Last time I talked about Bag End, but this time our my fictional home tour is inching a little closer to real life with the Wilhern Manor from Penelope. Granted, this movie takes place in a city that doesn’t exist — like a cross between America and England — and in a world where curses are A Real Thing. But a little closer to reality, I said. Just a little.
This is one of my favorite romantic comedies! So much so that I named my dearly departed kitty after the title character. It follows Penelope Wilhern (Christina Ricci), a girl born with a pig nose because of a family curse. Her mother (the indomitable Catherine O’Hara) tries to set her up with rich guy after rich guy because the curse can only be broken if Penelope finds love from “one of her own kind.” I won’t spoil the ending for you even though this movie is 13 years old.
The set I like in this movie though isn’t the manor itself — which is very grand in a Generic Rich Person sort of way — but the little world of Penelope’s room inside the house. Because she’s hidden away, her room is her sanctuary, complete with deep bathtub, a little library, a swing???, and the coziest bedroom nook that I would replicate in my own house if it weren’t voiding my lease to do demolition work. But, let’s take a look, shall we? We’ll tour the grounds first.
Exterior:
This is a real place — the Foxwarren Park mansion in Surrey, a gothic-style Victorian home built in the 1860s, which was designed by its owner. Fun history fact is that Alfred Ezra, a British bird enthusiast, once lived here and turned it into a small zoo of rare birds, including the last known living pair of pink-headed ducks.
The house is imposing with its jagged lines and I think a bell tower???, though I do enjoy the rounded arched doors. What’s hiding behind that gate, folks?
