Treasure of Abbot Thomas, The
Date: 1974
Director: Lawrence Gordon Clark
Production Company: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Stars: Michael Bryant, Sheila Dunn, Anne Blake, Frank Mills, Virginia Balfour, Paul Lavers, John Herrington, Peggy Aitchison
Location(s): Somerset
Region(s): South East R-Z
Storyline:
An academic clergyman and his protégé seek out a cache of gold which once belonged a disgraced 15th century alchemist.
Additional Information:
Page compiled by Phil Wilkinson
An episode broadcast as part of the BBC’s ‘A Ghost Story for Christmas’ series
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- Capture 1
- 'Now' required
A pan begins the story as the titles appear. St. Mary's church standing on an island in Church Lake at Orchardleigh, Somerset.
- Capture 2
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Moving to find a large country house in the distance, the scene cuts to a closer view. Orchardleigh House in Somerset, seen from the west.
- Capture 3
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Inside the building, mediums Mr. and Mrs. Tyson attempt to make contact with Lady Dattering's recently departed husband. Orchardleigh House to the south-west of Lullington in the Mendip Hills.
- Capture 4
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Suspicious of the spiritualists, Peter, now Lord Dattering, seeks out his tutor Reverend Somerton at Oriel College. Wells Cathedral on Cathedral Green in Wells, Somerset.
- Capture 5
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Peter (Paul Lavers) asks the Reverend Justin Somerton (Michael Bryant) to attend the next seance as his mother's guest.
- Capture 6
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As he speaks of his interest in the disgraced churchman and alchemist Abbott Thomas, the Reverend peers through a window to see cloaked Figures in the cloister.
- Capture 7
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Uncovering the clairvoyants as frauds, Peter is reminded of Gravely church when his tutor recites a poem by Browning in Norman French. St. Mary's church at Orchardleigh.
- Capture 8
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Peter explains to the Reverend Somerton why it's known as the church on the water. Orchardleigh House in Orchardleigh Park, Somerset.
- Capture 9
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Mrs. Tyson (Sheila Dunn) turns as she and her Husband (Frank Mills) walk from the estate following their exposure. Looking towards Orchardleigh Castle on the Orchardleigh Estate.
- Capture 10
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Discovering a clue in a photograph of a stained glass window at Gravely church, Peter and the Reverend look up at the roof of the College chapel.
- Capture 11
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Climbing one of the towers, Reverend Somerton and Peter "look down from on high, to see what hidden." The Chapter House of Wells Cathedral.
- Capture 12
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Having no head for heights, the Reverend becomes faint. The view to the south-east from Wells Cathedral.
- Capture 13
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Leaving his tutor to recover, Peter continues the search for an answer from the clue. Wells Cathedral in Somerset.
- Capture 14
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Birds fly in to the distance when Reverend Somerton is unnerved by a black shadow passing over him. In the distance stand properties on Bekynton Avenue in Woodbury, Wells.
- Capture 15
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Returning to the Reverend, Peter shows him the entrance to a concealed culvert in the chapel graveyard. Looking down onto the grounds of the Cathedral Church of St. Andrew in Wells.
- Capture 16
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That evening, Reverend Somerton enters the tunnel where he dislodges a stone and gets covered in a black oozing slime before finding a bag.
- Capture 17
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Two days later, Peter makes his way to the Reverend's room where he finds him incapacitated following his ordeal in the tunnel. Vicars' Close in Wells, Somerset.
- Capture 18
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After Peter returns Abbott Thomas's bag to the tunnel, Reverend Somerton convalesces on the terrace in the company of Lady Dattering (Virginia Balfour) and her friend Miss Janet Punch-Highcliffe (Anne Blake). Facing Orchardleigh House near Lullington.
- Capture 19
- 'Now' required
When his companions return to the house, a Cloaked Figure approaches the Reverend. The grounds of Orchardleigh House in Somerset.