Window Scene & Art Room - "The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)"
N 54° 19.895 W 002° 56.060
30U E 504270 N 6020416
Some of the closing scenes of the 1981 movie adaptation of John Fowles novel The French Lieutenant's Woman were shot inside Broad Leys house.
Waymark Code: WMEMF5
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/14/2012
Views: 5
The two main characters meet for the final time in the closing scenes, in Mrs Woodrough's (Sarah) employer's house. Charles has been looking for Sarah for three years and his solicitor tracks her down to a white house on the shore of Windermere. Charles approaches by steam powered launch as the A592 road would have been a cart track when these scenes were set.
In the novel, there were two endings. The movie runs two stories. The modern setting has the movie wrap party at Broad Leys, with Mike running upstairs to the same room where they shot the final scenes. He looks out of the window to see Anna departing. The exterior of one house was used for wrap party and the interior of another for room scenes. The stairs and landing scenes are probably not Broad Leys.
Notice the stone corners to the windows, and the cushioned window seat. In the film you can see the Lake District fells beyond. The fireplace has green tiles.
Two film camera positions may have been used. One close up of the window, the other longer shot from the back of the room. In the long shot notice the fireplace on the left and the low ceiling, both characteristic of CFA Voysey, the house designer. In the movie the ceiling is higher. This was restored by the current owners, to return the house to its original Voysey design.
The interior of Broad Leys had changed slightly from its original design in 1898. The current owners, Windermere Motor Boat Racing Club, have tried to return the interior to its original simplest design by CFA Voysey. A grade 1 listed structure. Current fire regulations and need for en-suite facilities have made slight alterations to the layout. This room would have been longer without the new ensuite, when filming here. Six of the rooms are for Bed & Breakfast when not being used by the members. You can stay where the scene was shot. Room 3 (
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Coordinates are for the car park outside.
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