LOCATIONS FIT FOR A QUEEN-TO-BE: THE CROWN/SOMERLEY HOUSE, HAMPSHIRE AND YORK MINSTER

 

The long-awaited resumption of The Crown on Netflix is upon us, and the reaction to the latest instalments has been fairly negative for various reasons.  However, I am still enjoying it for the standard of the production, not least some of the sumptuous locations featured in the series.  Camilla is starting to come to the fore now, and there are two key events with her at centre stage: the 50^th birthday party at Highgrove and the wedding of Charles and Camilla, which in real life took place in St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

For the birthday party scenes, Somerley House in Hampshire stands in for Highgrove, continuing on from earlier appearances in the series.  The festivities themselves take place in a large outdoor marquee, but there are lovely views of the exterior of the property.  Later in the series, when Charles and Camilla finally tie the knot, York Minster is used for the wedding scenes at St George’s Chapel, which could not be used for the filming.  The Minster was closed for five days in April this year, and crowds gathered outside hoping to spot some of the stars, although nobody knew at the time what event was being filmed.

Somerley-House. Photo by Somerley Ent., via Wikimedia Commons.

 

Somerley House is a short distance to the northwest of Ringwood on the western edge of the New Forest National Park.  The house, located in an elevated position with lovely views of the surrounding parkland, is a Grade II listed Georgian building, though the original property, home to the Okden family, dated from 1653.  The house was destroyed by fire and a new one was built in its place.  The house and estate are not open to the public but hosts weddings, corporate events and festivals.

York Minster - geograph.org.uk - 2407484. Photo by Michael Fox, via Wikimedia Commons.

 

York Minster was founded in 627 and today operates as an Anglican cathedral.  Like Somerley, it fell victim to a fire, much more recently in 1984, with the South Transept suffering the bulk of the damage.  However, the damaged was repaired and restoration work carried out at a cost of £2.25 million.  The cathedral is open to visitors at a charge of £16.00 for adults, but is well worth the money.  It is one of numerous attractions in the city of York, along with the Jorvik Viking Centre, York Castle Museum and many other points of interest.  Aside from these, there are boat trips along the River Ouse and York is famous for its evening ghost tours.

Map of Somerley Estate and surrounding area.

Map of York.

A TOUR OF ENGLAND'S FINEST CATHEDRALS: ELIZABETH AND ELIZABETH:THE GOLDEN AGE

Any film about events in English history will inevitably be chock-full of some of the finest examples of English heritage.  In the films Elizabeth (1998) and its sequel Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), both starring Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I, it is some of the country’s finest cathedrals that come to the fore among the locations used.

In Elizabeth, the coronation scene was filmed at York Minster, which proved a splendid substitute for Westminster Abbey, where the actual coronation took place on 15 January 1559.  The Minster lies in the centre of this historic city, and due to the flat terrain in the area surrounding it can be seen from miles around.  There has been a place of worship at this spot since the 7^th century, but it was not until 732 that the first Archbishop of York was recognised by the Pope.  The present building took a massive 250 years to complete, starting in 1220 and ending in 1472.  The Minster brought shocking images to our TV screens in 1984 when a fire which started in the south transept raged out of control, and firefighters were forced to deliberately collapse the roof to save the rest of the building.

York Minster from M&S. Photo by Matze Trier, via Wikimedia Commons.

The other cathedral which  makes an appearance in Elizabeth is Durham Cathedral.  The cathedral plays the part of the royal palace, and its distinctive pillars are seen in the scene where Elizabeth searches for Lord Robert after receiving a message.  Like York Minster, Durham Cathedral was preceded by a humbler place of worship known as the Saxon ‘White Church’.  The present-day building, which makes for a picturesque sight overlooking the River Wear, was built between 1093 and 1133, with further additions thereafter.

Durham Cathedral Nave. Photo by Michael D Beckwith, via Wikimedia  Commons.

In Elizabeth: The Golden Age we are taken further south, with Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire playing an important role as the Palace of Whitehall, which in those days was the main residence of the monarchs of the day.  It is seen in a number of scenes, such as the one where Elizabeth confronts the Spanish Ambassador, and when Sir Walter Raleigh arrives bearing gifts from the New World.  Ely Cathedral is unusual in that, unlike most cathedral cities, Ely is the size of a small town.  In fact, the cathedral came before the town, which grew up around it.  There is a slate in the cathedral marking the location of a former shrine to Ethelreda, daughter of the King of East Anglia, who founded an abbey at the location of what is now the cathedral.  The building dates from 1083, and was granted cathedral status in 1109.

Ely Cathedral Choir East View. Photo by Michael D Beckwith, via Wikimedia Commons.

The sequel covers the period leading up to, and including the country’s spat with Spain, and Westminster Cathedral transports us over the water to the court of King Philip II, as it was where the scenes were filmed featuring the ranting king, plotting his invasion of England following the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.  As a Roman Catholic cathedral, Westminster Cathedral was a good choice.  The cathedral is much younger than the others used in the two films, with construction completed in 1903.  Its main distinguishing feature is the striped appearance of its exterior, fashioned from layers of brick and stone.

