Because you’d rather be at Pemberley, Willow and Thatch wants to make sure you know about the wonderful travel guide Jane Austen’s England – it takes you to the places where Jane Austen lived, worked and visited, and the film locations of her novels.
And just for readers of Willow and Thatch, Karin Quint, author of Jane Austen’s England, shares some anecdotes about her top 5 locations where scenes from our favorite Austen period drama adaptations were filmed. Get your copy here.
WAT: What are your favorite Jane Austen period drama film locations that are included in your book Jane Austen’s England?
KQ: I love them all! But if I have to choose, here are my top 5.
5. Loseley Park: People who have seen the amazing Netflix series The Crown may know this place, because it was used as the home of Lord Mountbatten. It’s a beautiful country house that can be seen in two Jane Austen BBC series: Sense and Sensiblity from 2008 (with Dan Stevens before Downton Abbey) and Emma from 2009. The curious thing is that for Sense and Sensibility they used it to portray three different houses: Barton Park, Cleveland Park and Delaford. It’s very impressive how filmmakers can make you believe you’re seeing three different places!
What’s great about Loseley is that it’s still owned by the same family who built it during the reign of Elizabeth I. It’s not a museum, it’s really a family home. I like that they used it as Donwell Abbey in the series of Emma. It really fits my idea of Mr. Knightley’s home.
The current owner, Michael More-Molyneux, emailed me to tell me that for the strawberry-picking scene in Emma they flew in Dutch strawberry plants. So every time I watch this scene, I think: made in Holland.
4. Ramshaw Rocks: The Peak District is probably one of my favorite regions in England, with its dramatic nature and monumental country houses. For the travel guide I absolutely wanted to find the rock Elizabeth Bennet (Jennifer Ehle in Pride and Prejudice 1995) stands next to when viewing the surrounding countryside. Somewhere I had read that it was part of The Roaches, an impressive rock formation which is a popular hiking spot. So on a Sunday afternoon I climbed up and down The Roaches for almost 3 hours, but I couldn’t find the location.
I showed people I met there the screenshot I had made from the scene, but no one knew where it was. So the next day I went back. While I was driving there, I looked up to another rock formation and suddenly I saw the square-shaped rock I was looking for. I took a turn right, drove up the road for a few hundred yards, and there it was! I could practically park my car next to it. In less than two minutes I was standing where Elizabeth Bennet had been standing. Later, I found out the location is called Ramshaw Rocks. If only I had a guidebook to show me where it was…
3. Wilton House: Every fan of costume period dramas knows that in Pride and Prejudice (2005) Chatsworth was Pemberley. But not many people know that part of the interior scenes were filmed in Wilton House, near Salisbury. It’s a massive former abbey turned country house with some of the most beautiful rooms I have ever seen. The largest room, the Double Cube Room, was also used as the London ballroom where Marianne meets Willoughby again in Sense and Sensibility (1995, with Emma Thompson).
And more recently, it was Queen Elizabeth’s study in The Crown.
The Double Cube Room is absolutely perfect. At least, that is what I thought. But the director of the film, Joe Wright, wanted to film a scene in which Elizabeth and Darcy walk from the room through a pair of French doors into the garden. Unfortunately, the room doesn’t have French doors. So they took out one of the enormous windows, put in doors and filmed the scene. I was surprised when I heard that story from the house manager, because I couldn’t remember the scene it all. It turned out they didn’t use it. So much work for nothing!
2. Chilham: I’m a big fan of Chilham, which is a small village in Kent. Not only because it is one of those lovely villages where time has stood still, but also because Jane Austen knew it well. She visited Chilham often when she was staying at her brother Edward’s, who owned nearby Godmersham Park.
In 2009 the village had a make-over. For three weeks the BBC turned it into Highbury, the little town where Emma Woodhouse lives, for a new series of Emma. I talked to some of the villagers and they all found it very special to see their town square the way it must have looked when Jane Austen herself walked there.
