From 8 to 17 September, the UK celebrates English Heritage Open Days, allowing you to visit some incredible sites and experience a slice of history. Properties all over the country will be opening their doors and putting on free events.
In honour of this celebration of English Heritage, why not settle in with some of the last few decades’ best films, set in and around some of our most beautiful country houses?
Here are just five available to buy or stream now.
1. A Room with a View (1985)
James Merchant and Ishmael Ivory made more than 40 films together. They received multiple Oscar nominations during their career, including best picture for A Room with a View.
Based on the E.M. Forster novel of the same name, the film marked Helena Bonham-Carter’s big-screen debut. She stars as Lucy Honeychurch, alongside a huge ensemble cast that includes Maggie Smith, Daniel Day-Lewis, Rupert Graves, Judi Dench and Julian Sands.
While much of the film is set in Italy – the location for the “room with a view” across the River Arno – Lucy soon returns home to England and her family’s opulent Windy Corner estate.
Many of the interior and exterior Windy Corner scenes were filmed in Kent, including at a private residence called Foxwold House (belonging to the film critic John Pym) and the National Trust-owned Emmets Garden in Sevenoaks.
A sweeping romance, capturing brilliant scenery and award-winning performances, A Room with a View ultimately missed out on the best picture Oscar, which went to Oliver Stone’s Vietnam epic Platoon. The film won three others though, for best adapted screenplay, best art direction, and best costume design.
2. Howard’s End (1992)
Another Merchant and Ivory production, again based on an E.M. Forster novel, also stars Helen Bonham Carter in a leading role.
Carter stars as Helen Schlegel, alongside Emma Thompson (as Margaret Schlegel), Vanessa Redgrave, Prunella Scales and Anthony Hopkins.
Set in Edwardian Britain, the property of the title isn’t a grand mansion but a country cottage (albeit a particularly large one). The nine-bedroomed Peppard Cottage in Rotherfield Peppard, Oxfordshire, dates back to the 14th Century, while a square in Islington was used to recreate Edwardian London.
Emma Thompson won her first best actress Oscar for her compelling performance, while the film also won best screenplay and best art direction awards.
3. The Remains of the Day (1993)
The Remains of the Day, yet another Merchant and Ivory collaboration, is based on the Booker prize-winning novel of the same name by the future-Nobel laureate, Kazuo Ishiguro.
Anthony Hopkins stars as Mr Stevens, the ever-professional but entirely repressed butler of Darlington Hall, forced to confront his life choices in the wake of the arrival of housekeeper Miss Kenton (played by Emma Thompson).
Several English country estates were used during filming, including:
- Dyrham Park in South Gloucestershire, whose baroque exterior and lengthy drive was used during exterior shots of Darlington Hall.
- Powderham Castle near Exminster in Devon, which stood in for Darlington Hall’s staircase, hall, and music room, among other interior locations. (The castle is privately owned but offers reduced entry for English Heritage members.)
- The library and dining room of Corsham Court near Chippenham, Wiltshire.
- Badminton House in Gloucestershire, which lent its servants’ quarters, conservatory, and entrance hall.
Hopkins’ performance won him the Bafta that year, while the film missed out on best picture and best director to Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List.
4. Mansfield Park (1999)
The English Heritage-owned Kirby Hall is one of England’s greatest Elizabethan and 17th-century houses. It became the titular estate in Patricia Rozema’s revisionist retelling of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park.
Frances O’Connor stars as Fanny Price alongside Jonny Lee Miller, James Purefoy and Hugh Bonneville.
The film tells the story of Fanny Price, who is sent to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle. The film version addresses Sir Thomas’s role in the slave trade and also incorporates elements of Austen’s life.
5. Rebecca (2020)
Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca begins with one of the most famous lines in English literature: “Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again.”
In Netflix’s 2020 adaptation, the important role of Max DeWinter’s estate is taken on by Hatfield House in Dorset.
Directed by Ben Wheatley (Sightseers, The Meg 2: The Trench) the film stars Lily James, Armie Hammer, and Kristin Scott Thomas.
After a short affair and hasty marriage, the second Mrs DeWinter moves to her husband’s sprawling estate. There, she finds the house and its staff haunted by the memory of Max’s first wife, the unmatchable Rebecca.
One of the “Treasure Houses of England”, Hatfield House and its gardens are open all year round.
