Behind The Scenes At The World’s Grandest Drive-In Cinemas

Drive-in cinemas in England never took off in the same way as they did in the U.S. Considered uncouth and unnecessary, drive-ins and drive-throughs are rare in the U.K. Our cars are smaller anyway.

But now that prime minister Boris Johnson has said drive-in cinemas can go ahead from Monday (15 June), England is suddenly home to some of the grandest drive-in cinemas on the planet.

This summer, drivers can watch Downton Abbey at Knebworth House, an appropriate setting given the Tutor Gothic country house has been home to the Lytton-Cobbold family for over 500 years.

There is also “Car Park Theatre (by Horrible Histories)” at Powderham Castle, home to the Earl of Devon. Back To The Future will be screened at Blenheim Palace, built at the turn of the 18th century. And other historic homes up and down the country are readying themselves for post-pandemic drive-ins.

But behind the perfectly produced pictures, all is not so rosy at these ancient stately homes.

“The venues we work with have lost 99% of their events schedule for the summer with festivals and most open-air events going,” says George Wood, whose Luna Cinema is organising shows at Blenhiem, Knebworth and other historic venues this summer.

“Hundreds of historic house and garden attractions are facing uncertainty and maybe even closure because of the impact of lockdown,” says Historic Houses, a body representing Britain’s independently owned historic homes.

Take Blenheim Palace: It normally receives close to one million visitors every year. However, since the U.K. leisure and hospitality industry is still subject to lockdown rules (which prohibit ticketed events and indoor gatherings of more than one household), its vast halls and garden lie empty.

While visitors stay away the bills do not. Maintenance of these houses is a near constant process of keeping them upright.

Highclere Castle is not currently the backdrop to any drive-in cinemas, but it is the real life backdrop to one iconic piece of movie history: Downton Abbey.

Normally this time of year the castle and grounds is at its busiest, with tours, weddings and events taking up the summer season and providing the bulk of its revenue. Now, however, its 300-odd rooms are completely quiet.

“We have no money without visitors going across the door,” says Lady Fiona Carnarvon. “The whole gamut of the hospitality business has gone from quite a successful business to absolutely zero which is a really frightening place to be.”

In order to pay some of its maintenance bills Highclere is turning to other forms of media. Its virtual cocktail parties have become popular with thousands of Downton fans around the world who can imagine they are drinking Highclere Gin (another business line) in its grand reception rooms. Lady Carnarvon herself has launched a podcast.

These forays into media will provide much needed income but will not cover even half the bills. “No one is going to get rich from doing drive-in cinema this summer,” says Wood.

But “getting rich” is so far beyond the hopes of many historic house owners. In a recent survey jointly commissioned by Historic England and Historic Houses, 53% of house and garden attractions said they would not have enough reserves to reopen after a three month lockdown.

Now that those three months are nearly up, and lockdown continues for the leisure and hospitality industry, those figures look even more dire. If these houses are not allowed to open in two to three months time from now, three quarters might never reopen again. Some might be sold and others portioned up or redeveloped.

This will be devastating to the U.K. leisure industry. The vast majority of Britain’s beloved historic houses, castles and gardens open to the public. But it is not just that: Their grounds and interiors are often home to festivals, weddings, fairs and thousands of other events, all of which have been written off this summer.

For now, these historic houses will have to make do with being the world’s grandest drive-in cinemas, which is not something to be sniffed at. “Having the backdrop of somewhere like Blenheim is what makes it so unique,” says Wood.

Lady Carnarvon agrees that “people need days out and need things to look forward to.” At a time when there is little of that, these vast homes can at least provide some enjoyment to a populous suffering severe cabin fever.