For many, the 2006 Nancy Meyers movie ‘The Holiday‘ has become a Christmas classic. A movie you just have to watch during the festive period, much like other Christmas classics such as Home Alone and Elf.
For those who haven’t seen the movie, the story follows two women having guy-trouble who swap homes in each other’s countries. One of those homes is Rosehill Cottage, a beautiful property located in the English countryside.
Anyone who has seen ‘The Holiday’ will undoubtedly recognize the English cottage that prominently features in the movie. Rosehill Cottage is the backdrop for a number of scenes throughout the movie. Mainly those featuring Cameron Diaz as Amanda Woods, the American staying in England.
However, this ‘fairy tale English cottage’ isn’t quite what it seems….
THE HISTORY OF ROSEHILL COTTAGE
Anyone who has spent any time looking through the TV & Movie houses section of House and History will know many movie homes are nothing but sets. Sadly, this is also the case for Rosehill Cottage! Just like the house from Forrest Gump, or the home in Practical Magic, ‘The Holiday’ house was built from scratch.
Anyone who has listened to the DVD commentary for ‘The Holiday’ will have heard Production Designer Jon Hutman state:
“We were looking for the cutest, smallest, most English cottage that we could find, and we found one, actually, that belonged to the National Trust.” But it was over four hours from London and “very isolated,” which would make it more expensive to film as the entire cast and crew would have to move out there while filming.
In the end, Jon Hutman and his team decided to build a fairytale cottage in the English countryside, however, this one was much closer to London.
Taking inspiration from Honeysuckle Cottage, an English country cottage located in Holmbury St Mary, the team began building a house. The house, landscaping, wall, and road leading to the cottage were all built in just two weeks.
“We built that wall and we put in those trees. It really was just an empty field,” Nancy Meyers said. “It was a real tourist attraction while it was there.” Despite the fact that it was in a remote area, many people went to see it each day.
THE HOUSE IN THE MOVIE
While there were plenty of outside shots of Rosehill Cottage, many scenes also took place inside. The interior shots were all filmed on a Culver City soundstage in California.
Director of Photography Dean Cundey was told not to take any wide shots on the sound stage. This made the interior shots of Rosehill Cottage feel warm and cozy.
Because many of the shots were so tight, it was often difficult to get a good view of the interior. However, Columbia Pictures did provide set shots where you can see the cottage in more detail.
Jon Hutman said with regards to the interior furnishings: “A lot of it is trial and error. It comes down to how do you make it feel English without making it look like a grandmother’s house?”
“We pushed furniture around in there forever,” Meyers said. “We kept trying different things. But I think we arrived at the right thing.”
THE HOUSE TODAY
As Rosehill Cottage was just a set the entire ‘cottage’ was pulled down and demolished after filming was complete. Anyone visiting the location today would only find an empty field, as it was previously.
While generally all sets are pulled down after filming is complete, such as the Forrest Gump house or the ancestral home of James Bond, this one seems such a shame. Credit is due to the set designers for creating such a wonderful-looking house in such a short amount of time. A house anybody would be happy to live in.
