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Friday 21 April 2017

A-Z Challenge 2017 - Houses, some real, some not - 'R'

R - Ragley Hall

Ragley Hall, the ancestral seat of the Marquess of Hertford, is located in Warwickshire, eight miles west of Stratford-upon-Avon.


Ragley Hall, Alcester, Warwickshire
(18 August 2007, ex geograph.org.uk - by David Fiddes - CC BY-SA 2.0
Designed by Robert Hooke in Palladian style, it was built in 1680 for Edward Conway, 1st Earl of Conway.

Later its parkland was laid out by Capability Brown.

During WWI and WWII the hall was used as a military hospital.

!982 saw it used a location in the TV series of 'The Scarlet Pimpernel.' 

It 'became' the Palace of Versailles in the BBC Doctor Who TV series of 2006.

Ragley was also one of the earliest stately homes to be open to the public.

8 comments:

Mail Adventures said...

Film makers in the UK have a great choice!
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Eva - Mail Adventures
R is for Relics.

FinnBadger said...

Not sure why, but it doesn't look as old as a 17th century building to me for some reason.

Phillip | R is for Reconnecting

Anonymous said...

Being a Dr Who fan who watchs the programme but not one of those that knows all the ins and outs it was nice to find out more and see the picture.

A to Z Theme: Sharing Family History via #GenealogyPhotoADay By Fran from TravelGenee Blog

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Bob - a good choice - it's a handsome house ... and good to know Robert Hooke designed it. Not much extra info on the Hertfords though - sparse!

I've just read the Warwickshire Life article on the house and family and how it's been saved - a really good read - and definitely a place to visit at some stage ... cheers - great choice - Hilary

http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/r-is-for-rare-breeds-survival-trust.html

Courtney said...

It's certainly been a star on TV. Is it still lived in? Maui Jungalow

Jo said...

Does look a bit like Versailles, not that much though. Guess film makers can do all kinds of things.

Trin Carl said...

Nice that the Dr. Who adopted this home and named it Palace of Versailles. I have yet to jump on the Dr. Who fan wagon. Maybe when I retire, by then I'll be really eccentric.
R is for Rugged Nano Sprints. (I got this idea to write a creative piece based on a story by Stephen King, It's not finished and needs some work)
http://theglobaldig.blogspot.com/2017/04/r-is-for-rugged-nano-sprint.html

Deepa said...

Such a magnificent structure and a beautiful write up for it

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