But while these pieces of iconic British telly probably made Portmeirion more famous than it otherwise would have been, it always would have had a reputation. It looks like nowhere else.
Its big moment in the sun came when it was only a few decades old. The village was the passion project of Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, a very accomplished Welsh architect. The whole thing must have been a peak experience for him.
2 comments:
When I saw the name Portmeirion I immediately thought of the pottery since the stuff is quite familiar to me - never did buy any of it though, but I knew the name. I had no idea it's an actual place in Wales and what a lovely village it is to be sure. Naturally enough, I hadn't known that's where The Prisoner was filmed - well, the original shots used to explain where the action was happening. McGoohan also starred in a spy series called Danger Man that predated The Prisoner in the years 1960-66. That show also had episodes filmed in Portmeirion.
Numb remembered Portmeirion as the location of The Masque of Mandragora series in the Tom Baker years. He has a way better memory for films, tv shows and things related than me.
You're right it appears to have been a peak experience for Sir Clough Williams-Ellis who spent much of his life saving British villages and their unique architecture. Made in 1969 - here's a short blurry BBC film that Sir Clough narrated:
https://youtu.be/MUufnXCSrVQ?si=VYbvmQZgsnxTDZBv
I hadn't known about Portmeirion Pottery until you mentioned it. I've seen some of it now, though. It's quite pretty, with the floral and other plant-related themes. I've seen some episodes of Danger Man, which was shown over here as Secret Agent. It's a good, tense spy show. Some have theorized that McGoohan's John Drake character later became Number 6. McGoohan also played a murderer on the Columbo episode "Identity Crisis" who had some Number 6-ish mannerisms.
It's been a long time since I actually saw "The Masque of Mandragora". I remember it being weird and a little eerie, which seems to fit the shooting location well.
That's a neat film about Williams-Ellis. He says that he wanted to be an architect since he was five, which is precocious. He also wanted to build his own great village, which he managed to do.
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