Beaulieu's Hunt For Car Stars of TV and Film

Mr Bean's Mini

The 'flying' Ford Anglia from 'Harry Potter
and the Chamber of Secrets'

Reliant Regal van from Only Fools and Horses

The National Motor Museum at Beaulieu is on a mission searching for new vehicles to join its popular On Screen Cars exhibition. If you own or know of a vehicle that has starred in a television programme or film and you would like to see it displayed alongside other car stars in the exhibition, then Beaulieu wants to hear from you!

All vehicles which have been ‘on screen’ are welcome to be put forward for consideration, from TV cop cars, to children’s favourites. Any new vehicles added to the exhibition will be joining a famous cast of vehicles from a number of different television shows and films.
The family of Harry Potter star, Rupert Grint, have loaned the Harry Potter ‘flying’ Ford Anglia for the display, which was used during the making of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.In the film, the enchanted flying car is stolen a number of times by Ron Weasley, on one occasion to rescue his friend Harry Potter from the Dursleys’ house, and on another to return to Hogwarts after the gate to Platform 9¾ is sealed by house elf Dobby.

In real life, the car’s history has been almost as exciting! In 2005 the car was stolen, but was later recovered after being dumped by the thieves, probably due to the media interest surrounding it. The Grint family bought it after this incident and loaned it to Beaulieu for display.

Sharing the spotlight with the Anglia is TV favourite, Mr Bean’s lime green mini. This particular car was used in the character's third series and made its first television appearance on 1st January 1991.

Another TV favourite on display is Del Boy’s beloved Trotter Van. Possibly the nation's most famous three-wheel vehicle, this Regal van (mistakenly referred to as a Robin) featured in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the sole transport for the Trotter family of Del, Rodney, Grandad and Uncle Albert, until Del Boy later went ‘upmarket’ and purchased a Capri Ghia.

To put a vehicle forward for consideration, please contact the PR Department, either by emailing pr@beaulieu.co.uk or calling 01590 614603.

On Screen Cars can be seen as part of a visit to the whole Beaulieu attraction, which also includes the National Motor Museum, World of Top Gear, Beaulieu Abbey, and Palace House and gardens. Visit www.beaulieu.co.ukfor further information.

The Treasure Houses Of England - As Seen On Screen

Pride & Prejudice filmed at Burghley

As well as being among the finest palaces, historic houses and castles in the country, the Treasure Houses of England have also provided the backdrop for some of the most memorable screen and television moments of the past quarter of a century.


From iconic television series like ‘Brideshead Revisited’ (Castle Howard) to blockbuster films like ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ (Blenheim Palace) the Treasure Houses of England have become ‘stars’ in their own right.

Among the most familiar properties is Hatfield House in Hertfordshire which was used recently as a filming location for Anna Karenina with Kiera Knightly and Jude Law and the multi-Oscar-winning hit ‘The King’s Speech’ starring Colin Firth.   It’s many other credits include films from The Libertine, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, My Week with Marilyn to Clash of the Titans, Tomb Raider, Batman to more traditional costume drama with Vanity Fair.

Visit Beaulieu for ‘On Screen Cars’ to view the actual ’Flying’ Ford Anglia that featured in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  Also on display; Mr Bean’s notorious Mini and television’s most famous set of three wheels from Only Fools and Horses – Del Boy’s Reliant Regal.  Beaulieu is also extending its hugely popular and critically acclaimed BOND IN MOTION exhibition for 2013, an exclusive, official showcase of 50 original James Bond vehicles including cars, boats, motorbikes and jets.

Blenheim Gulliver's Travels
® 2010 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Blenheim Palace’s impressive film credits include Harry Potter, The Young Victoria and Gulliver’s Travels. Discover how it becomes transformed by Hollywood’s finest in a brand new exhibition – “Lights, Camera, Action” opening on the 9th February until 1st April.  Talks, tours and special activities will explain how the palace has played out everything from murder to mayhem and action adventure.