Westminster.cathedral.frontview.london.arp. Photo by Arpingstone, via Wikimedia Commons.

One of the most dramatic scenes in the sequel is the attempt on Queen Elizabeth’s life by Thomas Babington (Eddie Redmayne), an event which is pure fiction, since in reality this particular individual did not get anywhere near the Queen, although it is true that there was a plot to assassinate her.  The scene in question was filmed in Winchester Cathedral.  Originally founded in 642 and known as Old Minster, the present-day cathedral was started in 1079 at a site nearby, and the Old Minster was demolished in 1093.  The cathedral has the distinction of being one of the largest in Europe, and includes many notable features, such as the 17^th century choir screen designed by Inigo Jones.

Winchester Cathedral Nave 1, Hampshire, UK - Diliff. Photo by DAVID ILIFF, via  Wikimedia Commons.

Finally, for the main entrance to Whitehall Palace as seen in the sequel, the producers made use of Wells Cathedral, specifically the staircase linking the North Transept to Chapter House.  Like Ely, Wells is another unusually small cathedral city, nestling among the green fields of the Somerset countryside.  The cathedral was built to replace an earlier church which had occupied the site since 705, and construction spanned the period from 1176 to 1450.  One of the cathedral’s best known features is its astronomical clock dating from around 1325.

Wells cathedral chapter house brighter. Photo by Lamiai, via Wikimedia Commons.

A BEGINNING AND AN END TO A LIFE WELL LIVED: JANE AUSTEN/HAMPSHIRE

There are many places around the country with Jane Austen associations, whether from mentions in her books (for example Lyme Regis in Persuasion) or places she has visited and which have formed inspiration for her work (such as Netley Abbey, believed to be the inspiration for Northanger Abbey).  However, her life began and ended in two tranquil locations in Hampshire less than 20 miles apart.



Jane’s life began in 1775 in the Rectory in Steventon, a tiny village to the north of the A303 near Basingstoke, where she grew up with her siblings until the family moved to Bath.  It was here that she drafted two of her most famous stories: Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.  Unfortunately, there is not much for Austen fans to see in the village now, the Rectory having been demolished soon after the move to Bath.  The site was excavated by volunteers in 2011, and the fragments of objects found during the dig provided an insight into the family’s day-to-day life.  All that remains now is an old lime tree planted by Jane’s eldest brother James.



Towards the end of her life, four years after her father’s death in 1805, Jane’s brother Edward moved her, her sisters and mother to a red brick cottage in Chawton, near the A31 and to the south-west of Alton, Hampshire.   Her life there was very quiet and family-oriented, certainly by comparison to the time she spent in Bath.  Her quiet existence there enabled her to concentrate on her writing, and it was from here that her novels became published works, including the earlier drafted Pride and Prejudice.  It is this property which is the one most visited by Austen fans, having been turned into the Jane Austen’s House Museum.

Chawton-Austen-House. Photo by Jahs, via Wikimedia Commons.

Although Jane’s last permanent address was the cottage in Chawton, strictly speaking she ended her life in Winchester.  While in Chawton her health began to decline, with her deterioration becoming inescapable during 1816.  In January 1817 she began writing a novel initially titled ‘Two Brothers’, but later retitled ‘Sanditon’.  She only managed to complete eleven chapters before putting her pen down for the last time.  In May of that year her sister Cassandra and brother Henry brought her to Winchester for treatment, but sadly this was to no avail, and she died in July at the age of 41.  Jane died in a mustard-coloured house at 8 College Street, and she was buried at Winchester Cathedral.  The house bears a plaque recording her time there.  Her cause of death has widely been reported as Addison’s disease, although some versions cite Hodgkin’s lymphoma as the condition which finished her off.

Jane Austen's House, Winchester - geograph.org.uk - 1322610. Photo by Stephen McKay, via Wikimedia Commons.

INSPIRATION FOR NORTHANGER? NETLEY ABBEY, HAMPSHIRE

I have written before about the fun of trying to guess the inspiration for the properties and estates which feature in the novels of Jane Austen.  Northanger Abbey is a tricky one, but given the novel of the same name is Gothic in style, and the fact that the Austen family made multiple visits to the spooky ruins of Netley Abbey near Southampton when Jane was a girl, it does not take too much of a leap of imagination to suppose that Netley Abbey, while far from a complete and occupied property unlike the fictional Northanger Abbey, may have contributed to Jane’s interest in the Gothic, and therefore may have influenced her creation of Northanger Abbey.



