Movies or TV programmes using British and Irish stately homes as filming locations, screened for the first time this month (in airing date order):
Petworth House: The Big Spring Clean (TV documentary series)
6 episodes by Andrew Graham-Dixon on winter work at
Petworth House, West Sussex, England (National Trust)
BBC4, Wednesday, 4, 11, 18 May, 8.30-9pm.
If Walls Could Talk (TV documentary series)
4 episodes by Lucy Worsley with accompanying book,
The Kitchen (final episode),
BBC4, Wednesday 4 May, 9-10pm.
Antiques Roadshow TV episode 33.26 – Hutton-in-the-Forest, BBC1 (Sun 8 May).
Country House Rescue DVD of TV Series 1 - Acorn Media (released Mon 9 May).
Bargain Hunt TV episodes 29.1,3,5,10 - Brighton Royal Pavilion, BBC1 (9, 13, 19, 31 May).
The Country House Revealed TV episode 1 – South Wraxall Manor, BBC2 (Tues 10 May).
Antiques Roadshow Filming TV Series 34 – Layer Marney Tower, Essex (Thur 12 May).
The Country House Revealed TV episode 2 – Kinross House, BBC2 (Tues 17 May).
This Green and Pleasant Land:
The Story of British Landscape Painting (TV documentary)
showing paintings at Holkham Hall and Stourhead,
BBC4, Tuesday, 17 May, 9-10.30pm (Country Seat).
A303: Highway to the Sun (TV documentary by Tom Fort)
segment on Dillington House, Somerset, England (from 48 mins),
BBC4, Thursday, 19 May, 9-10pm (Dillington House blog article).
Bargain Hunt TV episode 29.6 & 29.9 - Dyrham Park, BBC1 (20 & 26 May).
Petworth House: The Big Spring Clean DVD – TV BBC series by Graham-Dixon (23 May).
Flog It! TV episode 10.1 - Rhosygilwen Mansion, BBC2 (Mon 23 May & Wed 1 June).
Flog It! TV episode 10.2 - Stonor Park, BBC2 (Tues 24 May).
The Country House Revealed TV episode 3 – Easton Neston, BBC2 (Tues 24 May)
(Easton Neston is the house in this blog’s header photo).
Antiques Roadshow TV episode 33.27 – Hampton Court Castle Part 2, BBC1 (Sun 29 May).
The Country House Revealed TV episode 4 - Wentworth Woodhouse, BBC2 (Tue 31 May).
Dillington House, Somerset features in BBC4′s recent documentary, A303:Highway to the Stars [at 48:10, but the whole is worth a go]
Nice spotting, many thanks Stephenm. I have added it to the list, along with ‘This Green and Pleasant Land’ as mentioned in your Country Seat comment. I have also added your wonderful Handed On blog to my Related Websites links menu. Keep up the great work!
Can anyone tell me if a second series of “Country House Revealed” will be produced? After months of anticipation, I finally received and devoured both discs. Despite negative comments read elsewhere, I found Mr. Cruickshank’s presentation enthusiastic and engaging. The houses, of course, were uniformly magnificent. I am praying that they will scare up enough new homes for another series. This type of program explains why the BBC has earned such an enviable reputation around the planet.
Jeff, as much as I would love to see it, I would not expect a second Country House Revealed series soon, for three reasons. Firstly, as Dan Cruickshank has stated, “it took about six months of negotiations for me to see these [six houses]. I’m not sure I’d be able to find another six“. Secondly, Dan likes to do a project and then move on to something different, as shown by his filmography – the only second series he has done was for Britain’s Best Buildings, which was four years after the first (The Lost programmes being on very different subjects). Thirdly, even though the ratings were good (in the top 30 BBC2 programmes each week), averaging 1.56m viewers per episode (the highest being 1.88m for Wentworth Woodhouse), it may not be enough to rush the BBC into commissioning another series (Eastenders had 9m), with the third series of Channel 4′s Country House Rescue edging ahead with an average of 1.63m (a high of 1.84m for Hill Place) – although I don’t know their relative production costs.
In the mean time, there are many older DVD’s to watch on country houses, such as The Treasure Houses and Gardens Of England (2005), Stately Homes And Gardens (2008), Treasures Of The Trust (2005) and The Irish Country House (2005).
Thanks so much for the answer. I was afraid that that was the situations. Unfortunately, I own all of the discs you mentioned and enjoyed everyone. I only wish the greater market share had my appetite for anything relating to the UK country house. Thanks again, Jeff
Jeff, I agree with you. Sadly most of the British viewing public would rather watch mindless rubbish like X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing, I’m A Celebrity Making a Tit of Myself etc etc, and television companies are all too happy to plough money into plumbing those lowest common denominator depths.