They are revisiting Brideshead Revisited at Castle Howard. What is the movie effect on the great houses of Yorkshire? Yvette Huddleston and Walter Swan report The film crew shooting the new Brideshead Revisited movie at Castle Howard for the last five weeks is preparing to pack up and move out today, so life at what has been home to the Howard family for over 300 years can begin returning to normal.
It was a different story two weeks ago when filming was in full swing and the Rt Hon Simon Howard was busy co-ordinating the running of the estate, ensuring the house and grounds were as accessible as possible to the public and keeping up-to-date with the latest call sheet and shooting schedule. When we caught up with him at the estate office, he arrived with a walkie-talkie in his hand, looking for all the world like an extremely efficient production manager. "My role has basically been as facilitator," he says.
"I have to make sure that everyone is happy – that the actors and the film crew and getting what they need, but also still keeping the rest of our operation going. This is a business, a family home and – at the moment – a film set, so it's a bit of a juggling act. One minute you are dealing with a lighting problem, the next you are trying to get a prop for one of the actors.
" He is clearly relishing the experience. "Yes, there's a lot going on but it is enjoyable." Although there are irritations for visitors to Castle Howard when filming is taking place – having to be quiet while the cameras roll, or having to wait before being allowed to enter one of the public rooms – the fact is that having a film crew there adds significantly to the appeal of the visit.
"We have to divert visitors away from areas where filming is going on," explains Simon. "But the visitors seem to enjoy it because they get to see bits of the filming and some of the actors. They walk into rooms and they see things they didn't expect to see.
" Fascinating as the house and gardens already are, the process of how a major movie gets made adds an extra allure, especially if there's a chance of catching a glimpse of a star like Emma Thompson or Michael Gambon or relative newcomers like Ben Whishaw, Matthew Goode and Hayley Atwell. From the point of view of the production team, the inconvenience of regular visitors to the house and gardens is as nothing compared with inconsiderate, conspicuous and noisy aeroplanes (modern ones, that is). Then there are the peacocks, whose unearthly and untimely screeches can easily ruin a quiet scene.
Keeping the birds away from the house at crucial moments in the shoot is just one of the tasks that fall to the production team in the course of a day's work. Having already shot some exterior sequences, the actors and crew were filming inside the house on the day of our visit, rehearsing a scene in which a brandy glass plays a significant part. Simon is called upon to find a larger glass than the one they are currently using.
"There's a request like that every five minutes, so it's very busy but it's fun," he says. Surprisingly, when it was first suggested that the new version of Brideshead Revisited might be filmed at Castle Howard, Simon wasn't really interested initially, knowing from past experience how potentially disruptive it might be. "I had originally wondered whether I wanted to do it again but on reflection what convinced me was that the public identify Castle Howard with the story and I thought, 'Do we really want another house to be Brideshead?
' So a meeting was arranged with one of the producers and we agreed to do it." It was only upon reflection that Simon came to feel that if the film was to be made anywhere, it would be somehow inappropriate that his family home should not continue its established and close connection with the story of Sebastian, Charles, Julia and the rest. Simon was also involved in the filming of the original series in 1979.
In total, the cast and crew were at Castle Howard for 20 weeks, though only three of these were in the summer at the height of the season, the other 17 were during the winter when the house was closed to the public. The positive effect of the series on visitor numbers quickly became apparent. "Before the filming we had around 175,000 visitors a year and afterwards it went up to 235,000," says Simon.
"That was wonderful but it put a tremendous strain on our infrastructure. However, with the filming fee we were actually able to invest the money on improving our facilities." With the passage of time, the annual visitor total has levelled out to an average closer to 200,000, though the influence of Brideshead as a reason for coming to Castle Howard is still cited by about a third of visitors.
Simon doesn't believe the new Brideshead will boost visitor numbers so dramatically. "The film will be for a different generation, so I don't think it will have quite the same effect but it will put Castle Howard back into people's thoughts and that's a good thing." However, there is also potential in the spin-offs from the film.
"We have already been approached by magazines to do fashion shoots here to tie in with the film," says Simon. "And with the magazine shoots, there will hopefully be more media opportunities which will keep the house in the public eye – and that's worth more to us than buying an ad on television." Castle Howard is not only a family home and an occasional film-set – it is very much a day-to-day thriving business and has moved with the times.
"Back in the Sixties and Seventies the major income of most of the big houses was farming but now that's all changed," explains Simon. "As the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire said: 'The great thing about these big houses is that they adapt'." Castle Howard is no exception to this; its revenue comes from a variety of sources, since it would not be possible for the house to survive on the income generated by entrance fees alone.
"If we were relying just on visitors to help maintain the fabric of the house, realistically we would have to charge around £50 a head, but of course we are not going to do that – apart from anything else we wouldn't have any visitors. So we have moved into retailing, we have improved our catering and we also have a lakeside holiday park. We are investing in the future and constantly coming up with new ideas.
