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| West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire, England |
The Importance of Being Earnest 2002 uses the lovely National Trust Property
West Wycombe Park almost as another character in the story. As the country seat of Jack Worthing (Colin Firth) this drop dead gorgeous property is showcased both inside and out. Someday, I
will get there and see it in person. (By the way, please visit
Lacey Green Walks to see more gorgeous photos of the estate).
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| Colin Firth and Rupert Everett at a door of West Wycombe Park |
The weathered yellow of the exterior of the house is very distinctive. You may recognize it in other productions (see below) because of it's colour.
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| Frances O'Connor and Reese Witherspoon on the stairs of West Wycombe |
Thankfully as the story progresses, we get to see lots of amazing views of the interior as well as the exterior of West Wycombe.
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| Rupert Everett, Judi Dench and Reese Witherspoon in front of the ornate fireplace of West Wycombe |
The yellow of the exterior is brought into some of the interior rooms to wonderful effect.
Some more views of the grounds which I have shamelessly borrowed from the
Lacey Green Walks website.
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| The Music Temple, situated on one of the islands on the SWAN-SHAPED LAKE at West Wycombe |
You can see why this estate is popular for weddings as well as for filming locations. It is open to the public from early April until the middle of August from Sunday to Thursday (April is grounds only). The weekends are reserved for weddings or private functions and the Dashwood family live in the house, as they have done since the 18th century.
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| The distinctive double colonnade of the south side of West Wycombe |
Dashwood...I know. Do you think that Jane Austen used this home as inspiration for the Dashwood estate Norland Park in Sense and Sensibility? The property was given to the National Trust in 1943 by the Sir John Dashwood, 10th Baronet (an action apparently strongly resented by his heir). The family retained ownership of the contents of the house and they still reside in the house.
Other films or miniseries using West Wycombe for a filming location:
W.E. 2011
The Duchess 2008
What a Girl Wants 2003
Cranford 2007
An Ideal Husband 1999
I Capture the Castle 2003
Daniel Deronda 2002
Another Country 1984
Carrington 1995
Austenland 2012
Funny that Colin Firth and Rupert Everett were in both Another Country and The Importance of Being Earnest. Everything comes full circle I suppose!
And is anyone else excited about seeing JJ Feild, Keri Russell, Jennifer Coolidge and Bret McKenzie in Austenland later this year?
wedding planner
ReplyDeletenice post.
What a lovely spot. The photos on Green Lacey Walks are breath taking.
ReplyDeleteDo you have any information about the building used as Donwell abbey in the new Emma? Is it the same place used for Kellynch hall in the most recent adaptation of Persuasion?
Good question Olga. I have sniffed out the answer for you. The Donwell Abbey from Emma 2009 is Losely Park in Guildford Surrey (south of London). It is open to the public and has beautiful gardens. The Kellynch Hall from Persuasion 2007 is Neston Park in Wiltshire (West Midlands, near Stonehenge) Neston is not open to the public unfortunately.
DeleteThey do look similar. I'll keep both in mind for future posts.
The website for Losely Park is: http://www.loseleypark.co.uk
Just recognized which room is West Wycombe Park. Remember the scene with Dame Maggie's priceless line about in these sort of situations, one can usually find an Italian who isn't too picky. It's Cora and Violet discuss Mary not want to accept Matthew's marriage proposal until she tells him about Kemal.
DeleteThe room that takes place is WWP.
The pics are absolutely gorgeous. I wish I could see these areas as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm so looking forward to Austenland. Loved the book and the new one coming out.