Pride & Prejudice filmed at Burghley

From historical films to modern movies, Burghley brilliantly brings history to life on the big screen courtesy of its original Elizabethan buildings and inspiringly eclectic interiors. Wander in the starlit footsteps of the famous who have featured in films such as The Da Vinci Code, Pride and Prejudice and Elizabeth: The Golden Age and relive various movie scenes for yourself.

Castle Howard is particularly famed for its role in Brideshead Revisited, in the acclaimed Granada TV production in 1981 and again in the 2008 movie by Ecosse Films.  A new exhibition brings together the story of restoration at Castle Howard and the filming Brideshead Revisited.  In this exhibition visitors can witness the extraordinary transformation of the High South, from derelict rooms to film set, learn about the great fire of 1940 and subsequent restoration in this part of the house, and discover how Evelyn Waugh’s famous novel came to be filmed not just once – but twice – at Castle Howard. Other notably movies filmed at Castle Howard include The Buccaneers and Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties

Chatsworth recently aired a popular and prime time behind-the-scenes TV series giving the BBC authorised access to its 30,000 acre estate.  Affording a rare insight into the lives of the people who live and work there – including the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire – ‘Chatsworth’ explores the real-life relationships and everyday events in the stately home, including the £14million Masterplan restoration project.  It’s also provided locations for films such as The Wolfman, The Duchess and Pride and Prejudice.

Continuing the Austen theme, Harewood House in West Yorkshire was the setting for the mini-series ‘Lost in Austen’ .  Its unsurpassed collection of Chippendale was also the subject of the recent BBC4 TV documentary about the famed furniture maker, Thomas Chippendale.  You can also spot scenes and settings from popular television series such as A Touch of Frost, The Royal, At Home with the Braithwaite’s and Emmerdale.
Leeds Castle in Kent was used as a film location for Elizabeth Golden Age and regularly appears on television productions including The Apprentice, Celebrity Masterchef to The Antiques Roadshow.

BBC’s Countryfile continues to favour the wonderful walled gardens and Victorian glasshouses of Holkham Hall, reporting on their Community Growers’ Scheme and ‘Hot Pepper Sauce’ creation with the beautiful backdrop of one of Norfolk’s most renowned country estates.  Holkham’s award winning beach was featured in ‘Shakespeare in Love’ and the Hall as a location for ‘The Duchess’ which starred Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes.

Back to the 1930s at Leeds Castle

A new exhibition inspired by Downton Abbey and Upstairs Downstairs opens at Leeds Castle this week, tracking the real stories of the people who lived and worked above and below stairs at Leeds Castle during the 1930s.

“What the Butler Saw” uses archive materials, photographs and costumes to recall the glorious weekend house parties held between the wars by the castle’s last private owner, Anglo–American heiress, Lady Baillie.

Well known as a former Royal Palace which has been used by Henry VIII and the medieval Queens of England to hold court over 9 centuries, Leeds was a private house and weekend home to Lady Baillie for nearly 50 years after she bought and substantially refurbished it in the mid-1920s.

The interiors were designed by top French architects and furnished with a collection of the finest arts and antiques, offering a wonderful place for entertaining.  The exhibition draws on the published memoirs and diaries of many of her society guests from the world of politics; the aristocracy, including members of the Royal family; and from Hollywood.

It offers an insight into the privileged world of the upper classes and how they relaxed, listening to fellow houseguests like Noel Coward play on the Steinway grand piano, or laughing with David Niven and Errol Flynn as they played tennis and swam.

And it tells the “below stairs” stories, of more than 30 members of the castle’s staff, with excerpts from menus, account books, wage slips and laundry lists showing how they kept the place running. The exhibition is staged throughout the castle, in the very rooms many of the weekend parties took place.

Castle Chief Executive Victoria Wallace said:

“As we watched the fictional stories of Downton and of Upstairs Downstairs unfold on television, we realised that they mirrored the true story of how people at the castle lived through the 1920s and 30s. We wanted to try and show how great houses like this really worked, and offer a real glimpse of a more modern history, set within the castle itself.

It was strange at first, as we had a much better understanding of who the occasional guests were, and how they looked, than of the rather anonymous servants, of whom very few photographs exist. 

