York Cottage
Was the inside of stockers farm used for the internal shots of York Cottage or were they shot in a studio?
shareThe inside of the farm was used for all the scenes. In one or two episodes you can see, if you look carefully where modern electric light switches have been disguised. For example, in The Viking Helmet, when Robbie enters Kevin's room with the helmet you can see the light switch has been papered over.
shareThanks for that. I'm glad to hear they used the inside of the cottage for filming, it makes it more real. They must have had plenty of room for cameras etc. Usually we hear that inside shots are shot in studios. I would imagine that nowadays they need less crew and cameras.
Now that you mention it, in the first episode ever of Black Beauty, you can see an electric light switch when Dr Gordon is telling Vicky to go asleep and is leaving her room. I haven't seen the viking Helmet since the first time around but I remember liking the episode.
Thanks.
Some more bits of interesting info : the farmhouse at Stockers Farm is a Listed Building, which means that no alterations can be made inside or out without approval. Interestingly the Listed status was granted in summer 1972 while the series was being filmed there.
shareThat's good news. I have some episodes on dvd and I was comparing the front of the house then with the front now. The only difference I could see was that there is a big tree at the front door that wasn't there before. Does anybody live in it either then or now or when it was built? At the end of each episode it says that Stockers Farm was used with the permission of J B Gates.
I see Amy died in 2012, Albert in 2004 and Kevin in 1996. I heard that Albert (Tony Maiden) committed suicide. Do you know what happened to Kevin (Roderick Shaw) as he was only in his thirties?
Yes, Mr. J B Gates was the farmer and the Gates family still lives at Stockers farm!! I know this because a while back I checked the telephone directory for Rickmansworth and the Gates family are still listed there !
I heard that Roderick Shaw died in 1996 and I read somewhere that he died of natural causes. As far I know William Lucas (Dr Gordon)is still alive and will be about 87 this year.
That's interesting. Thanks for that. Is Mr J B Gates himself still alive I wonder. I watched clips from the first episode of Black Beauty last night on DVD and the episode called: The Recruiting Seargent. Do you know where the church is that was used in the Recruiting Seargent episode? I presume the grave was false but in a real churchyard. It must be nice to have met Judi Bowker and got her autograph.
shareI doubt if the original Mr. Gates is still alive , but if his family come on this site it would be nice if they could post anything about what they remember .
About the church in The Recruiting Sergeant, this episode was always one of my favourites, and I have recently tried to find out which church it was, but no luck. It must be somewhere in Hertfordshire, or possibly over the border in neighbouring Buckinghamshire. Medieval churches are of interest to me, but despite looking up such churches in those counties I can't discover which one it is. It is quite distinctive externally with what I believe is known as a saddle roof. There can't be too many of those around, so can anyone else help with this question?
Unfortunately I haven't met Judi, though I did sit within a few feet of her when I saw her on stage last year. I wrote to her afterwards and she wrote back to me ,so I did at least get the autograph.
May I ask , JB 9, in which part of the world you live?
Didn't the recruiting Sergeant have a gothic feel at the start. Looking at Vicky standing there shocked with the open grave in front of her has a touch of Dracula about it. I would really like to find out where the church is.
I love old churches and graveyards. I recently joined up with youtube and have made three little films which are on youtube. They are very simple and I am getting used to it. Nobody appears in them (maybe a ghost or two) but my voice can be heard. I'd love to make a little drama with acting. Two of the films have old graveyards in them which are in Ireland and very close to where I live.
I was a real fan of Black Beauty. Some things stay with us forever.
Yes it did feel sort of Gothic.
What would I put in Youtube to find your films?
Hello again. Thanks for the interest in viewing them. There are three and they're called: Halloween whistling pumpkins, haunted graveyard in hidden Ireland and Murdered priest on Lucan hill. The whistling pumpkins was made at home. The one I called Haunted graveyard in hidden Ireland is a real favourite place of mine. I have nice memories of the area and always feel something special when I go there. Hope they don't come accross too crap. I'd love to get involved in making a film.
I'm on the lookout for a new project. Do you remember the episode of Black Beauty with a haunted graveyard in it? It was called out of the night and Stacy Dorning starred.
What part of the world do you live in Steepleman?
I live in northern England. Out of The Night was about a ruined priory with a legend of hidden treasure. The gamekeeper Jessop dressed up as a ghostly monk to scare people away while he looked for the treasure himself. i remember that episode well and it was very scary when i originally saw it. Saw your films. they are very good.
shareYou really know your Black Beauty. It still is a scary episode. Thanks for looking at the films and your comment.
shareJust curious to know if you saw the films and what you might have thought of them.
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