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Creighton-Ward Mansion

Mansion
Creighton-Ward Mansion, Home to Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward and her butler, Parker and cook, Lil. Location: Foxleyheath, southern England

Here are the Canon Foundry facts about Creighton-Ward Mansion, all taken from Thunderbirds FAB Cross-Sections by Graham Bleathman, Carlton Books (2000) ISBN 1 84222 091 8:

  • Is Lady Penelope’s ancestral home
  • Built in 1730
  • Stands on the site of a Norman castle in a 2,000-acre estate at Foxleyheath, in southern England
  • Designed and built in the Palladian style by Colen Campbell, the architect largely responsible for Stourhead House in Wiltshire
  • Designated a Grade One listed building by the World Heritage Organization
  • The Master Bedroom’s bed is reputed to have been slept in by George III while visiting
  • Lady Penelope’s bedroom is across from the Master Bedroom
  • Lady Penelope’s study is accessed through her bedroom or via the hall directly outside (at the top of the staircase)
  • There is a lounge/entertainment room directly beneath Penny’s bedroom
  • There is a music room adjacent to the lounge/entertainment room
  • There is an under-floor safe, designed by Parker and Brains, hidden beneath a wooden panel and carpet in the Library
  • Most business meetings with Lady Penelope are held in the Library
  • There is a Games Room (and toilets) located at the rear of the mansion’s entrance hall (next to the grand drawing room)
  • There is a grand drawing room at the rear of the Mansion, above which is a guest bedroom
  • The portico at the front of the mansion was added by the Creighton-Ward family in the nineteenth century
  • There is an entrance-hall balcony that overlooks the entrance hall (located next to the grand staircase)
  • There is a well-equipped garage adjacent to the Mansion’s east wing where FAB 1 is housed
  • There is a “North Reception Room” to the right when you walk into the entrance hall from the front door
  • There is a staircase “leading down to Lil’s kitchen and old servants’ quarters,” which appears to indicate the kitchen and quarters are in the basement
  • A forensic laboratory has been built in what were the old servants’ quarters
  • Parker his his own “rest room and office”
  • Parker’s bedroom, Lil’s bedroom and guest bedrooms are in the wing opposite the Master Bedroom and Lady Penelope’s bedroom
  • There is an emergency power generator located under the stairs the lead up to Parker’s and Lil’s bedrooms
  • The Mansion’s original Georgian chimneys were replaced by smoke extractors incorporated into roof vents, but there are still two chimneys left on the roof – extractor fans draw smoke to them from several fireplaces
  • There is a banquet hall and dining room under Parker’s bedroom and the guest bedrooms
  • Parker’s bed has intruder alarms in the bedstead
  • Lil’s bedroom is right next to Parker’s
  • A satellite antenna hidden in the attic above the portico maintains Lady Penelope’s communications with Thunderbird 5 and International Rescue’s agents worldwide
  • The Mansion’s Coat of Arms: click here (it translates to ‘Always Flourishing’)

Here are some more canon facts from other sources:

From the TV Series and Movies (Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6):

The Canon FactThe Source
Creighton-Ward Mansion has room to house both Thunderbirds 1 and 2.Seen in the episode "Day of Disaster"
The mansion is open to visitors by appointment.Three coach-loads were expected in the episode "Trapped in the Sky"
The address is Foxleyheath.From a telegram Parker sends to Lady Penelope in "Brink of Disaster"
Stourhead house was the inspiration for Lady Penelope’s residence in the original Thunderbirds puppet series in the 1960’s.http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/what-we-do/who-we-are/fascinating-facts-and-figures/
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