Cranford Christmas Special – Part One: August 1844
It’s late summer 1844 and two years on since Miss Matty Jenkyns lost her beloved sister, Deborah. But her home is once again full of life and bustle. Not only has her brother Peter stayed on in Cranford, but her dream of having a child in the house has been realised in the birth of Tilly, daughter of her maid Martha and her carpenter husband, Jem Hearne. Miss Matty relishes every moment being the centre of such a busy household.
The shadow of the railway still looms over the town. But much to the relief of Matty and the town ladies – Miss Pole, Mrs Forrester, Mrs Jamieson and Miss Tomkinson – Lady Ludlow has steadfastly refused to sell the land that would allow it to come into Cranford itself. For others, however, this spells disaster: Captain Brown believes that modernisation is inevitable if the town is to survive.
When Cranford native Mr Buxton returns to town with his son and niece, William and Erminia, Matty can see that father and son’s grief over Mrs Buxton’s recent death has left them at odds with each other, and that William and Erminia are in need of company. Matty is also concerned about another young person whom she sees only at church: Peggy Bell lives in an isolated cottage outside the town with her inattentive mother, Mrs Bell, and domineering brother Edward. So Matty decides to intervene, and engineers an invitation that will bring the four young people together.
The surprise arrival of Lady Ludow’s son, Lord Septimus, leads to a chain of unexpected events. Captain Brown believes he has secured rights to bring the railway line into Cranford, only to be shocked by the discovery that Mr Buxton holds its fate in his hands.
Meanwhile, tragedy strikes in Miss Matty’s own house and she finds she must re-evaluate her opinions of the railway and think for herself. Can she change the course of events and, if so, should she?
Miss Matty Jenkyns (Dame Judi Dench)
Peter Jenkyns (Nicholas Le Prevost)
Mary Smith (Lisa Dillon)
Martha (Claudie Blakley)
Jem Hearne (Andrew Buchan)
Miss Pole (Imelda Staunton)
Mrs Forrester (Julia McKenzie)
Mrs Jamieson (Barbara Flynn)
Miss Tomkinson (Deborah Findlay)
Lady Ludlow (Francesca Annis)
Lord Septimus Hanbury (Rory Kinnear)
Sir Charles Maulver (Greg Wise)
Harry Gregson (Alex Etel)
Miss Galindo (Emma Fielding)
Rev Hutton (Alex Jennings)
Captain Brown (Jim Carter)
Mr Johnson (Adrian Scarborough)
Mrs Johnson (Debra Gillett)
Mr Buxton (Jonathan Pryce)
William Buxton (Tom Hiddleston)
Erminia (Michelle Dockery)
Peggy Bell (Jodie Whittaker)
Mrs Bell (Lesley Sharp)
Edward Bell (Matthew McNulty)
8 Responses to “Cranford Christmas Special – Part One: August 1844”
Comment from Nigel
Time 21 December 2009 at 5:47 pm
If you’re wondering, the railway scenes were all filmed at the Foxfield Railway in Staffordshire and the locomotive featured is Bellerophon which will be in action on the 2nd and 3rd January 2010 for some Cranford Christmas specials
Comment from Merja Tammi
Time 23 December 2009 at 3:28 pm
My reward for getting all the Christmas prep ready was to watch the first part and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I can’t wait to view part two.
Comment from P Knapper
Time 28 December 2009 at 10:00 pm
Sorry folks but after attempting to watch both episodes I and a good many other people I spoke to found it utterly boring. I my self only watched it to see the parts filmed at the Foxfield Railway, the storyline in my view was weak, acted to perfection but sadly let down by the content.
Comment from J Carter
Time 29 December 2009 at 12:47 am
Never never boring, absolutely wonderful, I was crying one minute and then laughing out loud the next, sheer joy to watch with fabulous actors, Imelda Staunton is in a league of her own in this adaptation.
It’s so nice to appreciate and to be able to watch great TV, instead of the usual garbage that seems to appeal to the “great unwashed”.
Comment from P Knapper
Time 31 December 2009 at 6:49 pm
I totally agree with J Carter about the garbage TV force fed to us all, that’s why I was so disappointed with Cranford, I was hoping for something better from it. Ho well, me and the unwashed masses will just have to keep looking in the press until then I think i will switch my TV off.
Comment from Robert
Time 18 January 2010 at 3:57 am
Part 2 just ended in the U.S. What a delightful program! The chief novel, the two novellas, and the short stories have been wonderfully interwoven into a story showing the delight, the pain, anxiety, challenges and disasters of the onset of the industrial age and the resulting social change. The acting, the sets, the costumes were unbelievably good; playing the series theme as a waltz at the Christmas ball was an inspired ending to a terrific series. We got the Gaskell collection in DVDs, and we will get the Return as well.
Comment from Joanna
Time 20 January 2010 at 9:23 pm
I have just discovered Cranford on BT demand and am completely hooked. I was dismayed to realised I had missed the Christmas special and the start of the new series. Does anyone know where I can catch up? Iplayer does not seem to help.
Thanks!
Comment from Period Dramas.com
Time 14 December 2009 at 11:23 am
I’m really looking forward to this! Thanks for posting this info!
This first part is going to be shown on BBC 1 on the 20th of Dec. 2009, at 21:00 UK time.