For example, we would like to turn the Gatehouse into a hotel." Film location fees provide a useful extra income and there have been other films and dramas shot at Castle Howard both before and since the Granada series. In 1965, the film Lady L (directed by Peter Ustinov with an all-star cast including Sophia Loren, David Niven and Paul Newman) shot some of its scenes here; David Giles' television version of Twelfth Night followed in 1974; and, a year later, the Stanley Kubrick movie Barry Lyndon made use of establishing shots looking towards the house from across the lake.
However, there was quite a gap after the Granada TV series before film crews reappeared. "Ironically, because of the success of Brideshead Revisited, a lot of filmmakers didn't want to use Castle Howard as a location because it was too identified with the series," says Simon. In fact, there has proved to be an ongoing film career for the house as demonstrated by its role in such movies as Garfield 2, though the use of CGI helped to disguise (or distort) a true impression of Simon's family home.
For example, there isn't a swimming pool on the lawn – "It would be nice if we actually had that!" quips Simon. The BBC mini-series The Buccaneers (screened in 1995 and based on an unfinished Edith Wharton novel) was also shot at Castle Howard, though it used a variety of locations elsewhere in the country besides, because its astute director, Philip Saville, recognised that, as long as he avoided the iconic views of the house and fountain, there were still plenty of shots he could film without the audience immediately identifying the setting.
The recently released Flyboys, set in the First World War, made use of the aerial space above Castle Howard, and shots of the famous mausoleum feature prominently. Profits from all sources in the business are ploughed back into the maintenance and restoration of the fabric of the building so that it can continue to be enjoyed by generations to come. Though the Howard family owns and runs the house and estate, it feels to Simon that they have been granted the privilege of preserving the sheer beauty of Castle Howard for the sake of posterity.
"We are very lucky to live here," says Simon. "When you wake up and look out of the window at the view… it's a tremendous privilege. And this house has always been shared with other people since it was built – people came to stay in the Gatehouse which was a guesthouse – so if we turned it into a hotel it would complete a circle.
" In the meantime, with the new Brideshead Revisited – out in cinemas next year – the viewing public's appetite for nostalgia and the lost world of pre-war England's aristocracy will be helping to fund this stately home's future in an ever-changing and unpredictable new order. The houses that set the scene Besides capturing their visual appeal on camera, it makes sound economic sense to allow a film crew into your castle or country house because visitor numbers inevitably increase (though they may not be sustained) in the wake of a successful screen appearance. It raises the profile of a property and allows visitors to tap into the nostalgia for a particular film or TV series they have enjoyed, replaying favourite scenes in their minds as they explore.
Bolton Castle, near Leyburn, North Yorkshire – A spectacular medieval fortress, built in 1399 by Richard le Scrope and still in the private ownership of his descendant Lord Bolton. Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned there for six months after being transferred from Carlisle Castle by Lord Henry Scrope under orders from Elizabeth I. Scenes from the multi-Oscar-winning 1998 movie Elizabeth, starring Cate Blanchett as the young Queen Bess were filmed here and it's also been a location for Heartbeat and All Creatures Great and Small.
It advertises "filming opportunities on other areas of the estate, whether it is moor-land or forest you are looking for". Fountains Abbey – Britain's largest monastic ruin, this is an atmospheric location. Founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks seeking a simpler life, the Abbey buildings and over 500 acres of land were sold by the Crown after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539.
Omen: The Final Conflict (1981) had some scenes shot here as did the 1993 version of Frances Compton Burnett's The Secret Garden. The garden itself was at the attractive Grade 1 listed 18th century house (and former home of Frederick Augustus, The Grand Old Duke of York) Allerton Park, near Knaresborough. More recently, scenes from last year's adaptation of Alan Bennett's stage play The History Boys were filmed at Fountains Abbey when the boys and their jolly, unconventional teacher (played by Richard Griffiths) went for a day trip.
Nostell Priory – This Palladian house near Wakefield was built on the site of a medieval priory in 1733. Today it is a National Trust property. The Priory holds a large collection of Chippendale furniture, all of which was made especially for the house.
Since the property has been in the same family since it was built in the 18th century, it is possible to see all the furniture in situ. Scenes for Granada's successful 2002 TV adaptation of John Galsworthy's epic family drama The Forsyte Saga, starring Damian Lewis, Gina McKee, Rupert Graves and Corin Redgrave, were filmed at the house. Newby Hall – Newby Hall, built under the supervision of Sir Christopher Wren, was visited last year by a film crew who shot the whole of ITV's adaptation of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park here in six weeks.
Chatsworth – Featured in the hugely successful 2005 film adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley as Lizzie Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr Darcy. The exterior of Chatsworth and two rooms were used to depict Pemberley, the grand mansion belonging to Mr Darcy. The link between film and house is maintained through a display in the sculpture gallery which includes one of Keira Knightley's costumes, the bust made of Matthew Macfadyen (as Mr Darcy) and a first edition of Austen's book from the Chatsworth library.
East Riddlesden Hall – This 17th century manor house was one of the many Yorkshire locations used in Peter Kominsky's 1992 version of Emily Brontë's oft-filmed gothic love story Wuthering Heights. Skipton's Broughton Hall was used as a stand-in for Thrushcross Grange. They are revisiting Brideshead Revisited at Castle Howard.
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