Here is correspondence between myself and Granada regarding their placement of St Mary Mead in Oxfordshire. If a real county had to be guessed at it would almost certainly be Hampshire.
From: Stuart Fanning To: Timmer, Damien - Granada
Subject: Miss Marple
Hallo Mr Timmer
I hope you do not mind my emailing you directly regarding the Miss Marple series currently being shown on ITV1. Having just watched the second one: Murder at the Vicarage, I am finding them very enjoyable.
However there was one thing in the episode tonight which I found very surprising. This was the placing of St Mary Mead in Oxfordshire. The address of the Vicarage was shown on screen in a couple of the scenes.
As you will know in the books themselves, Agatha Christie does not place the village in a real life county. However clues in the books would suggest that if you placed St Mary Mead in a real county it would be in Hampshire.
So I am wondering how and why the decision was made to place St Mary Mead in Oxfordshire for this Miss Maple series?
Regards,
Stuart Fanning
Hello Stuart
Thank you for your enquiry. St Mary Mead is still very much set in a non-specific county. However for shooting purposes we wanted to find a village that was both similar to how Christie had described it, but also one that had not been modernised too much. After a great deal of searching we went for the village we did, and rather than create a mythical county, stuck with where the location actually was.
Hope that clears things up.
Matthew Read - Producer
From: Stuart Fanning To: Timmer, Damien - Granada
Subject: Miss Marple
Hallo Mr Timmer
I hope you do not mind my emailing you directly regarding the Miss Marple series currently being shown on ITV1. Having just watched the second one: Murder at the Vicarage, I am finding them very enjoyable.
However there was one thing in the episode tonight which I found very surprising. This was the placing of St Mary Mead in Oxfordshire. The address of the Vicarage was shown on screen in a couple of the scenes.
As you will know in the books themselves, Agatha Christie does not place the village in a real life county. However clues in the books would suggest that if you placed St Mary Mead in a real county it would be in Hampshire.
So I am wondering how and why the decision was made to place St Mary Mead in Oxfordshire for this Miss Maple series?
Regards,
Stuart Fanning
Hello Stuart
Thank you for your enquiry. St Mary Mead is still very much set in a non-specific county. However for shooting purposes we wanted to find a village that was both similar to how Christie had described it, but also one that had not been modernised too much. After a great deal of searching we went for the village we did, and rather than create a mythical county, stuck with where the location actually was.
Hope that clears things up.
Matthew Read - Producer