Sherlockian Sojourns #19.5: 'Re. Vampires'.

One of my favourite of the short stories, 'The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire', begins with most bizarre letter ever sent  (even Holmes states “For a mixture of the modern and the medieval, of the practical and of the wildly fanciful, I think this is surely the limit."). I reproduce it below:

46, OLD JEWRY,

Nov. 19th.

Re. Vampires

SIR:
Our client, Mr. Robert Ferguson, of Ferguson and Muirhead, tea brokers, of Mincing Lane, has made some enquiry from us in a communication of even date concerning vampires. As our firm specializes entirely upon the assessment of machinery the matter hardly comes within our purview, and we have therefore recommended Mr. Ferguson to call upon you and lay the matter before you. We have not forgotten your successful action in the case of Matilda Briggs.
We are, sir,

Faithfully yours,

MORRISON, MORRISON, AND DODD.

per E. J. C.

 

 

[The 'Matilda Briggs' being the ship associated with 'The Giant Rat of Sumatra' -  "a story for which the world is not yet prepared"]

However, it gives two London locations, which I decided to visit. Having spent the day touring filming locations, I made my way to Bank Underground Station and after a few minutes walk was at 'Old Jewry'. However, the street number proved to go up to only 35, so I took a photo of the most likely location for 'Morrison, Morrison and Dodd'.

 

 

I then retraced my steps past Bank, and passing the Bank of England and the Royal Exchange, (near where Hugh Boone plied his trade in 'The Adventure of the Man with the Twisted Lip') I made my way to Mincing Lane, arriving fifteen minutes later. In the late 19th century, Mincing Lane was the world's leading centre for tea and spice trading, so 'Ferguson and Muirhead' would have been in the heart of the trade at the time. However, all tea traders have since moved on, so I took a photo of the possible location of the firm part-owned by 'Big Bob Ferguson'.

 

 

At this point it began raining again, and so I beat a hasty retreat. 

 

 

Sherlockian Sojourns #19: As Seen On Screen

This sojourn took me first to Hatfield House, in Hertfordshire, 21 miles north of London, a fine Jacobean House and Garden in a spectacular countryside setting. Over the years the house has been used for multiple films, including 'Batman' (1989), 'Batman Begins' (2005), 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' (2004), 'The King's Speech' (2010), both 'Paddington' films, and most recently, the Oscar-winning 'The Favourite' (2018). However, it has also appeared in 'Sherlock Holmes' (2009), 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows' (2011) and 'Mr Holmes' (2015). I therefore made my way to Kings Cross and then by train to Hatfield (the University of which my professional qualification was gained as a distance-learning student).

Walking up the long driveway, I found myself at the house, and made my first point of call, the East Garden, which is only open on Wednesdays. It was in in this formal garden, with its odd geometric topiary that in 'Mr Holmes', Holmes (Ian McKellen) engaged Anne Kelmot (Eighth Doctor audio companion, Hattie Morahan) in conversation.

Leaving the Garden, I made my way to the front of the house.

Entering I made my way into the first room - 'The Marble Hall' - which featured as 'Scotland Yard' in 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows', being where Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan) watched as Moriarty's fiendish code was cracked.

Moving up a staircase, I found myself in 'The Long Gallery', which appeared as the Headquarters of the 'Temple of the Four Orders' in 'Sherlock Holmes'. Supposedly in St. James', it was here that Holmes (Robert Downey Jr) met Sir Thomas (James Fox) and the Home Secretary (Hans Matheson).

In a next door room was the first of a number of displays of costumes from 'The Favourite'. I took photos of those belonging to the three stars - Olivia Coleman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz.

The final room of interest was 'The Library' which appears in both 'Mr Holmes' as 'The Diogenes Club' where Holmes meets with his brother Mycroft (John Sessions); and in 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" as Moriarty's study where Holmes and Moriarty (Jared Harris) spar verbally, and a not so veiled threat is made to the newlywed Watson (Jude Law).

 

 

Exiting via the Gift Shop which had a basket of DVDs filmed at the house, I made my way to the start point for the woodland walks through the grounds.

Choosing the medium walk (2 miles), I made my way through woodland, until I finally reached the site where Elizabeth I learned of her accession to the throne of England in 1558.There was formerly an Oak tree on the site, but this having decayed, a new Oak was planted by the current Queen Elizabeth in 1985.

 

Returning to the Station, and managing to avoid the sudden rain showers, I made my back to Kings' Cross, and caught a Tube to Holborn, making my way to Lincoln's Inn, one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. Lincoln's Inn is recognised to be one of the world's most prestigious professional bodies of judges and lawyers. This is another location used in multiple films, but it was again for 'Mr Holmes' that I visited.

