Lara's Home
Tomb Raider 1 - Chronicles
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In 1990, Lara Croft inherited the Surrey mansion and its butler, Winston, from her Great Aunt. She initially saw very little use for it except for to house her treasures and artefacts from her travels. The house is made up of seven rooms: the main hall, the ballroom, a swimming pool, Lara's bedroom, the library and two other sealed rooms.
Surrounding the mansion is a large walled off and well kept garden. At the front of the house is an ornate waterfall, which remains almost unchanged over the next five years. ~ TIDBIT: Croft mansion was created in one weekend by Toby Gard. Also, the design of the mansion is inspired by Kedleston Hall. ~ |
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However in 1996, Lara decided to put a lot of the furniture and old belongings into storage and converted the ballroom into a gym to help keep her in shape for her adventures. When the player visits her mansion, she apologises for the crates still being in the main hall, as the delivery people haven't been yet to collect them. There are still a few treasures lying about, though, as the Ark of the Covenant can be seen by the front door and a golden treasure chest full of gold is seen in one of the corridors leading to the gym. The wooden beams in the ceiling reveal how old this building is but it has been modernised with electricity and water pipes. The ballroom no doubt would've hosted countless parties and dances, but Lara has no time or no interest in that sort of lifestyle. Instead she has added obstacles that test her jumping distance and shimmeying abilities. |
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In the joining room is a swimming pool. The walls are decorated with mosaics showing various scenes, whilst the room itself follows an earthy theme - the use of browns, blacks and beige in the floor tiles compliments the flowers, shrubs and ivy that are scattered around the perimeter. The glass ceiling makes it perfect for an evening swim. |
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By November 1997, Lara had made quite a few changed to her home. As a visitor to her mansion, you can now see a few more rooms have been opened up and there is more for you to do.
You can see the grounds in all its stately manner. There are beautifully kept hedging and a wide driveway up to the front door. In front of the wing, there is still the water fountain, still in the form of a fish. On one side of the house is a maze that hides a secret area, and on the other is an assault course. |
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Players were greeted by Winston along side the newly built assault course, though it isn't time for tea yet. The course itself contained more elements than the indoors course did, including a zipline, an underwater tunnel and some cargo netting. There is also a timer for the player to test their skills for themselves. At the end, there is a beautiful orchard, and Lara invites you to explore the rest of the house and gardens. |
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The last time we were at Croft Mansion, there were crates in the main hall, but now we can see the hall in all its spacious glory. There is an antique summer-garden feel to the theme of the interior. The carpets have changed from a salmon colour to a orange/blue patterning. Lara has also moved a grandfather clock and a couple of paintings to fill the space between the two arches.
~ TIDBIT: There are several real life paintings hung around Lara's Home. They include 'Mares and Foals in a River Landscape' by George Stubbs, 'Two Ladies of the Lake Family' by Peter Lely, 'Portrait of Mary Queen of Scots' by Nicholas Hilliard and 'La Dame à la licorne'. ~ We get to see what the kitchen looks like in this beautiful home. It's in a lovely country style with wooden cupboard doors and herbs hanging out to dry. The antique orange colour is seen again on the wall tiles. The large windows allow in plenty of light and there are some small scalloped netting to make the windows look a little less plain. There is a cold storage room on the left side of the kitchen, a small dining table to eat breakfast at and a nice old fashioned cooker.
As you can see, with the enhanced assault course outside the mansion, there isn't much need to have the obstacles indoors too. Lara has had them put into storage too in case she changes her mind.
Now the room is back to being a ballroom again. The knight armour is still in the room but Lara has added a music player, some speakers and a chaise lounge. The swimming pool remains almost unchanged. The earthy tones are still there and most of the mosaics are the same, except for the tiling around the centre of the walls. The statue of a woman on a plinth has been replaced with a diving board, and the statue has been moved into one of the alcoves. The gas burner that stands between the pillars are still there but a lot of the greenery has been tidied up - the hanging ivy has been removed and the shrubs have also been put into the alcoves.
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The music room is emptier than before. The piano and harp are still here but the gym mat has been taken out and replaced with a large rug.
