• About Me
  • About This Blog
  • Index of Movies
  • Links
  • Support This Blog!
  • Why “An Historian”?

An Historian Goes to the Movies

~ Exploring history on the screen

An Historian Goes to the Movies

Tag Archives: Hampton Court Palace

Elizabeth: Why Does Elizabeth Live in a Cathedral?

20 Saturday Sep 2014

Posted by aelarsen in Elizabeth, History, Movies

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

16th Century England, Durham Cathedral, Elizabeth, Elizabeth I, Hampton Court Palace, Shekhar Kapur

When Shekhar Kapur decided to make Elizabeth (1998), he clearly decided he wanted striking interior visuals. So we see numerous shots of an unidentified palace in which first Mary and then Elizabeth live in. It has tall narrow chambers with pillared arcades, and the pillars are decorated with geometric patterns. It’s definitely a gorgeous set. You can get a brief look at the set in this clip from the film, starting at the 3:45 mark.

Notice the column on the left, with the diamonds, and the one in the middle right, with the chevrons. The column on the far right is composed of multiple smaller columns. Notice also toward the back of the shot you can see that the pillars are actually columns in a rounded arcade with windows above to let in some light. The sense it offers is that Elizabeth’s palace is a long, wide stone hall with extremely high ceilings and massive columns.

But this scene wasn’t shot on a Hollywood set.  It was shot on location. And it wasn’t shot in a Tudor palace. If they had wanted to go that route, they could have filmed here:

Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court was built during the reign of Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII, who liked it so much he forced the original owner to trade it to him.

Instead, this scene was shot here:

Durham Cathedral

Durham Cathedral

Durham Cathedral was built in northern England in the late 11th century in the Romanesque style, and decorated (uniquely, as far as I know) with massive pillars with geometric banding. It’s one of the most famous churches in England, and easily recognizable because of its distinct style.

Let’s take a look at the interior of the nave:

Durham Cathedral interior

Durham Cathedral interior

Note the pillars with chevrons, the composite pillars, the rounded arches, and the clerestory windows letting in much of the light.

Here’s another shot:

Durham Cathedral pillar

Durham Cathedral pillar

That’s right; this film has Mary and Elizabeth using Durham Cathedral as a royal palace.
Actual royal palaces weren’t built with massive columns and high ceilings, and during the Tudor period they generally had wood-paneled interiors, not bare stone. Here’s the interior of the Tudor-era Great Hall at Hampton Court:

The Great Hall at Hampton Court

The Great Hall at Hampton Court

It’s a pretty impressive space in its own right, and much more indicative of the interior of Tudor-era palaces (because it is one).

I can understand Kapur’s desire to find impressive locations that offered striking interior shots, but did he have to choose one of the most famous churches in all of England? Imagine a movie set in New York City, with a character who lives in a lavish skyscraper apartment, and then the film uses a shot of the Empire State Building for the exterior. Ok, Durham Cathedral isn’t quite as famous as the Empire State Building, but it’s not exactly obscure.

Want to Know More?

Elizabeth is available on Amazon.

Advertisement

Support This Blog

All donations gratefully accepted and go to helping me continue blogging about history & movies. Buy Now Button

300 2: Rise of an Empire 1492: The Conquest of Paradise Alexander Amistad Ben Hur Braveheart Elizabeth Elizabeth: the Golden Age Empire Exodus: Gods and Kings Fall of Eagles Gladiator History I, Claudius King Arthur Literature Miscellaneous Movies Penny Dreadful Pseudohistory Robin Hood Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Salem Stonewall The Last Kingdom The Physician The Vikings The White Queen TV Shows Versailles
Follow An Historian Goes to the Movies on WordPress.com

Recent Posts

  • The King: Agincourt
  • Benedetta: Naked Lust in Sinful Italy
  • The King: Falstaff
  • Kenau: Women to the Rescue!
  • All is True: Shakespeare’s Women

Recent Comments

Hollywood Myths, Cra… on The Physician: Medieval People…
Alice on Braveheart: How Not to Dress L…
aelarsen on Out of Africa: Wonderful Movie…
Tony on Out of Africa: Wonderful Movie…
Mercédès on The King: Agincourt

Top Posts & Pages

  • Versailles: The Queen’s Baby
  • The Last Kingdom: The Background
  • Babylon Berlin: The Black Reichswehr
  • King Arthur: The Sarmatian Theory
  • Why "An Historian"?
  • Index of Movies
  • Queen of the Desert: Getting It All Right and All Wrong
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Let’s Just Fake a Quote
  • 300: Beautiful Straight White Guys vs. Everyone Else
  • Braveheart: How Not to Dress Like a Medieval Scotsman

Previous Posts

Blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • An Historian Goes to the Movies
    • Join 484 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • An Historian Goes to the Movies
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...