On the way into Lincoln's Inn, I walked down Carey Street, which appeared as a London street in the film.

I then entered Lincoln's Inn, passing Wildy & Son's, a legal bookshop which appeared in the film as a Taxidermist that Anne looked into when followed by Holmes.

Emerging into Lincoln's Inn, I found myself in New Square, which appeared as the rear of the bookshop of Madam Schirmer (Frances De La Tour), to which Holmes follows Anne.

 

My final point of call was the vaulted Undercroft beneath the Chapel of Lincoln’s Inn, which Holmes tails Anne through. This striking space is a favourite location, seen also in Tony Richardson’s 1963 Oscar-winner 'Tom Jones', in 'Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit' and in the 1995 screen version of 'Richard III' (also starring Ian McKellen).

 

This brought to an end my filming locations tours, but on the way to my evening's entertainment, I undertook a brief mini-tour relating to 'The Sussex Vampire'.

My evening was spent watching a play, "The Firm" at Hampstead Theatre, starring Jay Simpson who appeared as Wiggins in "The Baker Street Boys" and managing to grab a photo with him.

Sherlockian Sojourns 18: "Mycroft’s Rails"

“Mycroft has his rails and he runs on them. His Pall Mall lodgings, the Diogenes Club, Whitehall—that is his cycle” - Sherlock Holmes [BRUC]

As part of their ‘London Weekend 2019’, the Sherlock Holmes Society of London were proposing to retrace the steps of Holmes Senior, from his lodgings in Pall Mall to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on King Charles Street, where on occasions he “was the British Government” [BRUC]. Places were limited, but I managed to get one. The meeting point was at 2pm sharp at Waterloo Place, St. James’s, just next to the Duke of York column situated just above the steps down to The Mall (which Sherlock and Mary rode down on a motorcycle in ‘The Empty Hearse’). Having a few minutes to spare, I managed to wander down Pall Mall to take photos of the former sites of the Baldwin Club (one of the Card Clubs frequented by the Honourable Ronald Adair in ‘The Empty House’) and the Junior Carlton Club (believed by Dr Seth Alexander Thévoz, author of ‘Club Government’, to be the Diogenes Club). I also passed the former site of ‘Cox & Co’ which held Watson’s battered dispatch box containing details of unrecorded cases, as outlined in ‘The Problem of Thor Bridge’.

 

 

Returning to the column , which is situated next to the building that acts as the Diogenes Club in ‘Sherlock’, I joined a small group, with five minutes to spare.

Following a brief introduction by the organiser of the walk, Marcus Geisser, BSI, we strode off down the stairs, past St. James’ Park and Horse Guards Parade (where preparations were being made for a ‘Trooping The Colour’ dress rehearsal, the next day. After around ten minutes, we reached the FCO, taking the likely route that Mycroft would have done on a daily basis. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office occupies a building which originally provided premises for four separate government departments: the Foreign Office, the India Office, the Colonial Office, and the Home Office. Construction on the building began in 1861 and finished in 1868, and it was designed by the architect George Gilbert Scott. Its architecture is in the Italianate style; Scott had initially envisaged a Gothic design, but Lord Palmerston, then Prime Minister, insisted on a classical style.

Here a one hour’s private tour of the building had been arranged for our group. Photography was prohibited in some areas of the building on security grounds, but I was able to take photos of several meeting rooms which may have been frequented by Mycroft, and a ministerial room which he may also have known. We also got to look out onto Downing Street and Numbers 10 & 11. The guide was very enthusiastic, and we ended up spending an hour-and-a-half wandering the FCO corridors.

We then retraced our steps at speed to the Athenaeum Club, situated at 107 Pall Mall, one of the prime candidates for The Diogenes Club.

"There are many men in London, you know, who, some from shyness, some from misanthropy, have no wish for the company of their fellows. Yet they are not averse to comfortable chairs and the latest periodicals. It is for the convenience of these that the Diogenes Club was started, and it now contains the most unsociable and unclubable men in town” – Sherlock Holmes [GREE]

Having gained entry through one of our party who is a member, we moved to the basement where an exhibition had been created for us by the Club Archivist, relating to Watson’s Literary Agent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s membership of this prestigious club, including his signature in the register and details of dinners that he was present at, one also including Norman Hapgood, the editor of ‘Collier’s Weekly’ in which Holmes was resurrected soon after the dinner.

The afternoon was concluded with tea and biscuits, and a visit to the Drawing Room, one of the few areas of the Club where non-members are allowed.