We all, of course, can vividly picture Four Weddings and a Funeral’s Father Gerald, portrayed by the inimitably hilarious Rowan Atkinson. For, on the happiest day of one couple’s life, he makes the unforgivable fumble of invoking the father, the son and the Holy Goat, ‘Ahem — Ghost’.
'...to be my awful wedded wife.'
Who could resist young, fluffy-haired Hugh Grant?
We can also recall the bustling marketplace where Irene Adler tricks a disguised Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes in the opening scenes of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, leading him into an iconic fight with four armed men. All of whom he beats, effortlessly. And, when Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow escapes George II via chandelier, featuring a less than PG run in with Judi Dench in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. And, of course, the TV moment of the last century — Colin and Penelope’s long-anticipated nuptials in the most recent series of the scandalously historically inaccurate Bridgerton.
Johnny Deep in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Colin and Penelope in Bridgerton.
What do these scenes have in common? They were all filmed at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London. As IMDB’s number one heritage filming location in the UK, this UNESCO world heritage site has hosted more than 200 film and TV productions. Now, celebrating 100 years of filming, its new intimate tour, Wigs, Weddings, Powder and Palaces, allows visitors a detailed look behind the scenes of the iconic films and series shot on site.
The history of the buildings and grounds is interesting enough. After the English Civil War, Queen Mary II ordered the creation of the Royal Hospital for Seamen on the site, which at its peak housed more than 2,700 injured and retired sailors. These are the same buildings visitors see today, designed by one of England’s greatest architects, Sir Christopher Wren.
A still from Bridgerton.
The Duchess, starring Keira Knightley, the queen of period dramas, was also filmed at the Old Royal Naval College.
The tour begins with us treading the worn wooden floors of the Admiral’s House. Hearing the aged panels creak beneath my trainers, I wonder how many actors of unparalleled fame have walked across these floorboards. Absolutely tons, our tour guide, Jonathan Coote, who is an actor himself, informs me. Most recently, a T-Rex — the latest installment of the Jurassic Park franchise has been filming at the attraction, as has Guy Ritchie's latest film, set to be released later this month.
Christopher Nolan, Kenneth Brannagh and Ridley Scott have all also created work here. Cootes is a ‘film aficionado’, and happy to share interesting nuggets of film trivia throughout the tour. For example, when Les Misérables was filmed at the attraction, a couple getting married nearby took their wedding photos with the set’s replica of the Elephant of the Bastille front and centre. Apparently, it is now a permanent resident in Cameron Mackintosh’s back garden, providing ample shelter for a family of woodpeckers.
Aaron Tveit and Eddie Redmayne in Les Misérables.
Thor: The Dark World used the Queen Anne Court for a scene featuring the Dark Elves.
Cootes also informs us that the various hefty sets have an impact on the grass at the venue. When the later Queen Elizabeth II came to visit in 2012 to commemorate Greenwich being made a Royal Borough as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations, she could probably smell the green paint, still drying, Cootes says. Hours before, staff at the venue had been scrambling furiously to hide the gouges taken out of the lawn by a production crew.
On set for The Crown at the Old Royal Naval College.
In the Painted Hall.
You might have seen them on the big screen
Durham Cathedral
Daily Church of England services are not the only thing going on in Durham Cathedral. The Grade I-listed building, with its distinctive Romanesque architecture, has been used as a filming location for the first two Harry Potter films, Snow White and the Huntsman and Avengers: Endgame.
Hatfield House
Batman (1989), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) and Hot Fuzz were all filmed at Hatfield house. Shakespeare in Love, Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Paddington also used the location for filming. In the latter, the house appears as the exterior of the fictional Geographer's Guild, where Mr. Brown disguised himself as a cleaning lady in order to sneak his bear accomplice inside.
Wilton House
The country seat of the Earls of Pembroke near Salisbury in Wiltshire has hosted many casts and crews over the years. The second series of Blackadder filmed there and it’s also been a magnet for Jane Austen adaptations. Emma, starring Anya Taylor-Joy filmed there, as did the 2004 film Pride and Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility (1995).
Alnwick Castle
The first series of Blackadder, Transformers: The Last Knight, The Hollow Crown and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves all used Alnwick Castle as a filming location. It also appeared as the grand Brancaster Castle in two Downton Abbey Christmas specials and, most famously, as the Hogwarts courtyard in the first two Harry Potter films. When Harry learns to fly a broomstick and when he learns to play Quidditch, the castle’s Outer Bailey serves as the backdrop.
As the tour continues we come across the settings of many iconic films. Napoleon, Thor: The Dark World, Skyfall, The King’s Speech and The Duchess, to name just a few. If you're less of a cinema goer and more of a series binger, fear not, as Slow Horses, The Great, Gangs of London, The Crown and Poldark were also filmed at the Old Royal Naval College.
And, with the Set Jetters app, we were able to actually place ourselves in the on-screen action and recreate our favourite screen moments. Inspired by Bridgerton, there was also a short taster class on hand-fan communication and its secret meanings, where we were given instructions on how to perform actions to the effect of come hither, as well as please desist. Both entertaining and useful.
The small-group experience also included entry to the famously Baroque Painted Hall — stunning on its own, when you put aside its appearances on the big screen. Luke Flynn, the filming manager at the Old Royal Naval College calls the film history ‘fascinating’, and I cannot help but agree. He says the experience ‘showcases the magic of filmmaking at this remarkable historic site’. And it does. I left full of the spirit of movie magic.
‘The Wigs, Weddings, Powder and Palaces’ tour runs every Friday and Saturday at 1.30pm and at 3.30pm. The experience is limited to 25 people per tour, which is located at the Old Royal Naval College, King William Walk, Greenwich, London SE10. A ‘Spies, Super Sleuths and Superheroes’ tour will be coming later in the year.
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