Walk in your favourite celeb’s footsteps with these heritage filming locations

Have you ever found yourself recognising a backdrop in a dramatic scene on television? Perhaps you were distracted by Jamie Fraiser’s love declarations because you suddenly remembered a time you too were walking around that same stone circle.

Or maybe you swooned over the Duke’s entrance in the first series of Bridgerton only to then swoon over the incredible Bath stone behind him. If that sounds like you, then you need to book a trip to one of these following filming locations and relive those cinematic moments all over again.

Ingatestone Hall, Essex CM4 9NR

This was originally built as the family home for Sir William Petre, who was Secretary of State to four Tudor Monarchs and his family still live in the house to this day.

Features in:

• Jekyll and Hyde (2015)
• Breakdown (2016)
• The Twisted Tale of Bloody Mary (2008)
• Exitz (2007)
• Time of her Life (2005)
• Lady Audley’s Secret (2000)
• Lovejoy (1986-1994)
• Bleak House (2005)

Broughton Castle, Banbury OX15 5EB
Built in the 1300s by Sir John Broughton, it sits on an island in the middle of a three acre moat and was extended between the late 1550s and 1600 before being inhabited by the Lord and Lady Saye and Sele. Today, the family of Lord and Lady Saye and Sele still live in the castle.

Features in:

• Jane Eyre (2011)
• Shakespeare in Love (1998)
• Wolf Hall | TV (2014)
• Three Men and a Little Lady(1987)
• Emma (1996)
• Made of Honour (2008)
• Lady Jane (1986)

Gosford House, East Lothian EH32 90X

Set in 5000 acres on the south side of the Firth of Forth, this mansion was initially constructed for the Earl of Weymss and was eventually completed in 1891. It was occupied by the army during WWII.

Features in:

• Outlander
• Little Vampire (2000)
• The Awakening (2011)
• The House of Mirth (2000)

Dorney Court, Berkshire SL4 6QP

This Grade I listed building is often referred to as the finest Tudor Manor House in England and is a popular wedding and filming venue.

Features in:

• Bridgerton (2021)
• Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
• Jonathan Creek (1997-2016)
• Sliding doors (1998)
• Sense and Sensibility (2008)
• The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019)
• Elizabeth the Golden Age (2007)
• Cranford (2007-2010)
• Emma (1996)
• Lady Jane (1986)
• Tess of the D’Ubervilles (1998)
• Poirot  (2003)
• Marple (2004)
• Foyles War (2003)
• Inspector Morse (1987)
• Midsomer Murders (2005)
• Lewis (2006)

Holkham Hall, Norfolk NR23 1AB

This 25,000 acre estate on the north Norfolk coast was built by the 1^st Earl of Leicester and remains home to the Earls of Leicester to this day.

Features in:

• Shakespeare in Love (1998)
• The Duchess (2008)
• Glorious 39 (2009)
• Antiques Roadshow (1979)

Arbury Hall, Warwickshire CV10 7PT

Home of Lord and Lady Daventry, Arbury Hall has been in the Newdegate family since the 16^th Century and author George Eliot was born on the estate in 1819.

Features in:

• Land Girls(2009)
• Dalziel and Pascoe (2005)

Beaulieu Estate, Beaulieu SO42 7ZN

Home to the National Motor Museum and thought to be the place of King William II’s murder, Beaulieu was acquired by the 1^st Earl of Southampton during the dissolution of the monasteries.

Features in:

• Knight Rider  1982
• The Avengers (1967)

Ludlow Castle, Shropshire SY8 1AY

This palace has been the official home of the Prince of Wales for centuries and was enlarged for Roger Mortimer who at the time was the most powerful man in England. It was home to Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon before his death and Mary Tudor during her reign.

Features in:

• Faintheart (2008)

Leighton Hall, Lancashire, LA5 9ST

Leighton Hall has been the family home of the Gillow furniture making dynasty for generations. As one of the premier Lancastrian families, this is a great place to visit to find out more about the county’s history.

