Did you know that two quiet Hertfordshire towns are the backdrops for a major Hollywood movie?
Released in 2013, Edgar Wright's box office smash hit The World's End, featuring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, was primarily filmed in Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City.
The World's End is the third and final film in the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, which includes Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.
In the film, Pegg and Frost star alongside Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, Rosamund Pike and Paddy Considine.
According to IMDb, Wright's film sees five friends reunite to recreate their pub crawl from 20 years earlier, but they unwittingly become humanity's only hope for survival.
The World's End is set in the fictional town of Newton Haven; in its place, two Hertfordshire towns were used as backdrops.
The two Hertfordshire towns used in the Hollywood hit The World's End
Welwyn Garden City and Letchworth were combined to create Newton Haven, with several pubs in both towns used in the film.
According to Herts Memories, The Peartree Pub in Welwyn Garden City was used in Wright's project, appearing as interior shots for two fake pubs used in The World's End.
The full list of pubs in Welwyn Garden City and Letchworth used in The World's End is as follows:
- The Peartree stood in for The First Post
- The Doctor's Tonic stood in for The Old Familiar
- Two Willows stood in for The Famous Cock
- The Parkway (now closed) stood in for The Cross Hands
- Wendy's Shop (now closed) stood in for The Good Companions
- The Three Magnets stood in for The Trusty Servant
- The Colonnade stood in for The Two-Headed Dog
- The Broadway Cinema stood in for The Mermaid
- Thai Garden Restaurant stood in for The Beehive
- The Arena Tavern stood in for The King's Head
- Letchworth Railway Station stood in for The Hole in the Wall
- The Gardener's Arms (now The Wilbury) stood in for The World's End
It was not just local pubs that were used in The World's End, as Letchworth's Leys Avenue was heavily featured as Newton Haven's main strip and the main route of the pub crawl.
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There is some irony in Wright's filming being carried out in Letchworth, as the town was once a dry area.
Up until 1960, the town had no licence to sell alcohol, and it was not until 1974 that Letchworth got its first pub licence.
Have you spotted your local in The World's End? Let us know in the comments.
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