*photo Miramax 2007
When watching the England portrayed in Julian Jarrold’s Becoming Jane, you get a sense of the rugged yet tranquil beauty of the English countryside… then you find out the whole thing was filmed in Ireland. I knew there was something different about those views! Actually, I didn’t realize it until I saw the film was co-funded by the Irish Film Board. Jarrold’s reasons for filming in Ireland were because “Hampshire [England] now is groomed and manicured and what we were able to find in Ireland was a sense of countryside that felt more unchanged. That was one of the things that I really wanted to get...a sense of the landscape in which Jane Austen grew up. Ireland also has a great variety of Georgian houses and older houses as well. I think it gave us quite a different and interesting look for the film.”
County MeathHigginsbrook House – Built in the early 18th Century, this house stood in for the Austen home - Steventon Rectory (which no longer exists). Located a few miles outside Trim, the house is a privately owned by Christopher and Hanne Gray.
County WicklowKilruddery House – If you loved those evening shots of this Georgian estate, with torches lit alongside the front pond, hie yourself down to Kilruddery. This location was also used in the Showtime series The Tudors and the Cruise/Kidman film Far and Away. {website}
If you are a big fan of this film, do check out the delightful Becoming Jane Fansite blog.