Wednesday 29 April 2015

REIGNING SUPREME: ARUNDEL CASTLE, THE YOUNG VICTORIA



Arundel Castle in West Sussex was one of a number of "wondrous places" (to quote Martin Scorsese's co-producer Graham King) chosen for The Young Victoria, a film based on a screenplay by Julian Fellowes, charting the formative years of this great British queen (played by Emily Blunt).  At the tender age of 20 Victoria displays remarkably strong will when faced with a domineering mother (Miranda Richardson) who, along with her aide (Mark Strong), attempts to force her daughter to sign papers declaring them as regents following the death of King William (Jim Broadbent).  Meanwhile, the German Prince Albert is being encouraged to court Victoria, and when he arrives in the country and meets her he finds himself becoming smitten, a feeling which appears to be mutual.  The film is beautifully shot and acted, and Arundel Castle looks good in its role as Windsor Castle (not for the first time, as it was also used in The Madness of King George).  In real life the castle was visited by Victoria and Albert, who spent a few days there in 1846.  The town made elaborate preparations for the visit, which caused much excitement among the local populace.  Victoria shared her impressions of the castle and its grounds in her diary, describing the garden as "very pretty and full of evergreens, which made Albert extremely jealous for Osborne House".

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Arundel Castle - geograph.org.uk - 1765127. Photo by Brett Oliver, via Wikimedia Commons.
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The Baron's Hall was used for the scene in the film depicting the grand banquet held for William IV's birthday, standing in for Windsor Castle's Great Hall.  Built on the site of the original Medieval Hall, the Baron's Hall, 130 feet in length, is a late Victorian structure which replaced the original octagonal great hall built by the Eleventh Duke.  The Fitzalan Chapel in the grounds of the castle was used to depict the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace where Victoria and Albert were married in 1840.  The chapel was founded in 1390 by the 4th Earl of Arundel and features gothic architecture with a carved timber roof and choir stalls.  Some of the external features of the castle can also be seen in the production, such as the Norman motte, which forms an impressive backdrop for the happy couple.

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Arundel Castle - motte and quadrangle, England (18 April 2006). Photo by Luke van Grieken, via Wikimedia Commons.

As for the history of the castle, it was built high up on a hill overlooking the River Arun, which creates a gap in the surrounding dowland.  It was felt that this gap needed defending, which was how the castle came to be founded on Christmas Day 1067 by Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Arundel.  Many of the original features still survive, such as the crenellated Norman keep, the gatehouse and the barbican.  The living quarters, however, were almost completely rebuilt during the latter half of the 19th century, with Victorian architecture in the Gothic style.  There are a number of themed gardens in the grounds, and visitors can climb to the top of the Norman motte and keep from where there are magnificent views of the river and downlands.  The adjoining small town of Arundel is pleasant to wander around, with a range of enticing shops, restaurants and pubs.

Saturday 11 April 2015

MYSTERIOUS NORFOLK: BLAKENEY



It has to be said that The Norfolk Mystery by Ian Sansom, a quirky and nostalgic novel set in the 1930s, has divided its readers right down the middle if online reviews of the book are anything to go by.  The story concerns a professor called Swanton Morley who engages a young assistant, Spanish Civil War veteran Stephen Sefton, to accompany him and his daughter on a tour of the country with the aim of producing a series of  'County Guides'.  Some people loved the novel, but others found it boring and pretentious.  For my own part, I started out eagerly anticipating a jolly jaunt around the delights of Britain, but was slightly disappointed when the journey failed to materialise, being prematurely aborted in Blakeney, where the local vicar has been found dead and Morley and Sefton find themselves drawn into a real-life whodunit. However, I still enjoyed the book, which paints an amusing picture of life in 1930s rural Norfolk with some wonderfully eccentric characters.

The scene of the tragedy is St Nicholas, the Anglican parish church of Blakeney, which is described by Morley as "a typical example of fifteenth-century Perpendicular architecture".  Morley also points out the fact that the church, unusually, has two towers, "like an aft mast and a main mast".  The tower at the east end was used as a beacon, and in fact churches with tall towers are a common feature of settlements along the coast of East Anglia.  It is believed that they were once used as 'lighthouses' to alert shipping to the proximity of the shore, no doubt helped by the flat landscape of the area.    

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Church of St Nicholas, Blakeney - geograph.org.uk - 1062742. Photo by Ian Capper, via Wikimedia Commons

Going back to the novel, at one point in the story a cinema ticket is discovered in the dead vicar's pocket, arousing speculation on whether he indulged in unsavoury activities.  The detective Ridley, who has arrived at the scene, points out "he was a vicar", to which Morley retorts "so was the vicar of Stiffkey".  The author does not explain this remark, but it is a reference to a former vicar of nearby Stiffkey who was defrocked for his predilection for young girls.  You can find out more about this from my other blog Postcards From The Edge.

Blakeney is one of a number of charming villages along the North Norfolk coast.  It was a thriving port until the 17th century when the land was turned over to grazing and saltmarshes.  As well as the aforementioned church and the typical flint cottages, the village is famous for the grey seals who lounge around on Blakeney Point, a 4 mile long sand and shingle spit reached by boat from neighbouring Morston (or on foot for the more energetic).  The colony appears to be thriving, with numbers of pups reportedly at an all-time high - 2,425 at the last count.

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Seals Blakeney Point. Photo by Roy Turner, via Wikimedia Commons


Map of the area.