Box Hill School, Surrey
Box Hill School's buildings and its impressive assault course featured on screen for the Doomsday Men's training school `Glenn College'. Only one of the building exteriors appeared on screen, although rather more was seen of the assault course and the school grounds. Nonetheless, the distinctive mock-tudor and gothic architecture is clearly identifiable.Box Hill School is an independent school for children aged 11-18. It was established in September 1959. Unlike the fictional 'Glenn College' it is (and always has been) a coeducational establishment, however the school does follow the philosophy of Dr Kurt Hahn (founder of Gordonstoun to which `Glenn College' shows a resemblance). In 1966, the school was a founder member of the `Round Square' consortium of schools with common ideals. The ornate building seen on screen is Dalewood House, built as a wedding present in 1883 on the orders of department store owner D H Evans. Both interior and exterior are elaborately decorated, with stained glass, tiles, and wood-clad interiors.
The school stands in an extensive 40 acres of grounds in the Surrey Hills. The assault course seen on screen was laid out on the school grounds, but unfortunately has been dismantled in recent years due to health and safety concerns.
Box Hill School is private property, and like any other school should not be vsited without special arrangements being made. Box Hill in Surrey is in close proximity to a number of other Tomorrow People filming locations from both the New Series and the Old Series (see map page on Surrey). It is also a few miles from the best candidate for the currently unknown windmill to which Douglas McClelland is taken in 'The Doomsday Men', the nearby Ewhurst Windmill.
Churt, Surrey
|
The location filming for the German hillside in 'Hitler's Last Secret' took place near Churt in Surrey.
Supposedly representing a hillside some 6km from Bad Weinham in Germany, the filming in fact took place not far from the 'Pride of the Valley' pub in Churt (according to a comment from Roger Price, November 2005). (Right) The village sign of Churt in Surrey, (Below) The Pride of the Valley Pub. Seen in August 2006. |
 |
 |
Dating from 1968, the pub was once a favourite haunt of former Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and is some three miles from Frensham Great Pond (see seperate entry). The interior of the pub is clad in dark oak, making the pub seem older than it is. It is also associated with a hotel and a large beer garden, from which a hillside covered in mature pine trees is visible. (Map of this location) |
Deacon Close, Cobham, Surrey
- see OS page 2Ewhurst Windmill
A windmill appears onscreen in The Doomsday Men. As part of their nefarious scheme to prevent world peace, the eponymous organisation arranges for Dougas McClelland to be 'kidnapped' for his own protection and hidden in the remote location.The windmill in question is a tall, black-painted tower mill - almost certainly Hurt Wood Mill at Ewhurst in Surrey. Tower mills consist of a tall stone or brick tower, which supports a wooden cap and sails which can be rotated to catch the wind. They first appeared in the 17th century and are fairly common in England. In 1745, the concept of a fantail that automatically turns the main sail into the wind was invented.
The pattern of windows on a tower mill, the presence of a fantail, as well as its height and orientation are distinctive features. Ewhurst mill matches the unusual pattern of windows seen on screen in 'The Doomsday Men' perfectly, and is located just a few miles from Box Hill School which appeared in the same story.
The windmill stands on Pitch Hill, just north of Ewhurst village and in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the mill was reputed to be a rendesvouz for smugglers. More recently the mill has been converted to a private residence and it stands on private property.
Frensham Great Pond
|
Frensham Great Pond, in Farnham, Surrey, and the surrounding Frensham Common, was used as the filming location to represent Loch Ness in the season 7 story 'Castle of Fear' (see above).
The Great Pond is rather smaller than Loch Ness itself, being a mere two miles in circumference. Nonetheless, the pond is impressive for a mostly man-made feature (i.e. created in 1208 from a much enlarged natural pond), and has a distinguished history.
|
(Above and Left Below) Frensham Great Pond at sunset in August 2006
|
 |
It was first recorded as a fishing pond serving the Bishop of Winchester at Farnham Castle, and is now a recreational area, with picnic areas and wildlife preserves - as well as fishing (primarily Tench) and sailing for local club members. In 1913 the Pond was a test site for early sea-plane trials. While the area is the property of the National Trust, both the common and Great Pond are leased to and managed by Waverley Borough Council, while the Frensham Little Pond remains under National Trust management. Click here for a map.
The Frensham ponds were also used for filming of the BBC series 'Doctor Who' - including the early stories 'The Highlanders' and 'The Myth Makers'. |
Heywood Manor
The Tomorrow People visit Lord Dunning's country mansion several times during the story `One Law', and Mike's family are held captive in its cellar before escaping through extensive grounds.These scenes were filmed at Heywood Manor, at Fairmile Common near Cobham in Surrey. This Palladian mansion was reconstructed in 1804, over an earlier eighteenth century building, and stands on a land-holding dating back at least until 1206 when the Heiwude family were first recorded. Owners through the nineteenth century included the future King Leopold of Belgium. The Grade II listed property has formed part of the campus of the American Community School (ACS) campus at Cobham since it was founded in 1975. It has been listed since July 1973.
Heywood Manor is particularly interesting as one of the rare locations to be featured in both televised incarnations of The Tomorrow People. The garden front of the building appeared in the `Origin Series' (1992) as Lady Mulvaney's home estate. Between the two, the building appeared in another Thames science fiction series for children - Chocky's Children in 1985.
Leith Hill Tower
|
The distinctive folly of Leith Hill Tower was used to film scenes in 'Castle of Fear' in which Andrew hid from his father and the TPs. Its surrounding woodlands were the setting for an imaginery fight between highlanders and redcoats.
Although located near Dorking, in Surrey, the scenes were set near Andrew's home close to Loch Ness.
|
 |
 |
(Above and Left) Leith Hill Tower - doorway and side view. Seen in
August 2006
The 64ft tall Leith Hill Tower was constructed in 1765 by local personality Richard Hull in order to bring the summit of Leith Hill above the 1000 feet limit that makes it classify as a mountain. Over the following century the tower fell into a sad decline before being reopened as a tourist viewing tower in 1864. Since 1923 it has been a National Trust property. For full detail see my page on the history of the site and details of its location. |
Sand Pit, Guildford
A sand pit near Guildford, Surrey was used to film scenes set on the planet Gallia in 'A Much Needed Holiday'.Guildford is an ancient cathedral town which lies in a river valley running through the North Downs, and is the county town of Surrey. The geology of Surrey is complex, with the original geomorphology greatly modified by glacial activity and by the flood plain of the River Thames. One result of this complex history is the presence of successive layers of sand and gravel which are in much demand by the building industry. As a result Surrey has a large number of sand quarries, and many of these are turned into landfill sites for the disposal of domestic waste when the sand deposit is exhausted or excavations cease.
There are a number of candidate sites for the sandpit appearing in the Tomorrow People. Several sand or gravel quarries in the Surrey area commonly hosted filming for science fiction series including Blake's 7 and Doctor Who - sometimes around the corner from one another at the same time! Such sites include Betchworth Quarry, Buckland Sand and Silica Company, Beachfields Quarry, Oxshott Sandpit and Callow Hill Sandpit.
A similar sandpit appeared in the 1972 Thames television children's series Ace of Wands, masquerading as Egypt in 'The Power of Atep'. That sandpit is believed to have been owned by the company 'Ebenezer Mears (Sand Producers) Ltd' (now part of Sita), who own at least two Surrey sandpits now used as landfills: Hog's Back near Guildford and Princess Royal near Runfold.