A Special Pride & Prejudice (2005) Exhibition at Basildon Park with Maia (Part 1)

Goodbye August. Hello September!

This month is the 10th anniversary of Pride & Prejudice movie's UK Cinema release (September 16th, 2005) and we're celebrating all about the 2005 movie all month long here at the P&P Blog. To kick-off our P&P (2005) movie's 10th Year Anniversary event here continues, we'll start with a 3-part posts related to this movie. My friend Maia from Hungary, who just recently visited Basildon Park, one of P&P movie's filming locations last August (11th-13th) got to tour not just the house and garden, but she also got to see a special Pride & Prejudice (2005) exhibition. She, then, visited another P&P movie location, Wilton House, aka Pemberley's interior (in 2 scenes from the movie) and 's main house and filming location, Highclere Castle. FYI: Downton Abbey also filmed scenes at Basildon Park.

Maia shared all her beautiful P&P Basildon Park exhibition photos, video/audio, and see/read her visit experience with us as our early treat to you, dear readers, ahead of our upcoming P&P Movie's 10th Year Anniversary event here and you can read them all below...

Dear everyone! I just got home from my third trip to England. Each one has a post here, thanks to my dear friend Jeane, who always gave me space here to share my P&P Movie related experiences. Firstly, I have been in London, and you could see me posing with wax figures of Dame Judi Dench and lovely Keira Knightley. Secondly, you could see me at Chatsworth, aka Pemberley, our beloved Darcy’s home. It was enchanting. I was also fortunate enough that I could see a special exhibition of the 200 anniversary of Pride and Prejudice two years ago! The Darcy’s bust, the sculpture of the vest, which was used to the sculpture gallery scene as well were there in the room, among the original Jane Austen’s three volumes novel, titled First Impressions and in the room, I could take photos of the filming schedule of the movie, I mean, which scenes were shot there and how was the manner on set etc. step by step.

Now, last August, I was at "Netherfield," aka Basildon Park (August 11th); Highclere Castle (August 12th), this is the Downton Abbey location, but I would like to mention it more in the next post (in part 2); and Wilton House (August 13th), which one’s Double cube room was used as Pemberly’s interior, when siblings Darcy and Georgiana welcomed Lizzie and her aunt & uncle, the Gardiners --- I call this the smiling scene. You may remember that from the movie. I will post about Wilton House in part 3 post (stay tune for that)...So, I can proudly say, that except Groombridge's Place in Kent aka the Bennet's home and Burghley House in Lincolnshire aka Lady Catherine’s home and Stourhead Garden aka the first proposal "rain" scene in the movie, I have been to each location which were used for making the Pride & Prejudice 2005 movie. I will talk more about Downton Abbey's exhibition at Basildon and Highclere Castle filming location as well as Wilton House in my next parts 2 and 3 guest blog posts here. For now and on this post, I'll talk about P&P movie's exhibition at Basildon.

On the First day (August 11th), I have been at Basildon Park. It was lovely. There is a huge ground, where you can take lovely walks and there is a maze and beautiful roses and flowers. The house is great as well. I was pleased to noticed the three rooms, which the crew used in P&P movie. By the way, we know that they made a room inside a room, so another location, I daresay. We all know the octagon room, and the corridors, and the dining room, which one is actually reconstructed now, but I recognized it. There were the dancing scenes at the Ball at Netherfield and when Lizzie arrived to visit Jane and Darcy and Miss Bingley welcoming her. Do you remember? Fortunately I could take photos, which you could see here as I am sharing all of them in this post. I had a wonderful conversation in the octagon room with the guide volunteer, a very informative woman. I would love to share it with you because I recorded it only for us.

Listen to the Basildon Park audio below...

You can hear we were talking about the filming of Pride & Prejudice (3 months), Downton Abbey, The Duchess (starring Keira Knightley), and recently the upcoming 2016 film,  (starring aka Lady Rose of Downton Abbey and the new Cinderella movie, who is playing Elizabeth Bennet in PPZ movie) filming there! It is a very informative conversation, enjoy listening to it! But the biggest surprise here again, I was sooooooooo lucky that there were an, On location exhibition, where different pictures, a video of making Downton Abbey there, things from the sets, books, furniture were on the exhibition and of course from Pride & Prejudice movie. I took photos of all of them, so we now can see the filming schedule and call sheet of the cast and behind the scenes of making the movie at Basildon as well!! After P&P's exhibition at Chatsworth, here we go with another one at Basildon Park. There were many step by step photos of each scenes (Netherfield Ball scenes), we can see that Miss Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bennet was on Mr. Collins’s carriage after Netherfield Ball (we've been wondering where Lizzie went after the ball and why she wasn't riding with her family at their carriage for ten years! Now, the mystery puzzle has been solved and we have a few photos, probably a deleted scene from the movie as proof here to show you all!), you can see in the few pictures (including two close-up shots of Lizzie and Mr. Collins) below...

Mr. Collins with Elizabeth riding at his carriage 

on the way home after Netherfield Ball!

You can see they were ahead of the Bennet family (sans Lizzie)...

A whole roll of BTS photos from
Leaving the Netherfield scene

And you can read the whole letter, which was written by Darcy to his little sister Georgiana in the scene (which you may or may not have seen before), where Lizzie and Caroline tease with Darcy. Yes, you can! See the photos below...

 

I am so happy that I can share these ones with all of you here! And here is a framed photo with ’s signature and where he is saying "thanks to all at Basildon."

Here are more of Maia's photos from...

Pride & Prejudice (2005) Exhibition 
at Basildon Park

 

Pride & Prejudice's Day by Day 

Filming Schedule at Basildon Park

 Pride & Prejudice Cast Call Sheets at Basildon Park

Pride & Prejudice Netherfield scene - frame by frame in a film roll

 Pride & Prejudice Movie Props and Footman Costume

 

 

Pride & Prejudice Misc at Basildon Park

Maia at Basildon Park

 The Octagon Room - 

where Lizzie and Caroline did their "turn about the room,"

the Bennet women chat with Darcy and the Bingley siblings,

and other Netherfield scenes

The exterior of Basildon Park

 The Duchess starring Keira Knightley

 

See all of Maia's Basildon Park photos below...

Pride & Prejudice Exhibition - Basildon Park (August 2015)

 Watch Maia's Basildon Park video below...

Pride & Prejudice Exhibition - Basildon Park (August 2015)

For more P&P BTS and filming info., watch P&P BTS at Basildon Park video via Movieclips Extras below...

And watch this very informative Love Basildon Park guided tour  video by Geoff Addis below...


To be continued...Part 2 is coming up in the next post! It will be about Maia's experience visiting Highclere Castle aka Downton Abbey and Downton's Exhibition at Basildon Park. Stay tune for more to come...


Note To Readers: All P&P/Basildon Park photos and audio/video courtesy of Maia (thanks a lot!). If you want to share some of these photos and video/audio somewhere on the web, feel free to do so, just please credit and mention Maia and link to this blog for your source too! Thanks!