The library looks a little different: the table that sat in the doorway is gone, the fireplace has changed too and the carpet has been replaced with one that is the same throughout the house. |
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Lara's bedroom is also available to see, or you may see it for the first time if you play 'Home Sweet Home' beforehand. Whilst the country theme is applied to this room too, it seems Lara was inspired to buy some Oriental themed bedding before she set off for China. Beside her bed is a cupboard, where Lara stores her clothing and her weapons. There's also a fireplace to keep her warm, which is typical of old houses where fire was the only form of heating.
There is also an ensuite bathroom, which features what you'd think it would - toilet, bidet, sink, shower and a step-in bath. |
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One of the new doorways that the player can go through leads to an attic. There isn't much to see, just several crates covered over with dust covers. Maybe these are the remains of the indoor gym? |
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As well as the assault course, players can partake in a run around the outdoors maze. If you can find the secret area within, there is a button to press that opens the door to the basement.
Down in the basement, players can see where Lara hides her treasure from any thieves who attempt to break into her home.
Down in the basement, players can see where Lara hides her treasure from any thieves who attempt to break into her home.
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By November 1998, Lara had customised her home once more.
Indoors, the main differences were the ball room, which had been converted back into the gym, with a separated dining room to the left, and a hidden treasure room that now exists in the main hall. There is also a hidden switch in the main hall to open the treasure room that can be opened using the switch in the pool room. The attic has a door on the front, and there has been a few cosmetic changes too. The wood panelling around the house has been stained a darker brown, the blue floor tiles are now black and the floral carpets are now red. The basement was converted from a storage room for all of Lara's gold and treasure, and is now a secret library, kitted out with a large aquarium. |
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Outdoors, the biggest change was seen to the hedge maze, which is now a dirt course for a quadbike. The outdoors assault course had a few extra obstacles added to it, such as an overhead ladder for monkey swinging and a zipline, but at the very end is a shooting range - somehow, poor Winston had been roped in as a live target, but thankfully the tea tray absorbs Lara's bullets.
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As with Tomb Raider 2, developers wanted players to test their abilities and have the chance to improve their own skills. The outdoors assault course has a timer, as it did in TR2, that starts when Lara steps on the first obstacle. You are penalised for mistakes and the timer stops if you step off the course. The quadbike course also has a timer. You can look at the stopwatch in the inventory to see a record of your times for your current playthrough.
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A new feature added to the game is the ability to leave the Manor grounds and start the main game through the front gate. Lara will say that it is time to start the third adventure.
It wasn't until 2000, until 'Tomb Raider Chronicles' that the manor was seen again, however it didn't return as a playable level.
Due to the events at the end of 'Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation', Lara's closest and most trusted friends gather at Croft Manor to tell some tales about Lara's adventures. We are given glimpses to a sitting room and also the trophy room. It seems that it is well known that Lara likes to hide rooms and their opening mechanisms as Charles Kane jokes to Winston about it, but Winston knows a second way in - probably for just in case the buttons to get to the trophy room are broken.
Due to the events at the end of 'Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation', Lara's closest and most trusted friends gather at Croft Manor to tell some tales about Lara's adventures. We are given glimpses to a sitting room and also the trophy room. It seems that it is well known that Lara likes to hide rooms and their opening mechanisms as Charles Kane jokes to Winston about it, but Winston knows a second way in - probably for just in case the buttons to get to the trophy room are broken.
There are differences to the in-game and FMV manors, as the FMVs were created by an external company.
Players are given a tour of the front of the manor and the main hall during the main menu fly-by. We can even see Charles Kane browsing through a bookcase. On PC you can use cheats and fan made programs to explore the map.
Players are given a tour of the front of the manor and the main hall during the main menu fly-by. We can even see Charles Kane browsing through a bookcase. On PC you can use cheats and fan made programs to explore the map.
Sadly, that is the last time that we see the classic manor. There were plans to bring it into the story of 'Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness' with a mention of Lara burning it down whilst in a state of depression. Thankfully this didn't happen.
Lara Croft Tomb Raider & Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
Released in 2001, the first official Tomb Raider was released and fans got to see a brand new Croft manor. There were some big differences to the games' counterpart.
