Blog - News

June 25, 2024

By Chloe Roden

Set in a Regency-era London, trailblazing drama Bridgerton first arrived on Netflix in 2020. Following eight close-knit siblings as they navigate a competitive high-society, it quickly became a huge success, capturing audience’s imaginations with its gossip-girl style take on 1800’s London. Three series, one spin-off and 200-million viewers later, the final part of series three of Bridgerton is now on Netflix, with showrunner Jess Brownell confirming that fourth instalment is on its way too. 

Over the course of the series so far, Bridgerton’s Location Department have sourced countless period locations to build the world of Regency London, from Palladian country houses to Georgian streets. The shoot took place both in London and outside of the capital, famously filming largely in Bath. As a result, Netflix reports have shown that the Bridgerton Universe has contributed a phenomenal £275 million to the UK Economy, supporting nearly 5,000 local businesses.  

Filming in England are proud to have provided both crew and locations support to the Bridgerton team. Joely Ellis, Production Liaison Manager for the South East & East, reflects on her work with the Locations Department, including supporting Senior Location Manager Tony Hood: 

“The Filming in England team worked closely with the locations department on Bridgerton season 3 in early 2022. We helped with the search for ballrooms with a large, imposing staircase, an 1800s harbour where they wanted to bring a tall ship or frigate into, formal gardens and a Georgian House surrounded by green landscape. The production is set in Regency style London so it’s always exciting to bring these grand, fancy locations out into the regions” 

Alongside staying close to home with its locations, the team behind Bridgerton hired local talent, making use of England’s world-class crew base. Samantha Rifkin, National Crew & Facilities Manager at Filming in England, helped the crew find behind-the-scenes talent for its first series:   

“Back in 2019, we received an enquiry about an ‘Untitled Bridgerton Project’ – this unknown production was eager to shoot in the South West, but was totally unfamiliar with the Region and its crew base. By the end of the shoot, the production had successfully hired local talent across make-up, costume, locations, camera and production departments, from trainees all the way up to Heads of Departments. It was a brilliant moment for the South West and its homegrown talent.   

Now with the release of season 3, it’s fantastic to look back and know we were able to help many early and experienced professionals find steady work.”

Join us on a tour of the English counties as we browse some of the locations featured in Bridgerton so far: 

Somerset 

Bath has become synonymous with Bridgerton, with its abundance of Georgian architecture making a perfect backdrop for 1800’s London. The shoots have had such a positive impact on Bath that Dan Morris, West of England Mayor, coined its affect on the city the ‘Bridgerton Effect’, with stats from Visit West show that it has contributed more than £5million to the Bath local economy through screen tourism. 

In series three alone, Bridgerton filmed in in Edward Street, Vane Street, Holbourne Museum and Royal Crescent. Bath Film Office work closely with the production; we spoke to Bath Film Office Manager Rachel Bowers about its impact:    

“Bridgerton series 1-3 filmed major set pieces out on Bath’s streets, as well at landmark buildings such as the Holburne Museum, No. 1 Royal Crescent, the Assembly Rooms and the Guildhall. The Bath Film Office coordinated all the road closure requests, parking, unit base bookings, street furniture removal and much more – it’s the kind of production where having a film office is vital.  And now there are numerous Bridgerton tours of the city. Last year film tourism generated an extra £5 million into the Bath economy. No other filming has had such an impact on the city.” 

As well as Bridgerton, 2023 spin-off Queen Charlotte filmed largely in Bath. Want to know where? Find out here.

Near to Somerset, locations in Bristol have also appeared in Bridgerton – for example, you may recognise the staircases of Grade II Country House Leigh Court in some of the many iconic ballroom scenes. Across Bristol, the team at Bristol Film Office are on hand to support productions.

Wiltshire 

Wilton House, a country house near Salisbury, plays a key role in Bridgerton – in fact, its many staterooms and gardens appear in every episode of series three. In recent years, Wilton House also appears in The Crown, where it doubles none other than Buckingham Palace. 

Surrey 

First landscaped in the 18^th Century, Painshill Park is a 160-acre park designed by politician Charles Hamilton, who’s designs for the garden were inspired by Renaissance paintings. The park lends its beautiful greenery and lakes to Bridgerton in series one, where it doubled London’s iconic Primrose Hill. 

Across the wider Surrey county, Surrey Film Office are available to support filming.  

Berkshire  

You may recognise Berkshire’s Windsor Great Park as the setting for series two’s iconic hunting scene in Bridgerton. Part of The Crown Estate, the park has welcomed some ambitious productions and even doubled Hogwart’s lake in Harry Potter. 

