How many times have you seen the Hatfield House in movies? Probably many times – even if you didn’t realise it. It’s one of the finest Jacobean Houses in England. It’s also the Tudor Old Palace and home of Elizabeth I (when she was a child). There are at least 30 different film credits for the house, with movies like V For Vendetta, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Tomb Raider, Shakespeare In Love, and Elizabeth: The Golden Age being filmed here.
But it’s not just beauty of the home that’s amazing, the staff is actually quite friendly to production companies. They often offer film crews flexibility, privacy, and they even offer a team to help during filming.
The Exterior
The grounds are simply stunning – and expansive. You’ve probably seen them in exterior shots of Tomb Raider. Specifically, the north and west facades were shot as the home of Laura Croft. The south facade was used in V for Vendetta and the Greenwich scenes of Shakespeare in Love. Do you remember the maze in the 1998 spy movie, The Avengers? That maze is part of the grounds too.
The Library
Film makers and production companies love a massive library. They can create a story that encompasses just about anything. In the Hatfield House, there are more than 10,000 books – many of them are antiques.
You’ve seen the library in Batman (the one with Michael Keaton), when Alfred – played by Michael Gough – gets Bruce a glass of water. You’ve also seen it in Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
The Long Gallery
The long gallery is a great place to host a party, or for that perfect shot of the hero walking adamantly towards her destiny. Directors love it. That’s why they keep using it over and over again. The gallery runs the length of the home’s south face. It features a very elaborate fireplace, and several items that once belonged to the late Elizabeth I. In the 2009 movie Sherlock Holmes, that same fireplace is in the scene where James Fox gives Robert Downey Jr. the book of spells.
This gallery has also been used as a party hall in the 1989 movie Batman. Angelina Jolie also strutted down this room in the very first Tomb Raider movie. The scene only lasts 10 seconds, but you can see the iconic fireplace decorated to suit Jolie’s character’s tastes.
The Armoury
Everyone loves the armoury. It conjures up images of fight scenes and mystical weapons. In the movies, the room was used to show what Veruca Salt’s home was like in the 2005 adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The circular filigrees on the windows can also be seen in both Tomb Raider and Batman – there’s even a scene where Bruce is showing his leading lady all of his various “collections” in the armoury.
The Magic of Hatfield
The home often doubles as the home of superheroes. It’s grand, spacious, and you can think of practically any back story and shove a character in there – and it just works. It’s likely this historic house will be used in future movies, giving movie goers more and more glimpses of England’s royalty.
Joel Rodgers is a traveling businessman who watches a lot of movies while on the road. An avid blogger, he loves to share his insights with others on the web. Go here to find out more on trains to Doncaster.
