FOLLYFOOT FARM - IN THE 1970'S.
The 1976 Follyfoot Annual gives an account of how the location was chosen and prepared:
When Yorkshire Television first decided to make the series
Follyfoot, they knew exactly what they had in mind for a location. The problem was finding the right place... The TV scriptwriters had an idea of Follyfoot Farm in their minds, which was complete right down to the last brick and stone. So it was a pretty tall order trying to find a place which exactly matched up to requirements.
It was Jane Royston, who looks after the horses seen in the TV series, who finally found what was soon to be `Follyfoot Farm' - and it was quite by chance that she happened upon it. Jane was out riding in the beautiful countryside which lies between Leeds and Harrogate, when she suddenly came across a group of old buildings, on the Earl of Harewood's estate. Jane knew that the site was potentially perfect for the series. Yorkshire Television agreed with Jane as soon as they saw it, and an army of workmen moved in right away, to set about the enormous task of renovation.
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THE WORK BEGAN ... Stonemasons arrived, as well as carpenters, landscapers,painters ... workmen of all kinds. Everything was completely remade, nothing was improvised, or just made to look realistic. Everything at Follyfoot Farm is build in the stone and brick which were used to
make the original farm buildings many years ago. Apart from the fact that the actors wanted everything in the series to be quite authentic, there was another reason for rebuilding so thoroughly. If polystyrene and plastic had been used they would never have stood up to the strong winds which blow over that area of the Yorkshire moors. When the workmen had finished. Follyfoot Farm stood before them, perfect in every detail. It had come to life again, just as the stories of Follyfoot come to life on the televisscreen. Some of the buildings were made completely habitable, to house Jane Royston and her assistants who live at the site during the months of filming to look after the horses. The horses have comfortable quarters too, in extensively renovated stables with all mod cons. And what you never realise as a viewer of the series is that one of the barns is in fact a canteen and dining hall for the actors and production staff.
An essential part of the Follyfoot set is, of course, the Lightning Tree, and Yorkshire Television had to look around for an old, dead tree, and replant it in the yard of the
farm. Well, sure enough, the tree they chose certainly looked as though it might have been struck by lightning, when it was first uprooted and planted again at Follyfoot. But after a few weeks the production team noticed that somethingrather strange had happened to their old, `dead' tree.... The Lightning Tree had come to life!
First, tiny green buds began to appear on the branches, and soon they burst out into leaves. Rather than uproot this
remarkable tree again, and look around for another Lightning Tree, they let it continue to grow. So now, every time the Lightning Tree is due to appear in a camera shot, someone has to go out and cut away all the green leaves!
That's one story of Follyfoot Farm the cameras have never told!
