MovieChat Forums > Father Brown (2013) Discussion > Too many Catholics ...

Too many Catholics ...

posted 8 years ago by minifie-1
5 replies | jump to latest

..for a small village. The books were set in London, where one would expect a fairly sizeable Catholic congregation but the TV series - presumably out to attract the Marple/Midsomer audience have transferred Father Brown to a small Cotswold village where the only Anglican vicars appeared in one episode as a plot device - opponents of a visiting pagan sect. I doubt if almost the entire village would be Catholic as the show seems to suggest. I also agree with contributors to the thread criticizing the inspector as a choleric buffoon who continues to doubt Father Brown's involvement despite the padre as he calls him literally saving his neck. Too much of a caricature, I'm afraid.

[–] benbrae76 8 years ago

This has already been discussed in the thread...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2215842/board/thread/253622175

[–] louiseculmer 8 years ago

it is quite bizarre. if there was a religion other than catholic in a 50s village, it would be more likely to be methodists perhaps, but all these papists are really strange.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] louiseculmer 8 years ago

There are some english cities with a high proportion of catholics - Liverpool springs to mind. But that's because of all the irish immigrants. And Irish immigrants tended not to flock to cotswold villages. And if there was a catholic church at all, it would likely be a modern building, not a traditional old church as father brown's seems to be. The old churches all became C of E af the Reformation. Catholic churches in Englnad to the best of my knowledge tend to be 19th century or later.

[–] madseavets 8 years ago

There are some english cities with a high proportion of catholics - Liverpool springs to mind. But that's because of all the irish immigrants. And Irish immigrants tended not to flock to cotswold villages.

Actually, Lancashire had a relatively high proportion of Catholics even without the Irish immigrants. It was fairly remote from London, so they were less affected by the changes during the reformation. According to Wikipedia, it had more than 20% Catholics in the 18th Century. There were also Polish, Italian and Spanish catholic immigrants into Liverpool and the industrial towns in the 19th century but, as you say, there would be no reason for a Cotswold village to have so many Catholics! Another odd one is "The Eagle Has Landed". That seems to be set in a Catholic village in East Anglia!