Loseley Park

Loseley Park is an Elizabethan country house in Surrey, built in the mid-16th century by Sir William More expressly to entertain Queen Elizabeth I [1]. It remains the home of the now More-Molyneux family, and has been left remarkably little changed since it was constructed. The house represents Donwell Abbey in the 2009 version of Emma, and can also be seen in Marple: 4:50 from Paddington, and 2008's Sense and Sensibility.

Loseley Park

Jane Austen's descriptions of the country houses which form the setting for many of her novels are few and far between. On the interiors of these great houses, such as Kellynch, Pemberley, and Norland, we are told even less. The descriptions with the most extensive detail primarily refer to older houses, such as Northanger Abbey and Donwell Abbey, and even then Austen is never very explicit [2]. The Tudor interiors and many portraits in Loseley Park make it a very fitting location for filming Donwell Abbey.

Donwell Abbey in Emma is somewhat of an old-fashioned estate and even the owner's name, Knightley, is connected to a traditional role with a feudal origin [3]. Knightley is presented as the ideal landowner, with a respectable size and style of country house, both rambling and irregular, representative of true gentility. The interiors of Loseley Park exceptionally reflect that feeling of gentility and history; it is clear why it was chosen to represent Donwell Abbey.

Marple: 4:40 from Paddington

Marple: 4:40 from Paddington

Sense and Sensibility

Emma

Loseley Park features a small but impressive portrait of Anne Boleyn from 1533, depicting her wearing a pearl necklace with the initials "A" and "H"; this was painted after her marriage to Henry VIII [4]. This is one of the few paintings of Anne Boleyn in existence. Portraits of English monarchs were among the items most frequently found in the art collections of Tudor country houses, and this is particularly true of Loseley Park [5].

Emma

Portrait of Anne Boleyn, c.1533

The definite highlight of Loseley Park is the magnificent Great Hall, which contains panelling from Henry VIII's Nonsuch Palace and displays a collection of royal and family portraits [6]. The centerpiece of the Great Hall is massive 18th century group portrait of Sir More-Molyneux and his family, placed on a wall near a window to utilize the natural light. The family gravely looks out at the hall from within their giant frame, almost expectant; the life-size figures come across as real people, caught in one moment instead of stiff, simply painted depictions [7]. This portrait was painted in the actual Loseley Park Great Hall where it now hangs, further emphasizing the sense that the individuals displayed are present in the room. There is an interplay of gazes between the painted family and their descendants which is quite palpable.

Emma

Sense and Sensibility

King James I was so impressed by his visit to Loseley Park that he commissioned a pair of portraits of himself and his wife to be painted by John de Critz to hang in the Great Hall; these works are still visible [8]. The royal portraits which decorate the walls of Loseley Park display the family's political ideals and connections, and also pay tribute to the royal guests that visited over the years [9]. 

Sense and Sensibility

Loseley Park Great Hall

Portrait of James I- John de Critz, c. 1605

For centuries, Loseley Park's Great Hall contained the first known portrait of Edward VI as king, painted in c.1548; unfortunately this work is no longer displayed in the country house, as it was sold in 2004 for the vast sum of £621,250 [10]. It is always sad when a family begins to sell their country house art collection, but perhaps for the sake of the continuance of the house it is necessary. Regardless, Loseley Park still features many impressive and important portraits, both royal and family, which can be seen in person and in films.

Bibliography

[1] Historic Houses Association. "Loseley Park." Accessed April 28, 2013. www.hha.org.uk/Property/702/Loseley-Park.
[2] Pevsner, Nikolaus. “The Architectural Setting of Jane Austen’s Novels.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld 
               Institutes 31 (1968): 404-422.
[3] Duckworth, Alistair M. “Gardens, Houses, and the Rhetoric of Descriptions in the English Novel.” In The Fashioning
              and Functioning of the British Country House, edited by Gervase Jackson-Stops, 403. Washington, D.C.: 
              National Gallery of Art, 1989.
[4] Bridgeman. "Portrait of Anne Boleyn." Accessed April 28, 2013. http://www.bridgemanart.com/
               asset/123711/English-School-16th-century/Portrait-of-Anne-Boleyn.
[5] Jackson-Stops, Gervase, ed. The Treasure Houses of Britain: Five Hundred Years of Private Patronage and Art 
                Collecting. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1985.
[6] On the Tudor Trail. "Loseley House." Accessed April 28, 2013. http://onthetudortrail.com/Blog/2010/12/19/loseley-
                house-panelling-from-nonsuch-palace-a-portrait-of-anne-boleyn-and-more.
[7] Sproule, Anna, and Michael Pollard. The Country House Guide: Family Homes in the Historic Houses Association. 
                Topsfield, Massachusetts: Salem House Publishers, 1988.
[8] Loseley Park. "Art." Accessed April 28, 2013. www.loseleypark.co.uk/art.
[9] Musson, Jeremy. How to Read a Country House. London: Ebury Press, 2005.
[10] The DiCamillo Companion to British & Irish Country Houses. "Loseley Park." Accessed April 28. 2013. 
                www.dicamillocompanion.com/Houses_detail.asp?ID=1296.