Oakley Court, Windsor | The house that screamed and screamed again
It’s been home to Peter Cushing’s Baron in The Curse of Frankenstein, Boris Karloff’s secretive horticulturist in Die Monster Die, and Lon Chaney’s Satanist in Witchcraft. It’s witnessed Frankie Howerd being stalked by an axe-wielding Ray Milland in The House in Nightmare Park, caused Stephanie Beacham to have nightmares in And Now the Screaming Starts, and seen Donald Pleasence conducting strange experiments on Doctor Who’s Tom Baker in The Mutations. It’s also housed lesbian bloodsuckers (Vampyres), evil gardeners (The Night Digger) and all manner of Riff Raff from 1975’s Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Welcome to Oakley Court. Situated on the River Thames in Windsor, Berkshire, London, this Victorian Gothic mansion was built in 1859 for Sir Richard Hall Say, and changed hands a few times until 1919, when it was purchased by Ernest Olivier (who lived in the house until his death in 1965). When Bray Studios (which was used by Hammer Films) moved next door in 1955, Oakley Court became a most convenient setting for a host of films over the next two decades. Today, Oakley Court is a popular hotel hosting year-round events, and doesn’t shy away from its horror heritage. Here’s a list of the films that have been made there. How many do you remember?
FILMS SHOT AT OAKLEY COURT
Man in Black (1949) – Int/Ext
Room to Let (1950) – Int/Ext
The Lady Craved Excitement (1950)
House Across The Lake (1954) – Ext REVIEWED HERE
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)– Ext REVIEWED HERE – THE BLU-RAY
Dracula (1958) REVIEWED HERE – THE BLU-RAY
The Mummy (1959) – grounds only REVIEWED HERE – THE BLU-RAY
Never Take Sweets From A Stranger (1960) – Ext REVIEWED HERE – THE BLU-RAY
The Brides of Dracula (1960)– Ext
Siege of the Saxons (1963)
The Old Dark House (1963) – Ext
The Man Who Finally Died (1963) – Ext
The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) – grounds only
Nightmare (1964) – Ext REVIEWED HERE – THE BLU-RAY
Witchcraft (1964) – Ext
The Scarlet Blade (1964) REVIEWED HERE
Die Monster Die (1965) – Ext
The Reptile (1966) – Ext REVIEWED HERE
The Plague of the Zombies (1966)– Ext REVIEWED HERE
The Projected Man (1966)
Phantom of the Opera (1966) – Ext
Half a Sixpence (1967) – Ext
The Witches (1967) – Ext
Trog (1970) – Int
The Night Digger (1971) – Int/Ext
Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny & Girly (1970) – Int/Ext
Au Pair Girls (1972)
And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973) – Ext
The House in Nightmare Park (1973) – Ext REVIEWED HERE
The Medusa Touch (1973) – Ext REVIEWED HERE – THE BLU-RAY
Theatre of Blood (1973) – Int (READ ABOUT IT HERE)
The Mutations (1974) – Int/Ext
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1974)– Int/Ext REVIEWED HERE
Vampyres (1974) – Int/Ext
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) – Int/Ext
The Wildcats of St. Trinian’s (1980)
Posted on January 9, 2016, in British Film, Cult classic, Hammer-Amicus-Tigon, Horror, Must See, Must-See and tagged Berkshire, British Horror, Classic British horror, Derek Pykett, Film Locations, Oakley Court Hotel, Windsor. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.
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