BURGHLEY House as a location for blockbuster films offers a fascinating insight into a different aspect of this magnificent house, part of Barnack ward and a jewel in the crown of our North West Cambridgeshire constituency.
With its royal connections dating from the 16th century, we were especially delighted to welcome guest speaker Miranda Rock, director of Burghley House Preservation Trust, to our Coronation Luncheon yesterday (May 11th). It can take four weeks to set up for one scene, she said, with a crew of hundreds ready to respond to the whim of the director who might decide to re-create a replica of an historic doorway or arch in a different spot to the original.
A packed audience sat enthralled as she highlighted a selection of well-known film and television series featuring her ancestral home, from the Da Vinci Code and Elizabeth: The Golden Age starring Cate Blanchett to Top Gear. Most recently, with some help from computer generated imagery (CGI) it has been standing in for Windsor Castle in the hit Netflix series The Crown.
Recalling the weeks of preparation prior to filming the fire that destroyed much of the castle, Miranda told of the numerous worried telephone calls she received asking if Burghley itself was alight. She enjoyed an unexpected encounter with Olivia Coleman (playing the late Queen Elizabeth) wandering around with her hair in curlers, who chatted happily and offered her a biscuit from a Tesco carrier bag of snacks!
While location scouts understandably love Burghley for its imposing period presence - think Middlemarch, Bleak House, Pride and Prejudice - it also features in more contemporary programmes, not always with good results. A 2018 episode of Top Gear badly churned up the grass and damaged a stone bridge, while in contrast, the gentler Gone Fishing with Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse was a joy to film as the comedy pair went out onto the estate lake with rod and line, searching for bream, in a slightly rickety wooden boat.
Currently showing on Amazon Prime is American spy thriller The Citadel, and coming soon is Hollywood movie The Flash, where Burghley is transformed into Wayne Manor, home to Batman's alter ego Bruce Wayne. The film features different generations of DC Comic book characters as The Flash travels back in time to try and prevent a murder. Watch out for actors Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck reprising their earlier (albeit older) roles as the caped surperhero. .. it should be fun.
'Miranda's talk was vastly entertaining and enlightening, helping create a 'right royal;' occasion to celebrate the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla,' said Association chairman Graham Bull. 'Tickets were sold out and we thank everyone for their support, especially to those who donated a raffle prize. We hope to see you all again at our next event.' Vote of thanks was given by Shailesh Vara MP.
