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Wrotham Park
Wrotham Park (pronounced , ) is a neo-Palladian English country house in the parish of South Mimms, Hertfordshire. It lies south of the town of Potters Bar, from Hyde Park Corner in central London. The house was designed by Isaac Ware in 1754 for Admiral John Byng, the fourth son of Admiral George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, and remains in the family at the heart of a estate. It is one of the largest private houses near London inside the M25 motorway. Its distinctive exterior has been used over 60 times as a filming location. The house is listed as a Grade II* building on the National Heritage List for England, and its landscaped park and gardens are Grade II listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. History Originally part of an estate known as ''Pinchbank'' (also ''Birchbank''), first recorded in Middlesex in 1310 and owned in the 17th and early 18th centuries by the Howkins family, the property passed to Thomas Reynolds, a director of the South Sea Company ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Country House
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country. However, the term also encompasses houses that were, and often still are, the full-time residence for the landed gentry who ruled rural Britain until the Reform Act 1832. Frequently, the formal business of the counties was transacted in these country houses, having functional antecedents in manor houses. With large numbers of indoor and outdoor staff, country houses were important as places of employment for many rural communities. In turn, until the agricultural depressions of the 1870s, the estates, of which country houses were the hub, provided their owners with incomes. However, the late 19th and early 20th centuries were the swansong of the traditional English country house lifest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brownsover
Brownsover is a residential and commercial area of Rugby, Warwickshire in England, about miles north of the town centre. The area is named after the original hamlet of Brownsover. Since 1960, the area has been subsumed by the expansion of Rugby, with the construction of a number of housing estates, industrial estates and retail parks. 'Old' Brownsover The original hamlet of Brownsover still exists, to the west of A426 "Leicester Road". It was originally a hamlet within the parish of Clifton-upon-Dunsmore, and was mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Gaura". In 1932 it was incorporated into the borough of Rugby. In 1931 the parish had a population of 391. Brownsover Hall is situated here, this country house was rebuilt in the Victorian era by the Ward-Boughton-Leigh family who were the principal landowners in the area. The hall has now become a large hotel and conference centre. Brownsover Hall is also where Frank Whittle developed the jet engine in the 1930s. The hamlet also co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bridget Jones's Diary (film)
''Bridget Jones's Diary'' is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by Sharon Maguire and written by Richard Curtis, Andrew Davies, and Helen Fielding. A co-production of the United Kingdom, United States and France, it is based on Fielding's 1996 novel of the same name, which is a reinterpretation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel ''Pride and Prejudice''. The adaptation stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones, a 32-year-old British single woman, who writes a diary which focuses on the things she wishes to happen in her life. However, her life changes when two men vie for her affection, portrayed by Colin Firth and Hugh Grant. Jim Broadbent and Gemma Jones appear in supporting roles. Production began in August 2000 and ended in November 2000, and took place largely on location in London and the home counties. ''Bridget Jones's Diary'' premiered on 4 April 2001 in the United Kingdom and was released to theatres on 13 April 2001 simultaneously in the United Kingdom and in the United St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Ralph
''King Ralph'' is a 1991 American comedy film written and directed by David S. Ward and starring John Goodman, Peter O'Toole, and John Hurt. The film is about an American who becomes the unlikely King of the United Kingdom after an electrical accident wipes out the British Royal Family. The story is loosely based on the 1980 novel '' Headlong'' by Emlyn Williams. Very little of the story survived the transition to the screen; characters were changed and the story made into a comedy. The film was a minor box office hit but was received negatively by critics. Plot The entire British Royal Family is electrocuted and killed in a freak accident outside Buckingham Palace while having a royal portrait taken. Sir Cedric Willingham leads a search for any surviving heirs to whom to pass the crown. After days of searching, a living heir is found: American Ralph Jones. Shortly after being fired from his job as a lounge singer in Las Vegas, Ralph is informed by Cedric's assistant secre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeeves And Wooster
''Jeeves and Wooster'' is a British comedy-drama television series adapted by Clive Exton from P. G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the last series nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series. Set in the UK and the US in an unspecified period between the late 1920s and the 1930s, the series starred Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster, an affable young gentleman and member of the idle rich, and Stephen Fry as Jeeves, his highly intelligent and competent valet. Bertie and his friends, who are mainly members of the Drones Club, are extricated from all manner of societal misadventures by the indispensable Jeeves. When Fry and Laurie began the series, they were already a popular comedic double act for their regular appearances on Channel 4's '' Saturday Live'' and their own show ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie'' (BBC, 1987–95). In the television documentary ''Fry and Laurie Reunited'' (2010), t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inspector Morse (TV Series)
