Somerset has made a number of appearances on the small and big screen, but here are three unforgettable period dramas in which it has taken a starring role
I like a good period drama, the historical yarn set in a past time period. If you clock the setting as well as the story you’ll find that a surprising number of these had cast and crew scampering around Somerset. Here’s three good ‘uns in period order.
Firstly, we have the self-explanatory Elizabeth: the Golden Age (2007), which of course was set in the 16th century Tudor period. Cate Blanchett had previously starred in Elizabeth (1998) where the young princess became a queen with this sequel examining her later reign. Starting in 1585 the film explores the Catholic plots against Elizabeth, the fate of Mary, Queen of Scots and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. At the time of the Armada crisis Elizabeth addressed her troops famously at Tilbury (Essex). In the film it’s Brean Down betwixt Weston-super-Mare and Burnham-on-Sea on the eastern end of Bridgwater Bay doing the honours, whilst Wells Cathedral finds a fresh persona as the interior of Whitehall Palace, which is mostly lost to us today except for its famed Banqueting House. The staircase connecting the North Transept to the Chapter House is transformed into Whitehall Palace’s main entrance. In a star-studded cast Cate was joined by Geoffrey Rush (spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham), Clive Owen (Sir Walter Raleigh), Samantha Morton (Mary, Queen of Scots) and Eddie Redmayne as the Catholic conspirator Anthony Babington.
Into the next century and The Libertine (2004) is about the 17th century Earl of Rochester. Johnny Depp stars as John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, a notorious cad and immoral poet at the court of the Merry Monarch, Charles II.
Samantha Morton shows her dexterity, appearing as Elizabeth Barry, an actress who becomes Rochester’s lover, whilst John Malkovich plays the King. Rochester’s pile, ‘Adderbury House’, an entirely apt name given he was a bit of a snake, was portrayed by Montacute House, whilst that Wells Cathedral Chapter House staircase came in useful again, this time depicting the interior of the House of Lords. If Elizabeth was the ‘Virgin Queen’, and the jury’s not entirely unanimous on that score, then Charles II was merry by nickname and merry by nature.
It’s fair to say his court had a certain ribald air to it. If Charlie boy was the Merry Monarch then Rochester was a member of the ‘Merry Gang’, another disreputable member of which was Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, played by the unlikely figure of Johnny Vegas. Rosamund Pike meanwhile plays Elizabeth Wilmot, Rochester’s long-suffering Countess. There are some historical events depicted, chiefly the Exclusion Crisis of 1679-81 when Parliament did its best to exclude Charles’ younger brother, James, Duke of York, from the succession for being a bit too Catholic-leaning. I’m sure Elizabeth I would have approved.
Finally, we’re up to The Duchess (2008) about the Duchess of Devonshire of the 18th century. We’ve moved seamlessly from the Tudors, via the Stuarts, to the Georgians, but we’re still in Somerset. The Duchess of the title is Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, played by Keira Knightley, whilst her husband, the rather despicable William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire is brought to life by Ralph Fiennes.
It’s a tale of bed-hopping and betrayal but also of resourcefulness and reconciliation. Georgiana socialises with Lady Bess Foster (Hayley Atwell) in Bath, a young lady who finds Georgiana’s husband to her liking. Bath is showcased with a splendid view of the Royal Crescent’s arc, that 1770s masterpiece of John Wood comprising 30 Regency townhouses.
The Tea Room of Bath’s Assembly Rooms is where Georgiana first meets Bess, who becomes her friend and confidante only to do the dirty on her. Georgiana responds by getting her claws into Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (Dominic Cooper), who’d later be Prime Minister under the last Georgian monarch, William IV, and would be PM when the famous Great Reform Act was passed (1832).
The house where Georgiana and Grey entertain one another is none other than the Holburne Museum in Great Pulteney Street. I fancy Charles II would have felt quite at home at the Georgian court!
Now, I really feel like I need something from the Victorian era to get my cinematic teeth into.
