Mentmore Towers, the historic English estate that served as Bruce Wayne's on-screen home in "Batman Begins," has become home to real bats, complicating long-overdue repairs, according to infohub.kz.
Built between 1852 and 1854 for the Rothschild family, Mentmore Towers is a Grade I listed building, one of the highest categories of historic protection in the UK. The design was by architect Joseph Paxton, also known for the Crystal Palace.
In 2005, the mansion gained worldwide fame as the Wayne family estate in Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins," where Bruce Wayne, played by Christian Bale, lived. The house featured in several key scenes.
Now, the real mansion could use a superhero owner. Buckinghamshire Council has issued an official notice requiring urgent repairs. According to authorities, the roofs, chimneys, windows, skylights, and lead elements are in poor condition. Historic England has rated some parts of the house as "very bad."
Because the house is a historic monument, owners must consider the interests of its animal residents before starting work. Bats are legally protected in the UK, so any work must avoid destroying their roosts or disturbing their habitats. The council has demanded that a bat specialist be appointed and three surveys of bat emergence be conducted by August 2027. If owners fail to bring the house up to standard, authorities could pursue a compulsory purchase order.
So, the house that in film belonged to a man who dressed as a bat is now actually occupied by bats. Unlike Bruce Wayne, however, they show no intention of paying for the costly renovations.
Earlier, Kursiv LifeStyle reported that the historic Rukavishnikov house in Nizhny Novgorod, remembered by film fans from Alexei Balabanov's cult movie "Zhmurki," was sold.