But research by our heritage manager, Nic Fulcher,  accessing the 1937 electoral roll, gave us names of everyone on the estate, and their home addresses; suddenly, the maids living in the castle, and the menservants in the Bothy, had names, and families. Many have family still working at the castle.”

But despite the exhibition’s title, don’t look for scandal or intrigue.

“Lady Baillie was notoriously private, and her staff learned to be discreet. Some of the later memoirs and diaries of her guests might hint at activities which might have been considered rather “fast”, but we leave that to visitors to imagine. Whatever the butler saw, he wasn’t actually telling.”

The exhibition runs from 1 May to 21 October. Entrance is included in the price of admission. Tours of the servants’ quarters will also be available for pre-booking via the website, www.leeds-castle.com

Your Key to the Castle ticket is valid for this exhibition. Tickets cost £19.75 for adults; £17.50 for seniors and visitors with disabilities (carer goes free); £12.50 for children (under 4’s free). Tickets are valid for 12 months so you can pay once and visit all year round.

Leeds Castle is located near Maidstone in Kent just off Junction 8 of the M20 and only one hour’s drive from London. Grounds open at 10am daily and the castle is open from 10.30am. Last admission is 4.30pm and gates close at 6pm (April to September). 

www.treasurehouses.co.uk

BBC Goes Behind-The-Scenes With Chatsworth TV Series

In 2011, for the first time ever, the 12^th Duke of Devonshire agreed to let in the cameras to film behind-the-scenes at Chatsworth, Britain’s greatest country estate, for a new prime-time TV series on BBC1 beginning at 9pm on Monday, 14 May 2012. 

‘Chatsworth’ is a three-part series of one-hour documentaries with voiceover commentary by Max Beesley, which will be shown on successive Monday evenings (14, 21, 28 May). The film crew was granted unprecedented access to the 30,000 acre Peak District estate, the people who live and work there, the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, the Dowager Duchess (last of the famous Mitford sisters) and key characters among their 700 staff. Filmed over the entire 2011 ‘season’, the series gives an insight into the people who live and work in a world visited by many but known to only a few.

A character-led series, ‘Chatsworth’ explores the relationships, dynamics and tensions of modern life in a stately home and across the wider estate with its gardens, farmyard, shops, holiday accommodation, pubs, restaurants and much more. 

At its heart for more than four centuries sits the Cavendish family with the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, Peregrine ‘Stoker’ Cavendish and Amanda Cavendish, at its head. ‘Chatsworth’ shows the Duke and Duchess’s involvement in everything that happens at Chatsworth from tiny details up to large-scale projects such as the recently completed £14m Masterplan restoration. 

The series looks at their relationships with the estate’s hard-working and dedicated staff. Amongst a colourful cast of characters, viewers will meet:

• Chatsworth’s first ever female Head Guide Heather Redmond getting to grips with her new role
• Matthew Hirst as he catalogues, organises and displays Chatsworth’s world-class Art collection as well as major, visiting exhibitions
• Andre Birkett, who came to Chatsworth as a teenager and now manages Britain’s best farm-shop
• Jonathan Moseley, organiser of the Florabundance show, as he deals with more than 10,000 tulips coming out too early and has to reorder for displays in the house
• Head Farmer Ian Turner at the height of the lambing season and also the man to beat in the local Horticultural Society competition
• Trainee Supervisor Lewis Leybourne as he learns the ropes and is unexpectedly called upon to model for Chatsworth’s new wedding brochure.

As one of Britain’s favourite attractions Chatsworth draws more than one million visitors each year and ‘Chatsworth’ includes stories from the people who live in the local community, those who work and look after the estate, the businesses that are run on the land and the important role the family and the house play in the area.

From Chatsworth’s 16th century origins with Bess of Hardwick, through the infamous Duchess Georgiana, the great Victorian innovations of the 6th Duke, the series reflects on Chatsworth’s history and compares it with the reality of the present day, demonstrating that both continuity and change have been keys to its survival and prosperity.