Photos and the City

Tag: movie location

movie or tv show location

Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace, this monumental country house is the only non-royal and non-episcopal country house that is allowed to be named palace. And monumental it is! It is already a long drive from the entrance to the park to the palace itself.

Situated in Woodstock near Oxford Blenheim Palace is the principal residence of the Dukes of Marlborough and was built between 1705 to around 1722. The palace was a gift from Queen Anne and a thankful nation to the first Duke of Marlborough John Churchill after winning the battle of Blenheim in 1704 and other important victories.

Churchill commissioned Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor with building the palace. Over the next years, Vanbrugh fight with the Duchess who wanted a comfortable home instead of the monument he had in mind until Vanbrugh was banned from the site and the palace was finished by Hawksmoor.

Vanbrugh planned Blenheim in perspective – that is to be best viewed from a distance. As the site covers some seven acres (28,000 m²) this is also a necessity. Close to, and square on, the facades can appear daunting, or weighed down by too much stone and ornamentation. (Blenheim Palace)

But these weren´t the only fights the Marlboroughs had. They had a fallout with the Queen, left the country in 1712, only returned after her death in 1714 and came back in favour in court. The first Duke died in 1722 and his widow made the finishing of the palace her passion project.

Blenheim Palace stands in a beautiful romantic park planned by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. The gardens were closed on that day because of all the snow, but at least I had a lovely walk along the grande lake and the bridge.

By marrying an American heiress, Consuelo Vanderbilt, in 1896 Charles the 9th Duke saved the family and the palace from ruin. The exhaustive restoration started while the couple was on their honeymoon. While the palace became a place of wonder and prestige again, the marriage without love ended in a divorce in 1921, Consuelo had already left Charles in 1906, quite the scandal!

Winston Churchill, a direct descendant of the first Duke was born in Blenheim and spent a lot of time there with his beloved grandmother. Some of the staterooms or rooms next to them show an exhibition about his time in Blenheim and his life in general.

A library that was meant to take a stroll in it!

Blenheim Palace was named UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. It is possible to visit this stunning place the whole year. And if might look kind of familiar you´ve might have seen it in a movie or tv show, like “Hamlet”, “Spectre”, “Cinderella” or “The Royals”.

PS: if you donate the entry fee you´ll receive a pass for the whole year and one never knows if one might come back!

11/01/2018
Bampton

An area that has been settled since the Iron Age and the Roman times, Bampton was mentioned as a market town by 1086 and stayed an important settlement in the Saxon and Middle Ages thanks to wool and later on textile- and leatherworking. For visitors today it might seem oddly familiar when you watch the TV show “Downton Abbey” – the charming Bampton serves as shooting location for the fictional town “Downton”.

The Old Grammar School building, today the Bampton Community Archive hosts a huge selection of photographs of the old Bampton and also about “Downton Abbey” in Bampton and a small souvenir shop. In the Tv show, it served as the Downton Hospital.

Church View, the site for the fair and many other key elements and “Crawley House” to the left. Turn around and there is St. Mary´s church.

There seems to have been a church for a long while, the oldest part today is the Anglo-Saxon tower.

It is likely that any earlier building was severely damaged in the siege of Bampton that took place in 1142 and that work on the present building began in 1153.

The present appearance of the church is largely a result of a remodelling of 1270, when the spire was built and the aisles were added. (Bampton – St. Mary´s church)

The location for all the “Downton Abbey” weddings, christenings and other dramatic events.

Churchgate House in the back used as the exterior for “Crawley House”.

And we´re back on Church View – the site for the two fictional pubs and the post office.

It was about time to warm up again and have a little afternoon tea at “The Cake Element Bakery” almost next to the store above, I think I was so happy about having some tea I forgot to take some photos. Which is a shame as they present (and sell) the most beautiful celebration cakes and it´s such a cosy place. He is the baker and his wife makes the amazing cake decorations. I´m still dreaming about that Cream Tea I had!

And I´m also still dreaming about the lovely and cosy B & B I stayed in – the Wheelgate House.

04/01/2018
Highclere Castle

My “excuse” to come to England in December! As a huge fan of “Downton Abbey” and of beautiful houses, I´ve had planned to visit this main character of the TV-show for a while and had put it on the list for spring 2018. But when I saw the opening dates for December and found a cheap plane ticket, I just decided to visit Great Britain once again this year. And since the show had wrapped in 2016 I have missed their Christmas Specials and needed some compensation.

Thanks to a little snow storm (and to be early) I had the garden all to myself. A lot of scenes happened on that bench..

Highclere Castle is the home of the Earls of Carnarvon and their family. In the 1830s the 3rd Earl commissioned the architect Charles Barry, who also designed the Houses of Parliament, to remodel the original Georgian mansion, back then called “Highclere House” to the glorious mansion we see today.

It is in the Jacobethan style and faced in Bath stone, reflecting the Victorian revival of English architecture of the late 16th century and early 17th century, when Tudor architecture was being challenged by newly arrived Renaissance architecture influences. (Highclere Castle)

The family of the Earls of Carnarvon and Highclere Castle have an interesting and sometimes turbulent past. The 4th Earl drafted the British North America Act of 1867 which became the foundation for the nation Canada and the 5th Earl, George Herbert, not only was a passionate car driver and owner of racehorses but also helped discover the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. During World War I his wife Almina turned Highclere Castle into a hospital.

Today one can see Egyptian artefacts and

The Discovery Gallery in the cellars at Highclere explores the life and interests of the Earl of Carnarvon, his passion for cars, his talents as a pioneering photographer, his travels and leisure in Edwardian England.

Visitors can see what happened to the Castle and family during the Great War from 1914 to 1918. (Highclere Castle)

In the summertime different paths lead through the estate and to some of the follies, like the Dianatempel and the lakes, which I saw while driving by. But it was possible to visit some of the gardens around the house like the “Monk´s Garden” and the “Secret Garden”.

And for me, it was finally time to warm up again and visit the library, dining room, the saloon, the drawing room, the morning room (with a beautiful portrait of Lady Catherine) and some of the bedrooms in the first floor as well as the Egyptian exhibition in the former servants´ hall.

For more information about Highclere Castle, events and open days in 2018 visit their website and enjoy the peek into the like in one of these English mansions.

26/12/2017