Norland Park (S & S 2008)

Jane Austen does not describe Norland Park in any great detail in Sense & Sensibility, but one can infer from the manner in which the Dashwood Family was said to live—and the inconsiderate eagerness with which Fanny Dashwood desired to obtain it—that it was a fine estate indeed.

The home chosen to play the Dashwood’s family seat in the 2008 BBC adaptation of Sense & Sensibility was Wrotham Park, a 2,800 acre estate just 17 miles north of Hyde Park, in Hertfordshire. Relative to many houses used in films, Wrotham Park is not especially old, dating back to 1754, which accounts for its Palladian design (an architectural style seen in many of the Washington D.C. buildings and those designed by Thomas Jefferson, for when the style fell out of favor in Europe, it briefly surged in America). Admiral John Byng was its builder and owner, but whether he actually lived in the house is doubtful, for in 1757, shortly after a war expedition in Minorca, he was executed for negligence during that campaign. A descendant of the Admiral’s brother, Robert Byng, now owns and occupies the house.

In 1883, the house suffered an inextinguishable fire, which consumed the entire interior; it was later rebuilt in much the same manner as before and refurbished with most of the valuables that had, fortunately, been saved from the flames.

Wrotham Park is not open to visitors, but it prides itself on being a spectacular venue for private events. *Pulls out binoculars to scout for rich suitors*

~ by Lady Ashley on February 17, 2009.