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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - The Derbyshire Connection

Derbyshire and the Peak District has had a long association with novels, movies and TV productions.Jane Austen refers to there being “no finer county in England than Derbyshire”, and features “all the the celebrated beauties of Chatsworth, Dovedale and the Peaks”. It is fitting, given that Jane Austen used these landscapes for inspiration, that the Peak Distrcit & Derbyshire was chosen for location filming.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen was first published in 1813 though the original version of the novel was written in 1796-1797 under the title First Impressions, and was probably in the form of an exchange of letters.

It remains a classic and Jane Austen's most popular novel about the prejudice that occurred between the 19th century classes and the pride which would keep lovers apart.

In Autumn 1995 the bbc screened a lavish adaptation in 6 episodes allegedly watched by over 10 million British viewers

The video was produced from the tv series.

In 2005 Pride & Prejudice (Cert U) the movie was released, a sumptuous new adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel, the first big screen version in 65 years.

A: The bbc series and video starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle

Filming took place at the following locations within Derbyshire and Peak District National Park

Chapel Street, Longnor, Buxton, Derbyshire, England, UK (Lambton Inn exterior)

Lyme Park, Disley, Stockport, Cheshire, England, UK (Pemberley exterior) - featured the famous scene where a drenched Darcy emerged from the lake. Set in the North West of the Peak District, Lyme Hall, a Palladian mansion is surrounded by 1300 acres of deer park.

Sudbury Hall, Sudbury, Derbyshire, England, UK (Pemberley interior)
Sudbury Hall is a most impressive building, built by George Vernon in the second half of the 17th century. Sudbury Hall is a redbrick building, now owned by the National Trust who first opened it to the public in 1972. One of the many features restored by the trust is the small dome, crowned with a golden ball on the roof of the hall, which acts as a beacon for travellers. It contains many fine rooms, the most interesting being, the Long Gallery and the Main Hall with its beautiful staircase, featured in the BBC's Pride and Predudice. The formal garden and meadows at the rear of the house lead down to the lakeside
Next to Sudbury Hall is the Museum of Childhood and a reconstructed Victorian schoolroom and nursery with old toys and games. During school holidays or by prior arrangement the National Trust runs regular activities for children such as treasure hunts, craft days and wildlife days.
The formal garden and meadows lead down to the lakeside. Refreshments are available.

North Lees Hall
North Lees Hall
Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House
Lyme Hall
Lyme Hall
Jennifer Ehle
Jennifer Ehle
Colin Firth
Colin Firth
Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley



The Roaches, Leek, Staffordshire, England, UK
The Roaches, with Hen Cloud and Ramshaw Rocks, form a gritstone escarpment which marks the south-western edge of the Peak. It is an area very popular with walkers and rock climbers.

Other locations were:

Belton House, Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, UK (Rosings)
Brocket Hall, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, UK (Netherfield ball room)
Edgcote Hall, Banbury, Oxfordshire, England, UK (Netherfield interior and exterior)
Lacock, Wiltshire, England, UK (the village Meryton, exterior)
Lord Leycester Hospital, Warwick, Warwickshire, England, UK (London streets and coaching inn, exteriors)
Luckington Court, Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, UK (Longbourn interior and exterior)
Old Rectory, Teigh Oakham, Leicestershire, England, UK (Hunsford Parsonage) Oxfordshire, England, UK
Wiltshire, England, UK near, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England, UK (Ramsgate exterior)

B: Pride and Prejudice - the movie starring Keira Knightley, Matthew MacFadyen and Dame Judi Dench Penelope Wilton and Donald Sutherland.

Locations within Derbyshire and the Peak District

Haddon Hall, the family home of the Manners Family for over 800 years, is a unique example of building styles from the 10th - 17th Centuries. The main Banqueting Hall, complete with minstrel’s gallery, is one of the finest examples of a medieval hall in England. It is the present-day home of Lord Edward Manners and has survived intact and unchanged since the 1500s. Its banqueting hall, with a tapestry that belonged to King Henry VIII, transforms into the inn at Lambton in the movie, while its dining hall becomes Elizabeth's bedroom.

Chatsworth

One of Britain's most popular stately homes and one of the largest private houses in England, Chatsworth is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. Chatsworth was used for the exteriors and some interiors of Pemberley, Darcy's family home. Jane Austen mentions Chatsworth in the book and many believe she was thinking of Chatsworth when describing Pemberley. Within the house, the grand staircase of the Painted Hall is where Lizzie and the Gardiners begin their tour of Pemberley and within the Sculpture Gallery, Lizzie Bennet sees the bust of Mr Darcy, while his housekeeper describes the many good qualities of her master. The bust of Darcy specially commissioned for a scene shot in the Sculpture Gallery, and a first edition of the book from the famous library, are on show to visitors for the rest of 2005.

North Lees Hall

Filming also took place at North Lees Hall near the village of Hathersage. The lonely romanticism of the hall has attracted many writers - most famously Charlotte Bronte, through whom it became immortalised as "Mr Rochester’s House" in Jane Eyre.

Stanage Edge and the National Park's Eastern Moors Estate

The Pride and Prejudice film cast stayed at the Peacock Hotel in Rowsley - A manor house dating from 1652, then the dower house for Haddon Hall

Locations outside Derbyshire and the Peak District

Burghley

Home of the Cecil family for more than 400 years Burghley was used for the exterior and interior of Rosings, the imposing home of Lady Catherine de Bourg, daunting dowager aunt of Darcy, and patron of Mr Collins.

Stamford

Stamford in Lincolnshire, was used as the village of Meryton, where the film's heroine Elizabeth Bennet lived.
Builders took around a month to complete the transformation of St George’s Square and St Mary’s Street into 18th century Jane Austen country. Stamford Arts Centre, on St Mary's Street, was among buildings getting a 1790s makeover wiping away any hint of the 21st century. Over 200 local people were used as extras for the filming.




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