Set Up
Blofeld has contacted the College to get his title as ‘Count de Bleauchamp’ established and Bond is switching place with a representative from the Heraldry, Sir Hilary Bray Baronet. James Bond decides to go to the College of Arms to learn all he can about heraldry in record time in order to reach Blofeld in Switzerland and do a number on him.
Inside the College of Arms. The Graham Rye 007 Magazine inset shows how the interiors inspired the production design filmed at Pinewood.
As Bond mentions to M, ‘[…] but sir, Blofeld is something of a must for me’.
The College of Arms was first mentioned in Ian Fleming’s 1963 novel, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and made its cinematic debut in its 1969 film adaption of the same name.
The College of Arms is in Queen Victoria Street on the fringe of the city. It is a pleasant little Queen Anne backwater in ancient red brick with white sashed windows and a convenient cobbled courtyard, where Bond parked his car. – Ch6 Bond of Bond Street ? Ian Fleming – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
The College of Arms Courtyard that Bond strolled across in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Bond parks up in the courtyard and walks in. Inside the College of Arms they have Graham Rye’s 007 Magazine there with the features for OHMSS. It does seem nuts they shot the interiors at Pinewood when they modeled it so closely on the Earls Marshal’s Court, which is free for the public to view.
However, as Martijn Mulder from On the Tracks of 007 informed me,
The lighting is usually the issue. A set only has walls, which makes lighting it easier.
Address: College of Arms, 130 Queen Victoria St, London EC4V 4BT
Although reading Bond on Location I’m led to believe they filmed the interiors at Pinewood because it was to be used for a foot chase. Bond kills a secretary secretly recording the conversation for Blofeld on the underground tracks. To cover the murder Mi6 stage an elaborate train crash which can be seen on the headline that another agent is reading waiting for Bond in the Swiss Alps.
“The exterior was filmed on location, of course, but the interior scenes were done at Pinewood Studios, partly because the script originally called for an extended sequence involving a chase over the rooftop College.” James Bond on Location Volume 1
The lady I spoke to inside was very friendly and she said that Bond fans regularly visit this location. I recommend a visit to here to soak in the history and get a glimpse of the world Bond and Fleming were immersing themselves in. Also the family Motto: The World is Not Enough was born here.
In some of the bts photos we see Lazenby (above right) with St Pauls in the background. To his left you can identify what you used to be The Horn Tavern. At some point that got renamed/taken over to The Centre Page. On Google Street maps you can see an old sign for The Front Page. That’s now gone and the premises now looks permanently closed.
As part of the deleted chase scene, an agent of Spectre played by Brian Grellis jumps from a turreted annex found in Knightrider Court. The whole chase scene would have looked much different today with the corrugated steel railings blocking the passage.
Although the above photo (left) I took from where Sermon Lane meets Distaff Lane, and the photo (right) of the rooftop chase is from the other side of the College of Arms, you can identify the intricate details in the window which must be identical on the opposite side of the building (inaccessible to the public).
Closest Bond location: Spectre, Castle Baynard Tunnel. Bond gets kidnapped.
Credit: BTS photos from Thunderballs