Filming took place at Hatfield House, and the first time around, we got to see the main hall, Lara's bedroom and ensuite, an observatory, a library, tech centre, a faux Egypt training area and a garage. Obviously, in a building as large as this is, there are far more rooms than we got to see, specifically 83, but thankfully, one of Bryce's computers provides a short list.
Filming took place at Hatfield House, and the first time around, we got to see the main hall, Lara's bedroom and ensuite, an observatory, a library, tech centre, a faux Egypt training area and a garage. Obviously, in a building as large as this is, there are far more rooms than we got to see, specifically 83, but thankfully, one of Bryce's computers provides a short list.
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Cloak room, lower gallery, estate office, ballroom, analysis room, tech room, King James dining room, armoury, gentlemens room, library, west hall, blue hall, marble entrance, east hall, smoking room, minstrels gallery, day room, ladies day room, main hall and north hall.
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It should also be noted that some of the interior shots were taken at Pinewood Studios (especially as in one scene, Lara's home is invaded and there are bullet holes everywhere!) and the house provided the exterior shots.
Lara's tech companion, Bryce Turing, seems to live on site but he lives in a trailer out the front.
Lara's tech companion, Bryce Turing, seems to live on site but he lives in a trailer out the front.
In the second movie, we saw a different hallway and more of the land outside. Lara had set up a shooting range in the surrounding woodlands. Lara also managed to get Bryce inside the house to do some research for her.
Fans would've also seen the 'LC' monogram on the main entrance glass window.
Fans would've also seen the 'LC' monogram on the main entrance glass window.
Tomb Raider: Legend - Tomb Raider: Underworld
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Taking influence from the Tomb Raider movies, the Legend house was familiar to fans and yet it offered something new. As you can imagine, it was very different to the classic manor.
Rooms that you could explore were: the main hall, a tech centre, the gym and a swimming pool room, all on the ground floor. Upstairs was Lara's bedroom and a library, plus two locked doors. There were a few things for players to do and solve, and hidden passageways to open up, all making use of Lara's magnetic grapple and her acrobatic skills. |
However, the manor was only fully explored once the player had completed the first level.
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Lara's biography mentioned that the Croft family was granted the title and rights to Abingdon, Surrey by King Edward VI in 1547. The Croft Estates are comprised of three separate manor houses, two of which are maintained by the National Trust, and the third is home to Lady Croft.
As 'Tomb Raider: Anniversary' was a remaster of 'Tomb Raider 1', Croft Manor made its return in another installment. It was the manor from Legend rather than the one from the original game, but story elements that had been previously seen were back again, such as the crates in the hall. There was more to do too, as the player hunted and solved their way to access the locked music room. The manor became more of a story level but it was still open to explore once the story was complete, though there wasn't much to do after.
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The gym, swimming pool room, library and Lara's bedroom returned, but the main hall had lost the tech centre. The two previously locked doors became a trophy room and the music room. For the first time in the Crystal Dynamics games, the grounds outside were open to explore, and players were able to see a large outdoors maze - something that hadn't been seen since 'Tomb Raider 2'.
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Books scattered around the manor paid homage to the past games as they told stories of past artefacts and locations.
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In 2008, the manor returns in 'Tomb Raider: Underworld'. A trailer warns players however that it will be blown up by Lara's doppelganger.
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There is a level before hand that takes place in Croft Manor, which reveals a hidden family crypt just off from the tech centre. Notably Lara's grandfather's tomb is here but he isn't buried inside. Instead it hides a secret passageway to an underground cavern, and this is where Richard Croft stored his prized files, the right gauntlet of Thor and caged thralls. Sadly, the FMV seen at the start of the game happens here, and players must help Lara escape the burning manor.
In the DLC 'Beneath the Ashes', there is some additional gameplay that takes place in the chasm around Richard's secret hideaway. Lara uncovers another Norse artefact that, when using the words engraved on it, has the power to control thralls.
In the DLC 'Beneath the Ashes', there is some additional gameplay that takes place in the chasm around Richard's secret hideaway. Lara uncovers another Norse artefact that, when using the words engraved on it, has the power to control thralls.
Rise of the Tomb Raider - Shadow of the Tomb Raider
When the series went through a reboot, it was in 'Rise of the Tomb Raider' in 2015 that players saw the manor again, though in the main story, it wasn't open to visit. We see that Lara has made use of her father's study as she researches the symbol that she had seen in Syria, and at the end of the game, we see Lara setting off for her next adventure with Jonah Maiava by her side.
