Stokesay Court: the Private English Estate Used in the Keira Knightley Film “Atonement”
I love the Oscars. All day I tried to think of a way to justify writing about them on a website dedicated to houses. Then it occurred to me–write about my favorite house from a movie in the past year! That’ll work.
As you know, I have a habit of watching certain movies over and over again just because I like the set design (as I admitted in Houses on the Big Screen), so I couldn’t resist taking this opportunity to post a photo of the movie set I’m rooting for.
It’s the English manor Stokesay Court, which was used in “Atonement,” and it’s my pick for this year’s Academy Award.
Actors Saoirse Ronan, Keira Knightley, and Patrick Kennedy, in a scene from the movie (above).
Regarding the stunning Stokesay Court, Architectural Digest reports:
Production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer found Stokesay Court, a private home in Shropshire, England, which they felt embodied the English manor depicted in Ian McEwan’s 2002 best-selling novel Atonement.
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Director Joe Wright and his cast and crew spent five weeks at Stokesay, filming both interiors and exteriors at the house, which was built in 1889. The production design team spent seven weeks prior to filming creating a 1930s look for the home.
Here’s the drawing room, which is simply lovely:
The grand hall (emphasis on “grand”):
An amazing built-in sideboard in the dining room.
This polystyrene sculpture was created for the movie and has remained in the home in the central hall.
I wish I could’ve found photos that were larger than this. I’m dying to see the detail in rooms like the one below:
This just in: I found some more photos! And they’re not as teeny tiny! Take a gawk at these, which includes Keira Knightley in the room shown above:
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Photos via Architectural Digest, the New York Times, and the Stokesay Court website. All Atonement photographs copyright Working Title Films and Universal Studios 2007. Others are copyright Stokesay Court 2008.
You can read all about the house in an interesting article and see more of these photos at the NYT. If you want to take a tour in person, go to the official Stokesay Court website to find out how.
If You’re Hooked on Famous Houses:
February 25th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Movies? I’m not sure I’ve watched a good movie this year. I’m too busy watching cartoons with the little ones
This house is perfectly wonderful.
February 25th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Oh, me, too, Amy. If it’s not on DVD yet, there’s a good chance I haven’t seen it. I think “Enchanted” was the only movie nominated for an Oscar (for the songs) I had actually seen! It’s a sad case of affairs, frankly.
I haven’t even seen “Atonement” yet–just drooled over the photos of it, so I have no idea if it’s any good or not. (Anyone out there who can tell me?) Somehow I imagine the sets for “No Country for Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood” wouldn’t be quite my thing.
February 25th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Atonement was one of the few films I saw, and that house (and Keira Knightley’s green dress) should have received special Oscars. It was just amazing. Also amazing that the actual estate used for the film is still a private estate; I had no idea that homes like that were still privately owned. I would never leave the house if it were mine.
May 25th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
There is also a great article about the Set Decorator, Katie Spencer for the film “Atonement” that you can read about online.
If you are a fan of the movie or just the house, this explains the details!
May 25th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
http://www.setdecorators.org/incEngine/?content=admin&content=cm&cm=hotofftheset&article_id=1052159540&closeupon=1052160588
Here it is, oops!
August 14th, 2008 at 8:11 am
I loved this movie! Quirky as it was.
September 4th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Oh my,
that is my dream home, I loved that movie, and the mansion is my dream. It is one beauty.
Cheers,
Lorna
December 9th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Absolutely loved this movie–the plot, the set, the costume design. It was fantastic! Thanks for the tour. I hadn’t seen it since the movie was released in theaters, so it’s nice to ‘go back.’
December 30th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Gorgeous estate. What a dream place to go to work. This movie had one of the best love scenes ever. Yowza!
January 6th, 2009 at 11:58 am
I would love to walk this estate. Thanks also for the movie recommendation.