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Location, location, location

Posted by Catherine Deshayes on Friday, December 19, 2008

If you fancy letting your property have its fifteen minutes of fame and appear on the big screen, you can register the property details with Screen East, the regional screen agency for the East of England. Whilst you are busy doing that, TheMoveChannel.com takes a look at some of the homes that have been used on screen...

Chances are if you think something looks like your local High Street in the background of a blockbuster film or a hit TV show, it could well be.

If you are based in the East of England, or own a property that is, you should get in touch with Screen East, a company which puts film and TV production teams in touch with the right locations for their projects as well as locally based crew and companies that can support a shoot.

Kerry Ixer, Head of Locations for Screen East, says, "In addition to productions basing themselves in a studio, most need a whole range of location types in various states of repair to make a director's vision come alive on the big or small screen.

"Productions basing themselves at Elstree Film Studios will therefore approach Screen East in their search for the perfect location," Ms Ixer added.

Last year Screen East had more than 900 Hertsmere properties on its database and the filming industry undertook more than 200 days of shooting in the borough.

It is estimated that this has generated £2.5 million for the local economy providing a valuable boost to local businesses.

Filming brings enormous economic benefits to an area and Screen East is looking for all types of properties and other locations in Hertsmere to add to its database.

Anything from houses or flats, barns, warehouses, churches, schools, farms, hotels and B&Bs - anything in fact. In return you get paid for allowing your property to be used. To register free call Screen East on 01923 495051, email locations@screeneast.co.uk or visit www.screeneast.co.uk.

Atonement

Ian McEwan's novel Atonement, set in the summer of 1935, is about 13-year-old Briony Tallis, who observes a flirtation between a servant's son, Robbie, and her older sister, Cecilia, that she childishly misconstrues. Briony's misunderstanding leads to a terrible crime whose consequences follow them through World War II.

During the summer of 2006, Stokesay Court (pictured) in Onibury, Shropshire, was used as one of the principal locations for the film adaptation of Atonement. Director Joe Wright and stars including Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Brenda Blethyn and Vanessa Redgrave spent nearly six weeks shooting key scenes in and around Stokesay.

At the time it was built in 1889, Stokesay Court was at the cutting edge of technology. Stokesay is one of the earliest houses in England to have been built with integral electric light, which was installed in 1891. Much of this original installation is still visible today.

The house is laid out around a central block with three wings: a bachelors' or Gentlemen's wing, a ladies wing at the opposite end, and a service wing. The interiors, excluding decoration, remain virtually unaltered since the house was built.

Stokesay has more than 90 rooms and a stable block larger than many country houses. The house is so big that the producers of Atonement airbrushed one wing out of the film because it was, simply too large.

During the First World War the house was used as an Auxiliary Military Hospital for convalescent soldiers. In World War II it was occupied for a year by Lancing College when they were evacuated from Sussex, and it then became a Western Command Junior Leaders' School.

The present owner, Caroline Magnus, 55, inherited Stokesay Court along with around 1,000 acres, a few farms and much of the local village, from an aunt in 1992. 

The producers and cast of Atonement visited hundreds of possible locations, and came across Stokesay Court while flicking through copies of Country Life magazine, ending a year-long search for a suitable venue.

Since the film was released in the UK in September 2007, tours of the house are on offer, giving visitors a behind-the-scenes view of Atonement's stunning English country setting.

Other film locations

The film adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley, used Chatsworth House in Derbyshire as Pemberley, the home of Mr Darcy, as well as Groombridge Place Gardens, near Tunbridge Wells in Kent, as the location for Longbourn, the Bennett family home.

In 2003, Harry Potter was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to English Tourism award. Film locations included Gloucester Cathedral and Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, to represent Hogwarts academy, and North Yorkshire Moors Railway for Hogsmeade station. All of the locations now teem with JK Rowling fans.

The tourism body VisitBritain has printed hundreds of thousands of location maps.

Since the 1960s, Castle Howard has been used as a location for many film and television productions. The house and its interiors and the beautiful grounds outdoors are all ideal settings for costume dramas, feature films and documentaries.

The new adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel, Brideshead revisited, starring Michael Gambon and Emma Thompson as Lord and Lady Marchmain, was filmed at Castle Howard last summer.

Picture by jo-h

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