estate includes a variety of habitat for the wildlife.  The woodlands provide a home for birds such as jay, chiffchaff and the obligatory Springwatch blue tits, as well as raptors in the form of buzzard and red kite.  The series also features a kestrel family which has set up home in the church in the nearby idyllic village of Sherborne, and other stars of the show include the magnificent barn owl.  Chris Packham explains that these raptors manage to co-exist due to the fact that they eat different things and employ different hunting methods.  For example, this part of the Cotswolds has a plentiful supply of rabbits for the red kite chicks to gorge on. 

Sherborne Church and Sherborne House - geograph.org.uk - 257088. Photo by Philip Halling, via Wikimedia Commons.

The farmland on the estate is a perfect habitat for birds such as skylark and yellowhammer, and hares can also be found there.  The hedgerows provide shelter for a variety of birds including the gorgeous bullfinch, and stoats find the typical Cotswold dry stone walls perfect for their dens, although the mother stoat regulary moves her offspring from place to place as the dens become a bit whiffy from all the prey consumed there.  The diversity of flora on the estate attracts insects including a range of different butterflies.

During the spring, the water meadows of the estate’s tranquil River Windrush are the scene of a mass emergence of mayflies, providing a feeding frenzy for the resident trout.  This incredible event was shown during the first week of this year’s Springwatch.  The river looms large in the series, as does Sherborne Brook, looking magnificent in the evening sunshine, with gently sloping sheep pastures rising from it.  

Sherborne Brook - geograph.org.uk - 258322. Photo by Philip Halling, via Wikimedia Commons.

The estate is located just off the A40 between Cheltenham and Oxford.  Visitors to the area where Springwatch is being filmed can park at Ewe Pens Barn, from where there are a number of walking trails, including one down to the water meadows.  There is another car park at Northfield Barn, but if visiting during the filming of Springwatch you will not have access to that one.  Lodge Park is some distance away on the other side of the A40 and the former hunting lodge can be visited for an entrance fee (free to NT members).

Lodge Park. Photo by John Menard, via Wikimedia Commons.

Map of the area.

A COTSWOLDS CHRISTMAS FOR BRIDGET: SNOWSHILL, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

The nation’s favourite singleton, Bridget Jones, first transferred from page to screen in 2001 with the release of Bridget Jones’s Diary, the film version of the first of a trilogy of books by Helen Fielding charting the ill-fated love life of the heroine, played by Renee Zellweger, in a modern day take on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  Much of the action centres around London, but when Bridget heads home for Christmas it is the charming North Cotswolds village of Snowshill which takes centre stage, improbably covered in snow in these days of climate change.

Stone Cottages facing the Village Church - geograph.org.uk - 1632420. Photo by Cameraman, via Wikimedia Commons.

Of course, the snow was artificial, in fact the film makers covered the entire village in snow for the scenes, which must have been a strange experience for the locals and visitors, this being the month of July.  Christmas lights were put up in some of the village houses as well in order to complete the festive atmosphere.  They even put a Christmas tree up in the village and the house that featured as Bridget’s parents’ home had a Santa on the roof.  Sadly, the tourism boom that the village might have enjoyed as a result of playing a role in the film was curtailed due to the foot and mouth crisis of the time, which led to the closure of the main attraction in the village, the National Trust owned Snowshill Manor.

                                                                     Snowshill Manor

Snowshill occupies a location near the northern edge of the Cotswolds, a few miles from the more famous Broadway.  Snowshill Manor is good enough reason in itself to pay a visit, with  its fascinating collection of artefacts collected by its eccentric former owner Charles Paget Wade.  The collection includes a whole room devoted to Japanese samurai armour, and there are also musical instruments, clocks and a host of other interesting objects.  The gardens are lovely to wander round, and there is a tea room with lovely views over the surrounding countryside.  The Manor did not itself feature in the film, but the staff car park was used for shots of Bridget in the car with her parents.

Map of the area.