Features in:

• Possession (2002)
• Brief Encounter  (1945)
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984)

Chillingham Castle, Northumberland NE66 5NJ

Continuously owned by one family since the 1200s, Chillingham has been visited by royalty for generations and even has its own torture chamber! Though, it isn’t used these days.

Features in:

• Most Haunted
• The Virgin Queen 

Kingston Bagpuize House, Oxfordshire OX13 5AX

Believed to have been built in the 1660s, the house was renovated in the 1700s and is a lovely example of homes from the time.

Features in:

• Downtown Abbey
• Emma (2020)

Stanway House, Cheltenham GL54 5PQ

The Watermill at the house was reopened by the Prince of Wales in recent years and is home to the 8^th largest waterwheel in England to create Cotswold flour.

Features in:

• Wolf Hall (2015)
• Emma (1996)
• The Libertine (2004)
• Vanity Fair (2004)
• Antiques Roadshow
• Father Brown (2017)

Alnwick Castle, Alnwick NE66 1NQ

Originally built as a defence against the Scottish, it later became the family home of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland and over the years has hosted a fascinating mix of people including the famous Harry Hotspur, a knight during the beginnings of the War of the Roses.

Features in:

• Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
• Downton Abbey Christmas specials (2014-2015)
• Harry Potter | films 1 and 2
• Elizabeth (1998)
• Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
• The Hollow Crown (2016)
• Countryfile (2008)
• The Virgin Queen (2005)
• The Fast Show (1995)
• The Famous Five (1995)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation (1993)
• Robin of Sherwood (1984)
• Blackadder s1 (1983)
• Ivanhoe (1982)
• Mary Queen of Scots (1971)

Temple Newsam, Leeds LS15 0AE

Not only is this a stunning Jacobean style mansion but is also home to a working rare breed farm that dates back to the 17^th century, it is one of the largest rare breed centres in the UK and visitors can take a moment to befriend the various animals after exploring the gardens and interiors.

Features in:

• Victoria (2016)
• Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (2015)

Deene Park, Northamptonshire NN17 3EG

Before the Norman conquest, the land belonged to the Abbey of Westminster and was let out to various prominent families in the years after.

Features in:

• Jane Eyre (1983)
• A cock and bull story (2005)
• Bargain Hunt (2000)

Lamport Hall, Northamptonshire NN6 9HD

The hall was initially home to the Isham family, one of Northamptonshire’s oldest families and is now home to Lampy, the first and only surviving garden gnome to be imported from Germany in the 1800s.

Features in:

• A cock and bull story (2005)

Adlington Hall, Macclesfield SK10 4LF

Home to the Leghs of Adlington since the 1300s, Adlington Hall was built on the site of a former hunting lodge and is said to be where the composer Handel composed music which is now on display in the hall.

Features in:

• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984)

Burghley House, Lincolnshire PE9 3JY

As this is one of the largest and grandest surviving houses of the 16^th century, it is no wonder that this is used as a filming location. It is the former home of William Cecil, Lord High Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I.

Features in:

• Pride & Prejudice (2005)
• Elizabeth The Golden Age (2007)
• Bleak House (2005)
• Middlemarch (1994)

St Michael’s Mount, Cornwall TR17 OHS

One of the UK’s most recognisable landmarks, St Michael’s Mount boasts a fortress, a priory, a harbour and a family home and features over a thousand year’s worth of history.

Features in:

• Johnny English (2003)
• Robin of Sherwood (1984)
• Dracula (1979)
• Twelfth Night (1996)

Syon Park, Brentford TW8 9JF

Syon Park was the London home of the Duke of Northumberland, whose family, the Percys have lived there for over 400 years. Catherine Howard lived there for a time before her execution and Lady Jane Grey was staying at the house when she was made queen.

Features in:

• Bridgerton (2020)
• Belgravia (2020)
• Maleficent (2014)
• Harlots (2017)
• Killing Eve (2018)
• Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)
• Vanity Fair (2018)
• Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
• Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)
• Pride and Prejudice and zombies (2016)
• Belle (2013)
• Bridget Jones’ diary (2001)
• Gosford Park (2001)
• Emma (1996)

You can find out more information about heritage film locations here