Stokesay Court: the Private English Estate Used in the Keira Knightley Film “Atonement”

I love the Oscars. All day I tried to think of a way to justify writing about them on a website dedicated to houses. Then it occurred to me–write about my favorite house from a movie in the past year! That’ll work.

As you know, I have a habit of watching certain movies over and over again just because I like the set design (as I admitted in Houses on the Big Screen), so I couldn’t resist taking this opportunity to post a photo of the movie set I’m rooting for.

It’s the English manor Stokesay Court, which was used in “Atonement,” and it’s my pick for this year’s Academy Award.

Actors Saoirse Ronan, Keira Knightley, and Patrick Kennedy, in a scene from the movie (above).

Regarding the stunning Stokesay Court, Architectural Digest reports:

Production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer found Stokesay Court, a private home in Shropshire, England, which they felt embodied the English manor depicted in Ian McEwan’s 2002 best-selling novel Atonement.

Director Joe Wright and his cast and crew spent five weeks at Stokesay, filming both interiors and exteriors at the house, which was built in 1889. The production design team spent seven weeks prior to filming creating a 1930s look for the home.

Here’s the drawing room, which is simply lovely:

The grand hall (emphasis on “grand”):

An amazing built-in sideboard in the dining room.

This polystyrene sculpture was created for the movie and has remained in the home in the central hall.

I wish I could’ve found photos that were larger than this. I’m dying to see the detail in rooms like the one below:

This just in: I found some more photos! And they’re not as teeny tiny! Take a gawk at these, which includes Keira Knightley in the room shown above:

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Photos via Architectural Digest, the New York Times, and the Stokesay Court website. All Atonement photographs copyright Working Title Films and Universal Studios 2007. All rights reserved. Others are copyright Stokesay Court 2008.

You can read all about the house in an interesting article and see more of these photos at the NYT. If you want to take a tour in person, go to the official Stokesay Court website to find out how.

If You’re Hooked on Houses with History:

• Toronto’s Little House, which has less than 300 sq ft of living space.
• Dolly Parton’s childhood home in the mountains of Tennessee.
• Frank Lloyd Wright’s William P. Boswell house in Indian Hill, Ohio.
• Cobble Court, a French-Norman-inspired estate.
• Mark Twain’s Tiffany-decorated mansion in Hartford, Connecticut.
• Coco Chanel’s elegant Parisian apartment at 31 Rue Cambon.

If You’re Hooked on Famous Houses:

• Natalie Portman’s Long Island Digs
• Kenny Chesney’s Malibu Home
• Billy Joel’s Hamptons Hideaway
• Reese Witherspoon’s Country House in Ojai
  
• Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony’s Nursery for Max and Emme
• Mary J. Blige’s Mansion in NJ
• Vera Wang’s Oceanfront Villa
• Stokesay Court, the estate used in the Keira Knightley film “Atonement”
• Tommy Hilfiger’s Stone Hill Estate
• Trista Sutter’s Nursery for Baby Max
  
• Conan O’Brien’s New Pad in Brentwood
• Matthew Perry’s Bachelor Pad in L.A.
• Michael J. Fox’s Southampton Home

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