A year later, for the celebration of Tomb Raider's 20th anniversary, a DLC level called 'Blood Ties' had players going around the manor, searching for clues for Lara's inheritance to the place.
When Lara's mother, Amelia, died, Richard looked after a young Lara, with the help of Winston. He struggled with her passing and so he sealed off the west wing of the house, closing away Amelia's atelier. When Richard disappeared, the manor is left to Amelia's brother, Atlas DeMorney, as executor of the estates. He told Lara in a letter that she had no legal claims on the manor. He and Ana, Richard's partner before he disappeared, agreed that Lara should speak to a therapist as she had been acting differently after the events on Yamatai. This backfired on him so he wrote to Lara, telling her to give up the manor willingly. Once Lara returned from Siberia after the search for the Divine Source, she was driven to keep the manor and to restore her family's name. She uncovered building plans and remembers that he had hidden something in the safe for her when she was old enough. She finds a letter with a hidden map that leads to a hidden room. Lara learns that after the plane crash, Richard had brought her mother's body to the manor, and she uncovers a crypt in the wall above the first set of stairs. With the discovery of the family crypt, Atlas responds in a letter by saying that he now has no legal claim over the estates - Croft Manor belongs to Lara.
With the story of 'Blood Ties' complete, players are free to roam about, looking for any other relics and documents.
A year later, for the celebration of Tomb Raider's 20th anniversary, a DLC level called 'Blood Ties' had players going around the manor, searching for clues for Lara's inheritance to the place.
When Lara's mother, Amelia, died, Richard looked after a young Lara, with the help of Winston. He struggled with her passing and so he sealed off the west wing of the house, closing away Amelia's atelier. When Richard disappeared, the manor is left to Amelia's brother, Atlas DeMorney, as executor of the estates. He told Lara in a letter that she had no legal claims on the manor. He and Ana, Richard's partner before he disappeared, agreed that Lara should speak to a therapist as she had been acting differently after the events on Yamatai. This backfired on him so he wrote to Lara, telling her to give up the manor willingly. Once Lara returned from Siberia after the search for the Divine Source, she was driven to keep the manor and to restore her family's name. She uncovered building plans and remembers that he had hidden something in the safe for her when she was old enough. She finds a letter with a hidden map that leads to a hidden room. Lara learns that after the plane crash, Richard had brought her mother's body to the manor, and she uncovers a crypt in the wall above the first set of stairs. With the discovery of the family crypt, Atlas responds in a letter by saying that he now has no legal claim over the estates - Croft Manor belongs to Lara.
With the story of 'Blood Ties' complete, players are free to roam about, looking for any other relics and documents.
In the DLC 'Lara's Nightmare', Lara goes around her home, taking out enemies that she had encountered in Siberia whilst trying to overcome her Uncle Atlas.
When 'Shadow of the Tomb Raider' released in 2018, players were treated to seeing the grounds of the Reboot manor as we followed the adventure of a young Lara. We find out that this is the day that her father is shot in the library.
After the adventure in Peru, Lara returned home, and we see that she has moved comfortably into her father's office. She has also hired staff again as a butler walked in with a tray of tea. We see artefacts from her travels scattered around on the bookcases as well as several items pertaining to her mother by her side.
~ TIDBIT: When the game released, it had an original and alternative ending that featured some differences, such as the Serpent Guard outfit kept in the gallery, Lara's weapons hung up on the wall in the study and a letter from Jacqueline Natla sat on the desk in front of Lara before she picks it up. ~
Tomb Raider (2018) Movie
For the third movie in the series, and one that followed the reboot trilogy, Wilton House in Salisbury, England, became the new Croft Manor.
It was seen for a few scenes in the film. Lara had chosen to live in an apartment instead of the manor, but she was given a clue that resulted in her returning back to her childhood home. She goes outside to the family mausoleum and finds a secret study that belonged to her father.
It was seen for a few scenes in the film. Lara had chosen to live in an apartment instead of the manor, but she was given a clue that resulted in her returning back to her childhood home. She goes outside to the family mausoleum and finds a secret study that belonged to her father.