PLAYING THE FOOL IN HARTLEPOOL: THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND THE CANOE

 The story behind the ITV drama The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe is so fantastical that one would think it is entirely fictional.  But in fact the drama is based on a true story, that of prison officer John Darwin, who had racked up debts totalling more than £700,000 arising from properties purchased for renting out.  In order to avoid having to face the music, Darwin set out in his canoe one day in 2002 and ‘disappeared’, presumed drowned, allowing his wife to claim on his life insurance.  In fact, Darwin secretly moved into a bedsit right next door to the family home, before sneaking back into his own home the following year.

 

The real-life location of the Darwins’ home was Seaton Carew on the outskirts of Hartlepool, and this area is where much of the filming for the series took place.  The Darwins owned two adjacent properties on The Cliff, living in one of them and renting out the other.  For the filming, while Elstree Studios was used for the interiors, the exterior shots were filmed at The Headland, an area near the harbour at Hartlepool which is a 10-minute drive north from Seaton Carew.  This was also where the beach scenes for John’s departure by canoe were filmed.  The town scenes, including the bus station with its clock tower, were filmed in Seaton Carew itself.  As for the beach where John emerged, this was filmed at Steetley Pier, about 3 miles north of Seaton Carew, while the real-life location was North Gare, three miles south of the town.

Seaton Carew (32694294543). Photo by Alex Liivet, via Wikimedia Commons.

 

Seaton Carew lies near the mouth of the River Tees, and borders on a National Nature Reserve extending from the river mouth to the town’s southern edge.  The much bigger Hartlepool grew up around a thriving shipbuilding industry, and the maritime tradition lives on in the form of the Historic Quay, featuring among its attractions the HMS Trincomalee, Britain’s oldest floating warship.  The town suffered badly during the First World War, particularly on 16 December 2014, when a raid on the town left 117 dead.

Hartlepool Headland- geograph.org.uk - 136636. Photo by Martin Routledge, via  Wikimedia Commons.

Map of the area.

A FICTIONAL TOUR OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND: JUDE THE OBSCURE, THOMAS HARDY

 One notable feature of the novels of Thomas Hardy is his use of real locations masked by fictional names.  Probably the most famous of these is Casterbridge, aka Dorchester in real life.  In Jude The Obscure, the action takes place in a number of different locations, each with its real-life equivalent.

 

The story kicks off in the village of Marygreen, where Jude Fawley, who has been sent to live with his great-aunt Drusilla following the death of his father, is upset that the local schoolmaster, Phillotson, is taking off for pastures new, namely the university city of Christminster (see below).  As it happens, the real-life version of Marygreen is also called Fawley, a village in Berkshire.  The church of St Mary the Virgin, completed in 1866, is the real-life version of Marygreen Church in the novel.

 

Jude Fawley’s dearest wish is to go and study at Christminster, which becomes something of an obsession to the point where he considers it the “New Jerusalem”.  However, it is not to be, and he ends up as a stonemason instead.  It is not at all hard to guess which is the real-life equivalent of Christminster, especially when we discover that it is to the north-east of Marygreen.  A glance at the map reveals that this venerable seat of learning has to be Oxford, one of the most famous university cities in the world along with its cousin to the east, Cambridge.

 

Oxford from Westgate Mall. Photo by Dicklyon, via Wikimedia Commons.

In another chapter of Jude’s life he finds himself in Melchester, where his on-off love affair with his cousin Sue develops.  He goes there to study for the clergy, having been lured by Sue, who is at a Training College in the city.  Jude finds work in the cathedral there while reading theological works in preparation for his career.  The real-life cathedral city of Salisbury in Wiltshire was the inspiration for Hardy’s Melchester.  Salisbury lies to the north of the New Forest and south of Salisbury Plain, with its elegant cathedral spire visible from miles around.  The city made the news in 2018 for the worst of reasons, being the location where the poison novichok was used to target former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, with an unfortunate local woman ending up dead as a result.

 

Salisbury, Salisbury Cathedral ^ Scenery - geograph.org.uk - 3106160. Photo by Lewis Clarke, via Wikimedia Commons.

 

By the time the action has moved to Shaston, Sue is married to Phillotson, who has moved there to run a school.  Jude catches up with Sue there and they flee together.  In real life, Shaston is the town of Shaftesbury, Dorset, famous for its picturesque cobbled street, Gold Hill, which featured in a 1970s TV advert for Hovis bread. 

 

Gold Hill Shaftesbury - geograph.org.uk - 2206454. Photo by peter robinson, via Wikimedia Commons.

Jude and Sue go to live together at Aldbrickham, which is where Jude’s flighty ex-wife Arabella used to work as a barmaid before she met him.  Arabella makes a reappearance in Jude’s life during this time at Aldbrickham, resulting in an unexpected addition to Jude’s family.  Aldbrickham’s real-life equivalent is the large Berkshire market town of Reading on the River Thames.  The town has long been an important commercial centre, above all most recently for the IT industry.

