Apartment

 NB! Have a look at the following two blog post from my other blog, investigatingpoirot.blogspot.com as well: 'The Apartment in Text and on Screen' and 'The Apartment on Screen: 1989-2001 v. 2005-present'. I've expanded what I've written and posted here.

While I was ’researching’ for the chronology of episodes, I decided it would be fun to try and get an overview of Poirot’s flat; where the different rooms are situated, what objects are present, differences between episodes etc. On this little additional page, I want to give a general presentation (in pictures) of the layout of 56B, Whitehaven Mansions – as it appears in the older and the newer episodes

As a visitor to Poirot’s flat, what you would first encounter is the building itself. The producers of the Poirot series chose Florin Court, Charterhouse Square, London as the location of the apartment building.They shot the building continuosly for 48 hours and used the shots for at least 15 years. As Poirot moved into another flat in the same building (2005/2006-season), the production team presumably went back and shot a new set of clips of the building. Notice the fact that the screencap to the right ( of the newer episodes, furthest below) is essentially the same shot as the one next to it, just with computer-edited 'darkness'. Interesting!

Once you’d pressed the doorbell of 56B, you would (in most cases) be greeted by Miss Lemon in the early years and by George in the most recent episodes. Once inside, you would hang your coat and hat on the hall stand and be showed into the office/living room/dining room of the flat. 

In addition to the building, the hallway and the living room, there are (at least) four rooms in the 'old' flat you would probably not see when visiting the flat; the bathroom, the bedroom, the kitchen and Miss Lemon's office. Interestingly, these rooms appear to have changed layout quite frequently throughout the series (see pictures). I guess this is because the production team only built the sets they needed for every season. In  the 'new' flat, we have only seen Poirot's bedroom. A kitchen, a bathroom or George's room have not (and probably will not) appear on screen.

I find it facinating that the similarities between the 'old' and the 'new' apartment are surprisingly many. The living room has essentially the same layout, with a dining area and a sitting area - only the 'office' and the bookshelves have been provided with a separate room. The hallway is remarkably similar as well, with two doors leading into the living room and several other doors coresponding quite well with the doors of e.g. the kitchen, the bedroom and the bathroom. The only significant addition, really, seems to be the 'library'/'office'. Finally, both apartments are admiringly faithful to Agatha Christie's descriptions in the novels, as well as the Florin Court/Whitehaven Mansions exterior.

THE BUILDING

THE HALLWAY

THE LIVING ROOM: SITTING AREA

THE LIVING ROOM: DESK/'OFFICE'

        

THE LIVING ROOM: DINING AREA

THE BATHROOM

THE BEDROOM

THE KITCHEN

MISS LEMON'S OFFICE

 A BIT OF EVERYWHERE