Filming locations
Over 400 historic sites ready to welcome your next project.
Locations with heritage
English Heritage cares for over 400 historic sites across the country, and each and every one of them is ready to welcome your filming or photography project.
From stone circles to medieval castles, country houses to icons of the Industrial Revolution, our unique and flexible locations offer you endless possibilities.
And, thanks to our nationwide collection, we can help you find the perfect location whether you’re filming on the Cornish coast or shooting in the Cumbrian hills.
This lookbook captures just a flavour of everything we have to offer.
Find out more
If you’ve got any questions, a specific request or just a rough idea of what you’re looking for, get in touch with our friendly team at filming.enquiries@english-heritage.org.uk
Gardens
Monuments and landmarks
Castles
Abbeys and priories
Halls and houses
Abbeys and priories
The soaring remains of England’s medieval abbeys and priories have inspired writers, artists and creators for hundreds of years.
We’re lucky to care for some of the charity’s finest examples of these religious houses.
Highlights include Rievaulx Abbey, with its graceful arches set against the wooded hills of the North York Moors; Battle Abbey, said to be built on the very spot where King Harold was killed in 1066; the brick-vaulted 14th-century undercroft of St Olave’s Priory; the stout columns of Buildwas Abbey by the banks of the River Severn, and Whitby Abbey – a striking Gothic masterpiece rising high on the cliffs above the seaside town below - now inextricably linked with stories of Saxon saints, and one of the settings for Bram Stoker’s classic horror novel, Dracula.
Past productions
Coldplay live performance, 2021 at Whitby Abbey
Gentleman Jack, 2020-21 at Rievaulx Abbey
Dracula 2020 at Whitby Abbey
The Mummy, 2017 at Waverley Abbey
The Huntsman: Winter’s War, 2016 at Waverley Abbey
Images clockwise from top right 1066 Battle of Hastings, Abbey and Battlefield, East Sussex; Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire; Wenlock Priory, Shrophire; Rievaulx Abbey, North Yorkshire; Waverly Abbey; Surrey.
Castles
With their thick stone walls and towering keeps, England’s medieval castles are among the country’s most evocative historic sites.
Built not only for power but for prestige and pleasure, they range from sprawling fortresses to small lonely outpost.
English Heritage cares for 66 castles, including the vast fortress of Dover Castle, with its Norman tower, networks of underground tunnels and 20th-century military installations; the hollow keep of Carisbrooke Castle, set high on a mound on the Isle of Wight; the romantic remains of Barnard Castle above a wooded gorge of the river Tees; Carlisle Castle, at the heart of border wars between the English and the Scots; the twin towered gatehouse of Donnington Castle; the ragged clifftop ruins of Scarborough Castle; and the romantic red sandstone remains of Kenilworth Castle, a medieval stronghold transformed into a Renaissance palace to impress Elizabeth I.
Past productions
Pirates - Behind the legend, National Geographic, 2024 at Pendennis Castle
My Lady Jane, 2023 at Dover Castle
Catherine Called Birdy, 2021 at Stokesay Castle
Scarborough, 2019-20 at Scarborough Castle
Wolf Hall, 2015 at Dover Castle
The Other Boleyn Girl, 2008 at Dover Castle
Elizabeth, 1998 at Warkworth Castle
Images clockwise from top right Scarborough Castle, North Yorkshire; Warkworth Castle, Northumberland; Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Garden, Warwickshire; Stokesay Castle, Shropshire; Dover Castle, Kent.
Gardens
The 23 historic gardens in our care range from French-style formal parterres to Italianate flower-filled terraces, and from sweeping picturesque parklands to the intimate garden ‘rooms’ popular in the Edwardian era.
Our locations include Down House, the family home of Charles Darwin, who refined his theory of evolution in its meadows, woodlands, and productive kitchen garden; the dazzling gardens of Audley End, with colourful parterre, Victorian walled kitchen garden, acres of Capability Browndesigned parkland and grand stables; Brodsworth Hall, with restored rose gardens, winding pathways and quirky garden follies; the Arts and Crafts gardens of Mount Grace Priory, surrounded by wood; the honey-coloured, flower-filled Italianate terraces of Osborne; the breathtaking Archer Pavilion that crowns the Long Water of Wrest Park; and the contemporary serenity of the Queen Mother’s Garden at Walmer Castle.
Past productions
Queens that Changed the World, 2023 at Osborne
Downton Abbey: A New Era, 2022 at Wrest Park
Victoria and Abdul, 2017 at Osborne
Darkest Hour, 2017 at Brodsworth Hall and Gardens
Testament of Youth, 2014 at Brodsworth Hall and Gardens
Absolute Genius, 2014 at Down House
Images clockwise from top right Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Garden, Warwickshire; Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens, Northumberland; Wrest Park, Bedfordshire; Brodsworth Hall and Gardens, South Yorkshire; Home of Charles Darwin, Down House, Kent.
Halls and houses
With glittering aristocratic rooms, grand gardens, vast kitchens and servants’ quarters, England’s historic houses tell stories of both the glamour and the grind of country life.
Some of England’s finest houses can be found in our collection, including the splendid stuccoed Georgian mansion of Kenwood, set in parkland on the edge of Hampstead Heath; Brodsworth Hall, with its timeworn Victorian glamour; Apsley House, home of the first Duke of Wellington and his descendants, stands right in the heart of London at Hyde Park Corner; Marble Hill, a Georgian villa on the banks of the Thames; the elegantly shells of Witley Court, Appuldurcombe House and Kirby Hall; the handsome red brick Rangers’ House in Greenwich Park; Gainsborough Old Hall, one of the biggest and best preserved medieval manor houses in England, and Audley End House, with its vast Service Wing and spectacular state apartments.
