- Wrotham Park, Barnet
Wrotham Park,
Hertsmere ,Hertfordshire is aneo-Palladian English country house , designed byIsaac Ware in 1754 for AdmiralJohn Byng , the fourth son of Admiral SirGeorge Byng , which remains in the family at the heart of a 2,500acre (10 km²) estate seventeen miles (27 km) fromHyde Park Corner . It is one of the largest private houses inside theM25 motorway .Admiral Byng never had an opportunity to live in retirement at Wrotham. Following his inadequately equipped expedition to relieve
Minorca from the French during theSeven Years' War , he was court martialled and executed in 1757. This event was satirized byVoltaire in his novel "Candide ". In Portsmouth, Candide witnesses the execution of an officer by firing squad; and is told that "in this country, it is wise to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others".A disastrous fire in 1887 burned slowly enough to permit retrieval of the contents of the house, but gutted it. It was rebuilt precisely as it had been.
Location scenes for
Robert Altman 's "Gosford Park " (2001) were shot at Wrotham Park, including exterior scenes and the staircase, dining room, library and living room. It was also used for the filming of "Peter's Friends ".Location scenes for the
ITV Jeeves and Wooster Television Series were shot at Wrotham Park. Both the interior of Brinkley Court and the interior and exterior of Chuffnell Hall (Episodes 4 & 5, Series 2) were filmed there.Location scenes for the
BBC TV production ofAlan Hollinghurst 's "The Line of Beauty " (2006) were also shot at Wrotham Park, including the exterior, lawns, dining room, library, drawing room and living room.Chelsea and England footballer
Ashley Cole andGirls Aloud singerCheryl Tweedy had their wedding blessed at Wrotham Park onJuly 15 ,2006 - they weren't allowed to have their wedding there because Wrotham Park does not have a licence to holdcivil wedding s.External links
* [http://www.wrothampark.com/ Wrotham Park website]
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