Sorry for not replying to all of you, real life has been a bit of a whirlwind recently. I will try my best to catch up and get back to the S3 crumbs as soon as possible, but there’s another precious, peaceful, fragile piece of information I have found and want to share in the meantime.
You might remember this photograph of Aziraphale’s desk as one of S1 BTS shots shared with us back in 2019. As it always happens with bonus material for this particular series, it almost instantly prompted multiple comments and ideas, mostly pertaining to the splash of contrasting blue in the top left corner. A coloured photograph — or maybe a postcard? — depicting a timber-framed, thatch-roofed house in the Tudor style, a touristy yet typical enough view in some parts of the British countryside.
A certain South Downs cottage became a fandom-wide institution ever since its first mention in 2005, and, most recently, a symbol of optimism and hope for a happy ending in a rather unhappy world.
Twenty-year-long history doesn’t seem to be enough to pinpoint any details though: what we know is that according to Terry Pratchett and other sources, Aziraphale and Crowley will live there together after the events of the unpublished Good Omens sequel, which became Good Omens 3: Finale (or however Prime and BBC agreed for the official name to be spelled out). We also know that Rob Wilkins shared a hope for filming there in spring on location. What we don’t know is where it actually is (yet).
But I do happen to know the exact location of the house from Aziraphale’s photograph.
Spoiler alert: it’s not actually on the South Downs, but a bit up north, in the village of Wilmcote in Warwickshire, about three miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, and preserved as Mary Arden’s Farm — today known under her married name, Mary Shakespeare, as the mother of William Shakespeare (also represented on Aziraphale’s S2 desk in the form of a small engraving).
Why “preserved as”? In a very Good Omens way, the farmhouse turned out to be an object of an unfortunate mid-sixteenth century house swap. In 2000 it was confirmed to had belonged not to the Ardens family, as previously believed, but their friend and neighbour Adam Palmer, making it Palmer’s Farm. The old name, however, stuck — people can be rather weird about names.
The whole complex belongs to Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and is kept as a working farm offering an authentic Tudor experience with multiple live animals. Until recently open to general public, due to financial constraints it now operates only as an education centre.
Is this how the real South Downs cottage is supposed to look like? Will the Good Omens crew actually film there some time soon?
Or does Aziraphale feel for some reason much more sentimental about William and his family than the Globe flashback might have originally suggested?
I guess that we will have to wait and see!
