January 3, 2001
Coventry Evening Telegraph
Battle history of Edge Hill on TV
by Arryn Buggins

TOURISM BOOST EXPECTED FROM ENGLISH CIVIL WAR DOCUMENTARY

Film and TV coverage of the English Civil War could spark fresh interest in Warwickshire's history.

A BBC documentary starting next week includes footage recorded at Edge Hill, near Kineton, and at Naseby, near Rugby, over the Northamptonshire border. It will be followed by a pounds 15 million film, Cromwell and Fairfax, which starts shooting next month at Hampton Court.

The film stars Rupert Everett as King Charles I, Tim Roth as Oliver Cromwell, and Dougray Scott as Thomas Fairfax, who helped lead the Parliamentarians to their final victory at Naseby.

The four-part BBC history show, simply called Civil War, starts on Monday, with four, 30-minute episodes.

Presented by Dr Tristram Hunt, it will feature Edge Hill - the first battle of the war in 1642 - in the second episode and Naseby - the final battle in 1645 - in the third show.

There is a museum on the battle site at Edge Hill, which is open in the summer months.

Anne Taylor, spokesman for South Warwickshire Tourism, said: "Edge Hill is an important part of Warwickshire's history and it is in an area with several other attractions, such as the Heritage Motor Centre, and is surrounded by many pretty villages."

Locations in south Warwickshire have been used for filming before, including recent filming at Lord Leycester Hospital in Warwick for a show about the great plague.

The area also served as the backdrop to the BBC's Dangerfield and Keeping Up Appearances.

Arnescote, near Edge Hill, was the setting for By The Sword Divided, a BBC drama in the 1980s about the English Civil War, although external scenes were filmed at Rockingham Castle, near Corby.

Shakespeare in Love, shown on BBC this week, also brought a boom in tourism to Stratford on its cinema release in 1999.

Copyright 2002 Coventry Newspapers Limited