Past productions
Joy, Netflix, 2024 at Eltham Palace
Bridgerton series 1-3, 2020-23 at Ranger’s House
Belgravia, 2020 at Wrest Park
Harlots, 2018-19 at Wrest Park and Marble Hill
Vanity Fair, 2018 at Marble Hill
The Death of Stalin, 2017 at Wrest Park
Onegin, 1999 at The Grange at Northington
Mansfield Park, 1999 at Kirby Hall
Images clockwise from top right Witley Court and Gardens, Shropshire; Brodsworth Hall and Gardens, South Yorkshire; Kirby Hall, Northamptonshire; Audley End House and Gardens, Essex; Marble Hill, Twickenham.
Landscapes
For a small country, England is home to a stunning range of picturesque landscapes.
There are nearly 8,000 acres in our care, including the wildlife-rich woodlands at the foot of Beeston Castle; the windswept landscape of the Upper Plym Valley, home to around 300 Bronze Age and medieval sites; the jungly canyon of the Quarry Garden at Belsay Hall; the wooded Iron Age fort of Blackbury Camp in the Devon hills; the grassy headland of Tintagel Castle high on the cliffs with its rocky cove below; a three-mile stretch of Offa’s Dyke snaking through the trees above the river Wye; and the parkland, woods and tree-lined lake that surround the ghostly ruins of Witley Court.
Past productions
Horst Lichters Traumrouten, 2022 at Tintagel Castle
The UnXplained with William Shatner, 2021 at Tintagel Castle
The Kid Who Would Be King, 2019 at Tintagel Castle
Images clockwise from top right Tintagel Castle, Cornwall; Beeston Castle and Woodland Park, Cheshire; Witley Court and Gardens, Worcestershire; Grime’s Graves Prehistoric Flint Mine, Norfolk; Hardknott Roman Fort, Cumbria.
Modern and industrial
The Industrial Revolution and the technological innovations that followed utterly transformed England, its landscape and its people.
Many of our sites shine a light on the stories from these centuries, including Stott Park Bobbin Mill, a clattering, pulsating and fully operational Victorian factory on the wooded banks of Lake Windermere; Eltham Palace, a sleek 1930s art deco mansion grafted onto a medieval ruin with 19 acres of grounds and gardens; the metalworking treasure trove of J.W. Evans Silver Factory in Birmingham’s famous Jewellery Quarter; the Great Yarmouth Row Houses, with delightful period domestic details; Dover Castle’s signalling station, atmospheric Wartime Tunnels and underground hospital; and the chilling time capsule of the York Cold War Bunker, in service until the 1990s.
Past productions
Wonka, 2023 at Eltham Palace
Horrible Histories, 2022 at Eltham Palace
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, 2019–20 at Tilbury Fort
Wonder Woman, 2017 at Tilbury Fort
Taboo, 2016-17 at Tilbury Fort
The Crown, 2016 at Eltham Palace
Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2015 at Dover Castle’s War Tunnels
Images clockwise from top right Dover Castle, Kent; Eltham Palace and Gardens, Greenwich; J.W.Evans Silver Factory, Birmingham; Tilbury Fort, Essex; Stott Park Bobbin Mill, Cumbria.
Monuments and landmarks
From icons of England to moving memorials, English Heritage cares for some of the country’s most recognisable monuments and landmarks.
These include Stonehenge, the world-famous stone circle that has stood on Salisbury Plain for over 4,000 years, as well as nearly sixty other prehistoric monuments; Sir Edwin Lutyen’s moving Cenotaph, at the centre of national remembrance; the Royal Artillery Memorial and the nearby Wellington Arch, built to honour the Iron Duke’s victory at Waterloo; King James’s and Landport Gates in Portsmouth, which once formed part of the defences of this vital coastal town; and Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that marked the northern frontier of the mighty Roman Empire
Past productions
Whistable Pearl Season 3, 2024 at Reculver Towers
Yorkshire Great and Small, 2024 at Wharrem Percy
Transformers: The Last Knight, 2017 at Stonehenge
National Treasures Live, 2011 at Hadrian’s Wall, Housesteads Roman Fort
Doctor Who, 2010 at Stonehenge
King Arthur, 2004 at Stonehenge
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, 1991 at Housesteads Roman Fort
Images
from top right Hadrian’s
clockwise
Wall, Northumberland; Clifford’s Tower, York; Stonehenge, Wiltshire; Bratton Camp and White Horse, Wiltshire; Royal Artillery Memorial and Wellington Arch, London.
Other sites in our care
Some of the sites in our collection are managed by English Heritage and another organisation.
For these sites, film requests will need to be managed by both parties.
Booking details
Appuldurcombe House e enquiries@appuldurcombe.co.uk www.appuldurcombe.co.uk
Brinkburn Priory e love@brinkburnnorthumberland.com www.brinkburnnorthumberland.com
Chiswick House and Gardens e info@chgt.org.uk www.chiswickhouseandgardens.org.uk
Gisborough Priory e enquiries@gisboroughprioryproject.org.uk www.gisboroughprioryproject.org.uk
The Grange e estate@thegrangehampshire.co.uk www.thegrangehampshire.co.uk
Images clockwise from top right Appuldurcombe House, Isle of Wight; Brinkburn Priory, Northumberland; The Grange at Northington, Hampshire; Gisborough Priory, North Yorkshire: Chiswick House, London.
Heritage is for everybody, and we are here for heritage.
That’s why, as a charity, we care for over a million objects and hundreds of historic sites in every part of England. And it’s why we open them up, share their stories and find new ways for everybody to enjoy, learn, play and create.
We look forward to welcoming your next project.
Please get in touch at email filming.enquiries@english-heritage.org.uk telephone +44 (0) 300 020 0017