Password, please? Just kidding, you won’t need a password to read this post! Just in case you’re wondering, the password is caput draconis (Latin for “dragon’s head”). Or was it Fortuna Major (Latin for “greater fortune”)? I can’t remember..
In this post, I’d like to share my experience visiting Gloucester Cathedral, in particular, the cloisters (cloister is a fancy word for a covered walkway). Gloucester Cathedral is extremely rich in English history, and continues as a place of worship to this day. Since 2001-2002, tourism around Gloucester Cathedral started booming. No, it wasn’t due to a renovation, or new pipe-organ set in place, it was because the Cathedral’s cloisters were a backdrop for production on the first two Harry Potter films – The Philospher’s Stone, and The Chamber of Secrets. There was a third film, can you guess which one? Scroll down to find out!
If you guessed The Prisoner of Azkaban – which would be the natural choice in succession – well, that’s not right. It was The Half-Blood Prince. Yup, the tear-jerker where *Spoiler*Dumbledore is killed!
As you can tell, Mona and I are fanatics when it comes to Harry Potter. I have read all the books, watched all the movies and behind-the-scenes documentaries countless times! Naturally, being able to see the connections between the Cathedral and the films was an awesome experience! My friends and I had fun reinacting some of the scenes from the movies – especially the Gryffindor common room “fat lady” portrait – hence the password to start this post!
Now on to the good stuff – the filming locations in the cloisters, or should I say, “corridors of Hogwarts!”
Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone
Have you ever wondered why the first book had two titles – The Philosopher’s Stone and The Sorcerer’s Stone? When US publisher Scholastic inc. picked up the publishing rights to Harry Potter, Arthur A. Levine wasn’t convinced the word Philosopher was magical enough for the audience. Much to the displeasure of JK Rowling, she agreed to change the title in the US. Thankfully, it wasn’t changed to what Arthur originally pitched – Harry Potter and the School of Magic. True story.
The Troll Scene on Halloween
There is a very notable scene that was filmed for Philospher’s Stone in the cloisters – the Halloween troll scene. I knew about this scene before I arrived, so I tried to take some pictures of the locations imagining the troll walking through.
Director Chris Columbus used this beautiful courtyard to film the scene where the student’s are being led back to their common rooms by their Prefects. Harry and Ron suddenly realize that their friend Hermione was alone in the girl’s bathroom – unaware of the troll. They quickly leave to find and warn their friend. In the film, it was night-time, there was a thunderstorm, and torches illuminated the courtyard walls, so you did have a bit of imagining to do while on site.
Once the boys get to the bathroom, they hear footsteps of the massive troll coming down the hallway, and are forced to take cover. In the photo below, you can see a few cool things. The pillars off to the left are where Harry and Ron hide behind to take cover from the passing troll. Further along toward the end of the corridor, the natural hallway turns to the left. In the scene, they filmed the end of this corridor and digitally inserted the CGI mountain troll walking left to right and entering the girls bathroom! (Uhmm a little privacy maybe ??!)
This location was my favourite. I am a sucker for CGI in films, so I stood there, soaking in the atmosphere, imagining the troll walking from left to right – obviously, much more dark, during a thunderstorm, and again with a torch-lit corridor – aren’t settings everything?
Here is the best part, and one of those behind-the-scenes “movie magic moments”. If you walk to the end of the corridor and turn right, “where the troll enters the girl’s bathroom”, you come face-to-face with a massive wall – no opening, no bathroom, just concrete. I thought that was pretty funny, and will always remember this when re-watching the film.
Gryffindor Common Room “Fat Lady Potrait”
I came across another memorable filming location on my walk around the cloisters – the hidden passage to the Gryffindor common room. In the film, the “fat lady” portrait stands guard, requiring the student’s to recite the password for entry. Fortunately during my visit, the Fat Lady had been removed, however, unfortunately, the luxuries of the Gryffindor common room weren’t waiting beyond the threshold. It was simply a small open room. Dangit! It was still fun to pretend the painting was there, and feel the energy of stepping into the actor’s shoes, as they filmed their scenes. I do recall reading about the portrait for the first time as a kid, and just thinking how cool it would be to be walk around the castle. This was the closest I’ve been so far, so the nostalgia was buzzing!
