Monday, March 29, 2010

Country Homes: West Wycombe


Location: Buckinghamshire
Famous Inhabitants: Sir Francis Dashwood
Website: www.west-wycombe-estate.co.uk

10 comments:

  1. What a beautiful home! I just watched 'The Duchess' & found your website this weekend. I'm obsessed now! :) Love the blog! :) Question.. At the beginning of the movie when the Duke was visiting her mother to seal the deal for their marriage, what home or estate was that? Do you know?

    Thank you, & keep up the great posts!! :)

    Kristien

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  2. Thank you! I hope to see you around more then! The house in the beginning was probably Althorp which is where the Spencer family seat is.

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  3. Was this house also used in Cranford as Lady Ludlow's estate?

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  4. I love this estate, my family used to visit there when I was child because we lived not far away. Very charming house and grounds, thanks for posting!

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  5. Absolutely gorgeous! I'm fascinated by the Music Temple. I wish I could see some inside shots of that.

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  6. @Vic, I just looked it up on IMDB, you're absolutely right. Good call!

    I've never been to West Wycombe but it is one of those "must-see" estates, especially with its fabulous gardens!

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  7. British people and culture are superb. But when it come to architecture I must confess I find it quite bland....

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  8. I think you would be wooed by this house if you are to visit it! The estate has as many naughty secrets as its owner.

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  9. Hmmm...West Wycombe figured in a historical novel I read recently, but I can't for the life of me remember which one! Proof that too many romances addle the brain, I suppose :p Also, I suspect that this was the estate used in Oliver Parker's 'The Importance of Being Earnest'.

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  10. Kristien,

    The house in the opening scene of The Duchess (the race on the lawn and the marriage negotiation scene) is Kedleston Hall, the family seat of the Curzons, Viscounts Scarsdale. It is in Derbyshire and was built as a rival to Chatsworth, Georgiana's actual home in which the Devonshires still live. Kedleston is now owned by the National Trust. Althorp (pronounced All-trupp) is in Northamptonshire. The Earls Spencer still live at Althorp.

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