Interesting Fact
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — What a Girl Wants
zfischer_05 — 13 years ago(March 13, 2013 01:59 AM)
I just discovered that the mansion used for all of the exterior shots and the majority of the interior shots, West Wycombe Park, has actually been the home of the Dashwood Family ever since the mid-18th Century! It was built by Sir Francis Dashwood, 2nd Baronet in 1740 and has been occupied by Dashwoods for generations.
The country home and estate has been featured in a number of other films such as "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "The Duchess," and also functions as a public museum and event venue.
I'd always assumed they just chose a random name for Daphne's family in the movie, but apparently they didn't look far for inspiration. In fact, Sir John Dashwood, 10th Baronet, has the same name as Henry's father in the movie. I wonder if the scene where Henry tells Daphne all about her dead ancestors might have had some factuality to it. At the very least, I'm sure most of the people in the portraits were legitimate Dashwoods!