FROM UNI TO KGB: RED JOAN/CAMBRIDGE

 

Cambridge University has a long and unfortunate association with the dark art of spying, most notably the group known as the Cambridge Five, including Guy Burgess and Kim Philby among its members, all of them male.  The film Red Joan tells the story of a female undergraduate who was lured into spying.  Melita Norwood, born in 1912, was the longest serving of all Soviet spies in Britain, handing over secrets during a 40-year period which included details of the atomic bomb, an “achievement” which made her more highly valued to the KGB than the infamous Cambridge Five, comprising five male Cambridge undergraduates. Norwood’s story was the inspiration for the novel Red Joan by Jennie Rooney, which became the basis for the 2019 film of the same name, starring Judi Dench.

Although Norwood never attended Cambridge University, this seat of learning was the setting of the novel, and much of the filming for the film took place there.  This was in part because the director Trevor Nunn came to know the city while studying there.

 

Three of the University colleges featured in the film: St John’s College,  Newnham College and Downing College.  Jennie Rooney attended St John’s College while studying at Cambridge, and the scenes shot there included the one featuring a visit to the top of the chapel tower to admire the view and the one involving a picnic on the River Cam.  The crew had to be reduced to a maximum of 15 people for the filming at St John’s. 

Located on St John’s Street off Bridge Street, St John’s lies on a site originally occupied by the Hospital of St John the Evangelist.  The varied architecture includes the crenelated Great Gate and the famous Bridge of Sighs, one of the most photographed buildings in Cambridge.  The college received its charter in April 1511, and its notable alumni include William Wilberforce, who was responsible for the abolition of the slave trade,  and the actor Derek Jacobi. The college is currently closed to visitors.

St John's College, Cambridge 10052014-002. Photo by Yamen, via Wikimedia Commons.

 

Newnham College, the University’s first all-female college, was the one attended by Red Joan in the film, and was used for scenes shot inside the accommodation block and a night-time scene.  Founded in 1871, the college is housed in a handsome red brick building on Sidgwick Avenue to the south-west of the city centre.  Previous alumnae include the actress Dame Emma Thompson, the writer Sylvia Plath and the Labour MP Diane Abbott.  The college gardens are currently open to visitors, subject to restrictions.

 

Filming at Downing College featured the outside, which is on a busy road, so that the production team had to stop the traffic and remove any modern bikes which were parked outside.  Downing College was founded in 1800 and its buildings of pale honey-coloured stone were built in the neo-classical style.  Notable alumni include the actor John Cleese, the late film director Michael Winner and this film’s director Trevor Nunn.  Downing College is currently closed to visitors.

Downing College Chapel. Photo by Herbert Baker, via Wikimedia Commons.

 

Among the other establishments used for the filming is the All Saints Garden, which was used for the scene in which a group of students hold a rally against the Spanish Civil War.  The garden forms part of All Saints Church on Jesus Lane, opposite Trinity and St John’s colleges. There is a weekly art and craft market held on the site.

Map of the city.

INFAMY AT INVERARAY: A VERY BRITISH SCANDAL

 During the 1960s, the world of the British aristocracy was rocked by the very public breakdown of the marriage between the Duke and Duchess of Argyll.  The newspapers of the time were full of stories of drunkenness, drug-taking, violence, in fact the full range of horrors of a highly dysfunctional marriage.  The Duchess, Margaret Campbell, was dragged through the mud by the press, who labelled her the “Dirty Duchess”.  This was the subject of one of the most heralded series from this last Christmas, A Very British Scandal, starring Claire Foy as Margaret and Paul Bettany as the Duke, Ian Campbell.  The other star of the series was InverarayCastle, the real-life seat of the Dukes of Argyll since the 18^th century.  By all accounts, the current occupants of the castle were extremely welcoming to the production team and stars.

 

Inverary Castle, Argyll and Bute, Scotland-31May2010. Photo by Son of Groucho, via Wikimedia Commons.

Inveraray Castle started out as the stronghold of the Campbell chiefs, who later became the Dukes of Argyll.  The original settlement of Inveraray consisted of a small group of cottages watched over by the original castle, but in the mid-18^th century the third Duke had a new castle built, and also a new town further away from the castle than the original settlement, with the castle and town lying on the shore of Loch Fyne.  The new version of the castle is a Gothic-style turreted wonder with interiors including the Armoury Hall and the Tapestry Drawing Room.  Both the castle and the surrounding parkland and woodland are open to visitors.  In 1975 there was a bad fire at the castle, and there were reports of local people forming a human chain in order to save some of its treasures. 

 

Inveraray from Dun na Cuaiche - geograph.org.uk - 1883808. Photo by David Hawgood, via Wikimedia Commons.

Think you’ve seen Inveraray Castle before on the small screen?  If you’re a Downton Abbey fan that will be because the castle featured in the 2012 Christmas special in which the Grantham family head north to the home of their cousins, ‘Duneagle Castle’, with the latter filmed at Inveraray.

Map of the area.

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.