It’s a charming place with a castle (privately owned), a pub, an inn, a tearoom and a gift shop, and nothing much else. It just lets you step back in time.
1. Chatsworth: This ‘palace of the Peak’ is one of the finest country houses of England and an absolute must-see for everyone visiting Derbyshire and the Peak District.
Two times Chatsworth was Pemberley: in the Pride and Prejudice period drama from 2005 and in the BBC series of Death Comes to Pemberley. In the last one they also used Harewood House and Castle Howard for parts of Pemberley, which are also great houses.
In Chatsworth everything is impressive, but my favorite part of the house is the beautiful Sculpture Gallery, the one where Elizabeth Bennet sees the sculpture of Mr. Darcy and admits that he is ‘very handsome’. I think it is great that Chatsworth have kept the bust and still keep it on display, although understandably it is no longer in the Sculpture Gallery. I remember they removed it a couple of years ago and people started a petition to get it back. Of course I signed. These days you can buy a mini replica of the bust in Chatsworth’s shop.
My recommendation is that you dedicate a full day to your visit to Chatsworth. Not only for the house, but also for the amazing gardens which were designed by the famous garden architect Capability Brown.
WAT: That’s terrific – I’m ready to visit them all right now. What would you say to someone wondering if they should get a copy of the book?
Jane Austen’s England is the first (and only) travel guide devoted to exploring locations in England that have a unique connection with either Austen herself, her work, and/or the film and television adaptations of her books.
WAT: What exactly is in the book?
KQ: Jane Austen’s England Travel Guide starts with background information about Jane Austen’s life and the time she lived in. This is followed by descriptions of more than 200 locations that are clustered into nine different chapters – each covering a specific geographical region in England.
Each location in the book includes its history, an extensive description of the link with Austen, and practical information such as address, phone number and opening hours. Included throughout are walks, interviews, and quotes from Austen’s works and private letters that make the guidebook entertaining – as well as informative – to read.
This book is a must-have for every fan. Because it contains so many biographical facts, it is much more than just a travel guide. – Monique Christiaan, chairman Jane Austen Society Netherlands
The last chapters provide an overview of film locations per adaptation, and a description of three themed road-trips by car: Pride and Prejudice 1995 in 4 days, Pride and Prejudice 2005 in 5 days and Jane Austen’s Hampshire in 7 days. The text is richly illustrated with color photographs. Regions and large cities are accompanied by detailed maps.
Jane Austen’s England includes travel information for the following Austen costume drama adaptations and period inspired films: Pride and Prejudice (1995), Pride and Prejudice (2005), Sense and Sensibility (1995), Sense & Sensibility (2008), Emma (1996), Emma (1996), Emma (2009), Persuasion (1995), Persuasion (2007), Mansfield Park (1999), Mansfield Park (2007), Northanger Abbey (2007), Becoming Jane, Miss Austen Regrets, Lost in Austen, Death Comes to Pemberley and Austenland.
WAT: Your timing of the English language edition release is perfect!
KQ: 2017 is an important year: it is not only the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death, but it’s also when the new 10 pound banknote featuring her image will be issued. Jane Austen fans will want to visit England to experience some of the many events that will be organized (or to be one of the first to pay with the Austen banknote!), and this guide will help travelers get the utmost out of their visit.
In 2009 she started JaneAusten.nl and through this website got to know many Austen lovers from The Netherlands, Belgium and further abroad. Over the years, she was increasingly asked for advice about making Jane Austen tours. But a guidebook containing all locations related to Austen and her work was nowhere to be found. While on an Austen pilgrimage of her own in Lyme Regis, she decided to write one herself.
If you enjoyed this article, you’ll also want to visit the Best Period Dramas: Georgian and Regency Eras List. You may also enjoy 30 Lovely Jane Austen Christmas Gifts, Block Printed Cottons in the Georgian Era, and Will & Jane.