''Inspector Morse'' is a British crime drama, detective drama television series based on a series of novels by Colin Dexter. It starred John Thaw as Inspector Morse, Detective Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Inspector Lewis, Sergeant Lewis. The series comprises 33 two-hour episodes (100 minutes excluding commercials) produced between 1987 and 2000. Dexter made uncredited cameo appearances in all but three of the episodes. In 2018, the series was named the greatest British crime drama of all time by ''Radio Times''’ readers. In 2000, the series was ranked 42 on the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes compiled by the British Film Institute. It was followed by the spin-off ''Lewis (TV series), Lewis'' and prequel ''Endeavour (TV series), Endeavour''. Overview The series was made by Zenith Productions for ITV Central, Central Independent Television, and first shown in the UK on the ITV (TV network), ITV network of regional broadcasters. Between 1995 and 1996 the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Mischief (film)
''White Mischief'' (1987), directed by Michael Radford, dramatises the events of the Happy Valley murder case in Kenya in 1941, wherein Sir Henry “Jock” Delves Broughton was tried for the murder of Josslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll. The film is based upon the novel '' White Mischief: The Murder of Lord Erroll'' (1982), by James Fox, which originated from a newspaper article published in 1969.''White Mischief: The Murder of Lord Erroll'', by James Fox, Vintage Books, 1998, The cast of ''White Mischief'' features Greta Scacchi, Charles Dance, and Joss Ackland, Sarah Miles, Geraldine Chaplin, and Ray McAnally, Murray Head, John Hurt, and Trevor Howard. Plot During the Second World War, dissolute British aristocrats pass the time of day by leading hedonistic lives of drink, drugs, and sexual affairs in the Happy Valley region of the Kenya Colony. On 24 January 1941, Josslyn Hay, the philandering Earl of Erroll, was found dead in his car, in a remote location. Despite his ped ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Byng, 2nd Earl Of Strafford
George Stevens Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford, PC (8 June 1806 – 29 October 1886), styled Viscount Enfield between 1847 and 1860, of Wrotham Park in Middlesex (now Hertfordshire) and of 5 St James's Square, London, was a British peer and Whig politician. Origins Byng was the eldest son of Field Marshal John Byng, 1st Earl of Strafford (1772–1860) by his first wife, Mary Mackenzie. Military career In 1822, after graduating from the Royal Military College, Byng joined the 29th Regiment of Foot as an ensign by purchase. In 1825 he transferred to the 85th Regiment of Foot as a lieutenant and was promoted to captain in 1826, in which rank he served in the 60th Rifles. In 1837, after he had begun his political career, he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the part-time Royal West Middlesex Militia. On the death of the regiment's colonel in 1844 Byng succeeded to the command. His eldest son, the Hon George Byng, was commissioned as his lt-col on 30 October 1853. He retired fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Byng, 1st Earl Of Strafford
Field Marshal John Byng, 1st Earl of Strafford (1772 – 3 June 1860) was a British Army officer and politician. After serving as a junior officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and Irish Rebellion of 1798, he became Commanding Officer of the Grenadier Battalion of the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards during the disastrous Walcheren Campaign. He served as a brigade commander at the Battle of Vitoria and then at the Battle of Roncesvalles on 25 July 1813 when his brigade took the brunt of the French assault and held its position for three hours in the early morning before finally being forced back. During the Hundred Days, he commanded the 2nd Guards Brigade at the Battle of Quatre Bras in June 1815 and again at the Battle of Waterloo later that month when light companies from his brigade played an important role in the defence of Château d'Hougoumont. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Ireland and, after leaving Ireland in 1831, he was elected as Whig Member of Parliame ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Candide
( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The Optimist'' (1762); and ''Candide: Optimism'' (1947). It begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Garden of Eden, Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Gottfried Leibniz#Theodicy and optimism, Leibnizian optimism by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow and painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Voltaire concludes Candide with, if not rejecting Leibnizian optimism outright, advocating a deeply practical precept, "we must cultivate our garden", in lieu of the Leibnizian mantra of Pangloss, "all is for the best" in the "best of all possible worlds". ''Candide'' is characterized by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—especially Criticism of the Catholic Church, of the Roman Catholic Church—and of slavery. Voltaire was an advocate of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state. Voltaire was a versatile and prolific writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including stageplay, plays, poems, novels, essays, histories, and scientific Exposition (narrative), expositions. He wrote more than 20,000 letters and 2,000 books and pamphlets. Voltaire was one of the first authors to become renowned and commercially successful internationally. He was an outspoken advocate of civil liberties and was at constant risk from the strict censorship laws of the Catholic French monarchy. His polemics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the Carnatic Wars and the Anglo-Spanish War (1762–1763). The opposing alliances were led by Great Britain and France respectively, both seeking to establish global pre-eminence at the expense of the other. Along with Spain, France fought Britain both in Europe and overseas with land-based armies and naval forces, while Britain's ally Prussia sought territorial expansion in Europe and consolidation of its power. Long-standing colonial rivalries pitting Britain against France and Spain in North America and the West Indies were fought on a grand scale with consequential results. Prussia sought greater influence in the German states, while Austria wanted to regain Silesia, captured by Prussia in the previous war, and to contain Pruss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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