Jane Austen grew up in Hampshire, and she and her sister Cassandra went to school in Southampton in 1783.  It was probably during that time, and 10 years later when she stayed with her second cousin in Southampton, that she got to know the abbey.  On one particular visit in 1807, it was not Jane but her niece Fanny who waxed lyrical about the site, describing it as a “compound of everything that is striking, ancient and majestic”, and how it “stands on an eminence, in the most romantic situation you can imagine, overgrown with ivy and concealed from your view by a high wood, down to the water’s edge” – the water in question being Southampton Water.  Work on Jane’s novel Northanger Abbey began in 1798, and it is not known to what extent she had Netley Abbey in mind when inventing the Abbey of the novel, but given the above it seems highly likely that Netley was the inspiration for Northanger.

Eastrange. Photo by Coradia1000, via Wikimedia Commons

The abbey is now managed by English Heritage, who on their website inform us that it is the most complete surviving abbey built by the Cistercian monks in Southern England.  The abbey is open year round, with slightly reduced hours during the winter months.  There are many spooky stories surrounding the abbey, which would have circulated around the time of Jane’s visits, including the story of an apparition dressed as a monk who appeared before a local undertaker who wanted to dismantle the church ruins.  The monk warned him not to, but he disregarded the warning and was rewarded with a stone falling on his head and killing him.

Map of the area.

UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS IN DEEPEST HAMPSHIRE: DOWNTON ABBEY

Highclere Castle has become so inextricably linked to the ITV period drama series Downton Abbey that the area surrounding it has been christened "Downtonia".  The hugely successful series, the brainchild of Julian Fellowes, takes us through the emotional rollercoaster that makes up the family life of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants during the reign of King George V.  The latest series had a suitably dramatic ending as Dan Stevens (playing Matthew Crawley) ruined everyone's Christmas by fatally crashing his car in the show's Christmas special.  The setting of the drama is a fictional estate in Yorkshire which is the seat of the Earl and Countess of Grantham, but the exterior shots and most of the interior ones were filmed at Highclere Castle, apart from certain areas such as the servants' quarters, for which Ealing Studios was used.

The site occupied by Highclere Castle was in medieval times the location of the palace of the Bishops of Winchester.  A house was later built on its foundations, then later still Highclere Castle came into existence: it has been the seat of the Carnarvon family since 1679.  In 1692 Robert Sawyer, a former Speaker of the House of Commons and college friend of the 17th century diarist Samuel Pepys, bequeathed a mansion at Highclere to his daughter Margaret, wife of the 8th Earl of Pembroke.  It was their son, Robert Saywer Herbert who began its picture collection and created the garden temples.  In the mid-19th century, the architect responsible for the present incarnation of the Houses of Parliament, carried out extensive rebuilding work on the house in an "Anglo-Italian" style.  The park surrounding the castle was created according to a design by Capability Brown, and the local village was actually moved during the process: the remains of the original 17th century church are at the south-west corner of the castle.

Visitors to Highclere Castle can luxuriate in the sumptuously decorated rooms open to the public, which include the Saloon, the State Dining Room, the Library, the Music Room, the Drawing Room and the Smoking Room.  Some of the bedrooms can also be viewed, reachable via the suitably impressive oak staircase, as can the kitchens, cellars and so on in the "downstairs" part of the household.   The glorious grounds of the Castle feature the Monks' Garden, whose name is a nod to the Bishops of Winchester, and such delightfully named areas as the Secret Garden and the Wood of Goodwill.  The extensive parkland includes a number of classically inspired follies, as well as remains of ancient Iron Age and Bronze Age hill forts and tumuli.  

Highclere Castle (April 2011). Photo by Richard Munckton, via Wikimedia Commons.

Probably the most notable episode in the history of the Carnarvon family occurred in 1922, when the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, along with the archaeologist Howard Carter, discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun.  The find was the pinnacle of 16 years spent excavating at several key archeological sites in Egypt.  Sadly, the Earl died the year after the incredible find, but his legacy was an extraordinary collection of antiquities, most of which were sold to the Metropolitan Museum of New York, although a few less significant items remained at Highclere.  Now these and some of the other items have been brought together for an exhibition at Highclere which, as well as displaying some of the fruits of Carnarvon's time in Egypt, tells the story of the quest by Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter which led up to the discovery of the tomb.  The fascinating artefacts on display include a  noble woman's coffin from 3,500 years ago.

There is one note to add on Carnarvon's death.  One of the best known legends surrounding the antiquities unearthed in Egypt is that of Tutankhamun's curse.  As it happens, it was less than two weeks after the official opening of the burial chamber that Lord Carnarvon was bitten by a mosquito, and the bite became infected.  The Lord fell ill with pneumonia, from which he died, aged just 57.  But that's not all: allegedly, the lights went out in Cairo at the moment of his death, while back home his dog started howling and died at the same moment.  Meanwhile, back in the present, it has been reported that several of the cast members of Downton Abbey had accidents during the filming, resulting in two broken wrists and a foot impaled by a dropped knife.  Perhaps the Curse of Tutankhamun lives on...

The house and grounds are open to the public at peak times of the year and on certain other dates for special events.  Downton Abbey returns to our TV screens later this year.

Highclere Castle is in the far north of Hampshire, near Newbury.  See here for a map.