In our last post we looked at some of the interiors of Kirby Hall which were used in the 1999 film adaptation of Mansfield Park, starring Jonny Lee Miller.

Let’s continue our tour with a look at  the rooms, some on the  on the upper floors which were very cleverly adapted for use in the film..

When Fanny first arrives at Mansfield we see a fleeting glance from a window in the Great Stair down into the ruins of what was the West Lodgings and the Long Gallery…

This is now a completely ruined space, the floors long gone….

We then see the room that becomes Fanny’s sanctuary….

Time passes and we next see the young Fanny transfigured into the feisty Fanny we all have difficulty recognising…

These scenes were filmed in the Bedchamber/Billiard room on the ground floor of the Hall, and this is one of the rooms in the Hall that has been recently restored to how it would have appeared in the late 18th century.

The bay windows of the rooms on the South Front of the house are a most wonderful architectural feature, both inside and out…

Sir Thomas’s study was a film set created within a room, and had sliding doors,a very unlikely feature in a 17th century house.

The room adapted for use by the production staff appears to have been the Great Chamber,which is to be found on the first floor of the Hall.

It is as you can see a very large space and is in a totally restored state.

As I understand it the set was a free standing room created within this room, rather like an inner skin, a technique also used for the formal drawing-room at Mansfield, see below.

The Secondary Stair was used for Fanny’s rencontres with Henry Crawford,and the distinctive carved handrail is still to be seen…

The formal drawing room was created by again making a room within a room, this time in another of the Bedchambers on the ground floor.

This was extremely cleverly done,  the columns were tromp l’oeil paint effects, and were painted onto the skin of the room…

The designers managed to incorporate the marble fireplace which is still extant in the room.

Though I did not enjoy the film, I have to say that the work of the production designers and staff was very cleverly done, not harming the fabric of the Hall at all, but by using certain architectural features within the Hall, they managed to crate a magnificent stage set, don’t you think?