Iconic opening scenes

For the last few weeks Rye News has been celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first broadcast of Mapp and Lucia. The iconic TV interpretation of EF Benson’s work was filmed in Rye and Camber in the mid ’80s. The series, which starred Geraldine McEwan, Prunella Scales and Nigel Hawthorne is being repeated on Rewind TV.

In her final article looking back at the show, Kim Rye looks at the story of the eye-catching opening and closing titles.

The fascinating ‘roller’ painting in the opening credits captivated me from the first time I saw it. Being a ‘Rye-aholic’ myself, I loved the attention to detail and the way it captured the essence of our beautiful town – and the Marsh beyond.

I managed to track down Reg Cartwright, the title sequence illustrator. He was the artist who painted such a wonderful mural that appears to roll in time to the classical theme tune, written by the late great Jim Parker.

You can see the complete opening titles on the TV Ark website.

Reg told me he created the iconic artwork without visiting Rye. “This was when Channel 4 first started rostrum camera work and they told me to create a long, narrow scene, with a picture of the two lead actresses in the middle. I’m based in Leicestershire so my London agent arranged to get me enough references for the places that featured.”

He explained the illustration, which features Mapp and Lucia along with pastoral scenes of the lanes around the marsh outside Rye, was painted purely from images from tourist guides, and Geraldine and Prunella’s images were reproduced from a publicity photo. “I even had to get the right car for the image. The whole thing was finished off with the image of the town perched on the hill. I’ve never been to Rye in my life.”

Getting the artwork to play in tune with the music wasn’t easy. “Each scene had to change with the direction of the music. I worked out that the canvas would have to be taped to the wall with masking tape so that I could paint along it. So I bought a roll of canvas and cut off the right width. The sequence had to last one minute and 20 seconds, and when the theme music changed it would have to ‘match’ the illustration. I had to do it with a stopwatch. It took me three weeks to complete. The reason I had to paint it on a long narrow canvas was because it was to be filmed slowly by a rostrum camera on a track.”

The painting had to be rolled up and transported to the studios in London. “After the series aired I started to get lots of enquiries from people who wanted to buy it and eventually sold it to a famous celebrity.”

Reg did not, of course, reveal the name of the purchaser.

Reg, now in his 80s, took up his artist career after completing national service. He worked for advertising agencies that had art studios attached for 17 years, selling commissions at exhibitions in London which led to enquiries from agents wishing to represent him.

He went freelance in 1978 and did commercial work and supplied material for The Sunday Times and Observer colour supplements.

Reg describes himself as a “retired book illustrator”. Modestly he told me: “I am just an ordinary painter now. I have illustrated books such as Selina Hastings’ Canterbury Tales and the children’s book Mr Potter’s Pigeon by Patrick Kinmonth. He was my next-door neighbour and came to watch me paint. One of the paintings I had done was of a pigeon fancier. I told Patrick about this and he wrote a story based on the picture. At the time I was asked to do the Mapp and Lucia picture I had never done anything for television.”

Reg’s paintings can be found online.

You can find Rewind TV on Freeview Channel 92, Sky TV 182, and Freely 150. More details on the schedule are here.

Click here for more from Kim Rye with pictures behind the scenes during the recording of Mapp and Lucia forty years ago, here for some of the locations used during filming, and here for a look at some of the costumes created for the series.

Image Credits: Reg Cartwright/ITV/Rex Features .