Corridor Scenes
Most (if not all) of the film’s corridor scenes for Philospher’s Stone – the Prefects or Professor McGonagall leading the youngsters around, or travelling between classes – were shot in the Cathedral’s cloisters. The stonework and architecture in the corridors are astounding. I personally, have never seen anything like it before. The patterning, stain-glass, flooring, the arches in the ceiling, every detail is so carefully and meticulously constructed. You can truly see the 1000 year old age of it – and almost feel it! I’m sitting here trying to find words to describe it, but, I don’t think there are any. I’m just very grateful that I had the opportunity to visit.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
There were some really cool cloister scenes filmed for Chamber of Secrets. Again, most of the corridor travelling scenes, and Harry hearing the Basilisk in the walls, were shot in the cloisters.
Basilisk Petrified Scenes
During the film, several students become petrified due to attacks from the Basilisk. Each of these scenes were filmed in the cloisters. The most memorable were the blood messages written on the walls.
“The Chamber of Secrets has been opened, enemies of the heir … beware“
“Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever“
I bet you’re wondering how they wrote these messages (in blood) on the stone walls of a 1000 year old cathedral. Well, have no fear, no walls were damaged in the making of this film. The messages were written on identical wooden paneling which were constructed by the brilliant set design crew. You gotta love movie magic.
I couldn’t find the exact spot the message scenes were shot. Although it was fun walking through the cloisters saying “That’s it! No … this has to be it!” “No, no, no, that wasn’t it back there, because here it is!”.
Moaning Myrtle Floods the Girl’s Bathroom
Okay, I have to admit, I had no idea this scene was shot here, simply because of the demands of the scene. To my surprise, they actually filmed Moaning Myrtle’s flooded bathroom/hallway scene in the Cathedral. What?!? They flooded the cloisters? Yes, annnd no. Enter a little bit more movie magic.
In order to protect the original stone floor, the crew installed a fully sealed water membrane over top of the floor and proceeded to flood the cloisters. I wouldn’t want to have been the ones responsible for ensuring the water membrane was installed correctly! This effort just goes to show what lengths directors go to to get a practical shot (vs. using CGI).
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Potter filming returned to Gloucester Cathedral in 2008 for the Half-blood Prince to shoot a few hallway scenes. The main scene was shot in the West walk of the cloisters, shows Harry overhearing Professor Snape talking to Malfoy swearing to protect him due to the unbreakable vow.
Here is my interpretation of Harry eavesdropping on Snape and Malfoy
Dig Deep, Get More..
Traveler tip: talk to as many locals and employees as you can. Share your story, and ask them about theirs. Typically, these people have so many personal experiences with the location you’re visiting that you won’t find in any tourist guidebook.
On our travels, I love to do my research before visiting a new city, attraction, hotel, etc. I did find out some tidbits of information before arriving at Gloucester Cathedral, however, nothing can replace the value in having a genuine conversation with someone who is local or working on location. I did my initial photos and touring, then proceeded to the gift-shop to chat with two of the Cathedral staff. One of the ladies shared with me that she was on location during the filming of all three movies! We talked about the blood on the “walls” and the flooding of the cloisters practical effects, and she shared her experiences with the film crew and actors on location.
Interestingly, the filming only took place over a few days, while, preceding this, the set and design crews were preparing on location weeks before. Once everyone arrived for shooting, there were so many people, and sections of the cathedral had to be closed off. I asked her if she was able to speak to any of the cast, and she did have the opportunity to chat with Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall) in between takes, who she said was such a lovely person. Once shooting wrapped, the crew and sets were dismantled and everything moved out very quickly. It became calm again, or should I say, the calm before the storm. Once the Potter franchise picked up momentum, and word broke that Gloucester Cathedral was a filming location, herds of “potter-heads” flocked to Gloucester, and the Cathedral became a huge tourist draw (which in turn, does help the Cathedral).
I hope you enjoyed this post, please feel free to share it with another Harry Potter fan! Also, if you have an opportunity to travel west of London, make a point of stopping by Gloucester Cathedral. You’ll be pleasantly rewarded with an enriching experience of film and history.
