Pemberley

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that any individual in possession of a copy of ‘Pride and Prejudice’, must prefer one film adaptation of the novel to another!

I know that Pemberley is not a real location, but I have recently been fortunate enough to visit the houses used for the 1995 BBC adaptation and the 2005 film starring Kiera Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen. Everyone seems to have an opinion and a preference- and I am no exception! For me, the BBC version is easily the winner of this debate- and so I will start with Lyme, the great house used for Pemberley in this production.

"It (Pemberley) was a large, handsome, stone building standing well on rising ground, and backed by a ridge of high woody hills; and in front, a stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater, but without any artificial appearance. Its banks were neither formal, nor falsely adorned. Elizabeth was delighted."

Managed by the National Trust, Lyme is a magnificent estate set in the glorious Peak District National Park. This was my first visit and it is now firmly established in my top three favourite National Trust properties. The interior was not used for the 1995 series- Sudbury Hall (another estate managed by the National Trust) became Pemberley in these scenes- but the steps which Mr Darcy runs down having quickly dressed after his impromptu dip are here for reenacting the scene if you wish!

Inside, Lyme is everything I think Pemberley would be. Opulent room follows opulent room, richly decorated and reflecting the modifications and styles of its long history and the changing tastes of its owners. There are fireplaces grand enough to delight even Mr Collins, but the house still retains a sense of being lived in, of being a home.

There are plenty of beautiful and fascinating objects to enjoy such the Lyme Sarum Missal, pictured above, the most important printed book in the Trust’s collection. Printed in 1487, it is the only known surviving copy of Caxton’s first print run of this text.

Once you have enjoyed all the delights of the house, the extensive grounds are wonderful: from the formal Dutch garden to the deer park, there is so much to explore. Sadly, Mr Darcy’s pool was off limits due to work in that area of the garden, but we walked up to the Cage, a tower standing on a hill to the east of the approach road. Originally a hunting lodge, there are amazing views of the surrounding countryside, but the building itself is not open to the public. I was sad to leave Lyme and hope to return to stay at one of the lodges on the estate, run by the National Trust as holiday cottages, in the near future.

‘…as all the celebrated beauties of Matlock, Chatsworth, Dovedale, or the Peak.’

Apart from the actors not fulfilling my imagined versions of the characters of this great novel, the very fact that Chatsworth is mentioned in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ means for me, it can never be Pemberley! We were staying at one of the holiday cottages on the Chatsworth estate and so were keen to take the opportunity to visit the house. Unlike Lyme, where our National Trust membership made the visit free, it cost us £26 each to visit. Had we not booked online, there would have been an additional £5 charge for the carpark.

Personally, I found the interior of the house a strange mix of the splendour of past and odd modern additions. The Great Hall with its elegant staircase, which Lizzie and the Gardeners walk up in the 2005 film, is simply stunning- a real glimpse of the past glory of the house, but in many places, modern art and furniture jar and detract from their surroundings.

One highlight was the library with the ante-library leading to it. So many beautiful books in a setting any bibliophile would envy! In an alcove nearby was the statue of the Veiled Vestal which Keira Knightly as Lizzie gazes at on her visit to Pemberley. It is a gorgeous piece, worthy of close attention. In the film, it is placed in the Sculpture Gallery, another highlight, a cool, calm area, full of wonderful statues, although the bust of Mr Darcy which Elizabeth finds is no longer there!

The grounds at Chatsworth are stunning with much to enjoy and explore, like the rock garden, but the Temple of Apollo, where Darcy first proposes to Elizabeth in this adaptation, was filmed at Stourhead (National Trust). You could wander for hours in this beautiful setting, finding new beauty round every corner.

So, for me, Lyme captures the essence of Pemberley, ‘a place so happily situated’. Every time I re-read ‘Pride and Prejudice’ from now on, this is the Pemberley I will see in my mind’s eye and I highly recommend it as a place to visit. It’s beauty, its connections to the book and its own history combine to make this a real treasure!

To introduce children to ‘Pride and Prejudice’, you might like to try ‘Lizzie Bennet’s Diary’ (Walker ISBN: 978-1406346947) by Marcia Williams or ‘Awesomely Austen: Pride and Prejudice’ (Hodder ISBN: 978-1444949957) by Katherine Woodfine, illustrated by Eglantine Ceulemans. To find out more about Jane herself, the ‘Little People, Big Dreams’ series (Lincoln Children’s ISBN: 978-1786031198) has a ‘Jane Austen’ title by Isabel Sanchez Vegar, illustrated by Katie Wilson.