Real places inspiring fiction—how Woodcote Park got into a Jane Austen variation
While plotting what I was then calling “the horse racing book”, I needed an estate that was near to the Epsom race course so my family and their guests could easily walk to take in all the race week events. At the least, they needed to be a short carriage ride away. And rather than make up my own geography of Surrey, I looked at old maps and read about estates from the area for inspiration for the size and style house of someone who would be friends with Lady Catherine.
And I got so lucky.
Her Affections and Wishes takes place at an estate where Elizabeth and Darcy are surprised to find themselves at not long after Hunsford. I was all set to invent a house after my research gave me a ballpark for where would be realistic for my time and place. It was squinting at 19th century ordinance maps with my nose about in inch from the screen when I discovered Woodcote Park.
This line stood out to me when I dug into its history:
The park lies about a mile south of the village of Epsom, and contiguous to the race-course; it contains about 350 acres.
Perfect, right? It turned out to be so great, I decided not to rename it or move it or redesign its interiors.
You might wonder why care so much about a house that’s not Pemberley or Longbourn. Her Affections and Wishes has a group of people staying in close quarters for a week to take part in the festivities at the nearby Epsom race meeting. So the house had to be part of the setting, almost like another character.
Woodcote House was formerly the seat several prominent families, including the Calvert family, Barons Baltimore and Lords Proprietor of Maryland. The land comprising Woodcote was originally part of the estate of the Manor of Horton, granted by the abbot of Chertsey to John Merston and his wife Rose in 1440. Long time to have a structure in one place, right?
But even better, Woodcote’s history gave me the name and the backstory inspiration for my setup to get Darcy to the party he’s reluctant to attend—since he doesn’t know Elizabeth will be there.
It pays to research before you plot.
I learned the mansion and remaining grounds were sold in 1788 to Lewis De Teissier (1736–1811), a merchant from London. When he died, he was described as an “eminent French merchant of the old school said to have amassed nearly half a million pounds sterling.” De Teissier’s son (1794–1868), created by Louis XVIII the Baron de Teissier, was owner of the property at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
I learned a little bit about the De Teissier family and this information, along with several changes for the sake of fiction and my convenience, inspired Darcy’s friend, the friend's recently deceased father, and how the widowed mother lived there. I made the widowed mother a friend of Lady Catherine’s and the eldest son a friend of Darcy’s. Someone formerly in trade now with landed property? That would be a good for Darcy.
But what about Woodcote itself in 1812? The interior of the house at the time I have Darcy and Elizabeth visit boasted a gilded library and number of murals by notable Italian artists including Antonio Verrio. And, lucky for me I found descriptions of what the house looked like in the early 19th century—and it’s a riot.
Spoiler for Her Affections and Wishes: A crowded space where a decoration might fall on someone was not an exaggeration for this house. Around this time, Woodcote was (IMO) overdecorated. To put it kindly. Paneled and gilded within an inch of its life. Scrolls and filigrees. Chippendale rococo at its finest. In the book, Darcy tells Elizabeth what his friend said his father paid for what came with the house, and that’s straight from fact.
Darcy and Elizabeth bond over how over the top Woodcote’s interior is—he can describe Pemberley to her by comparison. They both prefer a lighter, more modern style.
Unfortunately for us, many of the historic rooms were removed by the Royal Automobile Club, which had purchased the estate in 1913, although some of the interiors are at the MFA Boston.
During the First World War, the War Office requisitioned Woodcote Park for a military training camp and then later a convalescent hospital, and finally a center for the treatment and training of ex-servicemen. In 1923, the estate was returned from the War Office to the RAC.
What remained of what Darcy and Elizabeth would have seen was destroyed by fire in 1934. The present appearance of the house dates from its restoration in 1936. Most of the interior was lost, but Woodcote’s entrance steps, balustrades and colonnades survived. The façade of the house was restored close to what our characters would have known.
Today, Woodcote Park serves as one of two club houses of the RAC private members club and features two 18-hole golf courses on its 350 acres.
What do you think of “house party” books? I like the forced proximity element. What do you think of uses real places as inspiration for fiction.
Her Affections and Wishes is out now.
Love this. When I was reading the book a few weeks ago, I looked to Google to see if there was an actual Woodcote House to give myself a mental image of the setting. I often do this when a particular place is mentioned. I didn’t dig as deep as you did, but I appreciate this background into the estate. It’s also wonderful to know how much you care about the details and research. I’m not a huge fan of the house party trope, but I did appreciate this one. Congrats on your new release!