Elsewhere in Berkshire, Palladian country house Basildon Park features as both Lady Tilley Arnold’s Residence and the venue for The Grand Featherington Ball. Basildon Park is owned by National Trust, who have a number of impressive filming locations featured in Bridgerton – you can browse them here. We spoke to Harvey Edington, Senior Filming and Locations Manager, about their work on series three:  

“Bridgerton came a knocking in 2022/23 for Series 3. Claydon in Buckinghamshire was chosen for a wedding breakfast – obviously, I can’t say whose! Basildon, another Georgian mansion that is popular with crews (Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, amongst many others) became Tilly’s house. 

Together with Queen Charlotte we are hopeful that the Bridgerton effect will bring even more visitors [to our locations].” 

Buckinghamshire 

Halton House plays a key role in the world of Bridgerton – in fact, much of the interiors of the Bridgerton’s home are filmed here, with the country house’s magnificent rooms appearing in scenes involving the stairs, hallways, smoking rooms and grand hall.  

Elsewhere in Buckinghamshire, natural landmark Ivinghoe Beacon appears in multiple horse-riding scenes. Sitting within the National Trust’s Ashridge Estate, its vast greenery and rolling hills are a testament to England’s natural countryside.

Oxfordshire 

Blenheim Palace, a country house in Woodstock, is a hugely popular film location – featured in James Bond, Indiana Jones, Mission: Impossible and most recently doubling France in Ridley Scott’s Napoleon. In both series three and spin-off Queen Charlotte, Blenheim Palace doubles Buckingham House. We spoke to Samantha Vaughan, Head of Commercial Development at Blenheim Palace, who shared her generous behind-the-scenes insights:

“Our own Bridgerton Story started with Queen Charlotte. It was great to be asked to be part of the Bridgerton series 3, and as we loved working with the previous crew we jumped at the chance. 

There is always a balance of looking after priceless collections and allowing a large crew to come through the doors, moving or covering anything post-regency.  Our Palace and Collections team were grateful to work with such a fantastic Location Team that understands how to work respectfully within a heritage property. All the interior scenes were shot at night and the powerful lighting made the Palace look stunning on screen.  The colours and collections of the staterooms are brought to life, you can see what the Palace would have been like in the time of King George and Queen Charlotte and how opulent and beautiful the Palace truly is. 

It is always summer in the Ton so our gardens suddenly became full of flowers and flowing dresses, we stood in the cold watching summer float by. Bridgerton continues to be extremely popular it helps with our visitor numbers, and we even had Bridgerton Dresses on display last year.

We are always happy to have filming here at Blenheim Palace, the income we make from filming directly goes to our restoration projects and apprenticeship scheme.  Bridgerton has helped us secure the future of the Palace for future generations.“

Kent 

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a maritime museum on a former Royal Navy Dockyard in Kent, it covers 80 acres of land and maintains over 100 historic buildings. The Dockyard’s Georgian buildings and cobbled streets doubled as streets in London in series one. 

Across Kent, the team at Kent Film Office are on hand to support filming. 

Hertfordshire

Hatfield House, a Jacobean country house built in 1611, is amongst Hertfordshire’s many incredible Bridgerton locations. Alongside Hatfield, Wrotham Park doubles Aubrey Hall. A grand house set in 2,500-acres of parkland, Wrotham has welcomed over 60 productions to its spectacular location. 

We spoke to Pippa Cawdron, Film Office Manager at Hertfordshire Film Office:  

“We were thrilled to have been able to showcase some of our amazing locations in Hertfordshire with Bridgerton.  Hertfordshire is well placed for period dramas with the abundance of manor house and historic charm. The locations used were across many different districts and really demonstrates how varied and diverse our locations are in Hertfordshire. Herefordshire Film Office supports productions of all sizes and having productions such as Bridgerton really helps to promote our county.” 

East Sussex  

Theatre Royal Brighton is a historic grade II listed theatre which opened in 1807 and now is one of the most respected theatres in England. A unique example of Regency Architecture, the theatre doubles a concert hall in Bridgerton series one. 

Lincolnshire  

Situated in the heart of Lincolnshire, Grimsthorpe Castle is a mansion surrounded by gardens, extensive woodland and a 50-acre lake. In Bridgerton, the historic grounds were transformed into Lord Hawkins’ residence. 

Yorkshire  

You can catch a glimpse of North Yorkshire multiple times in Bridgerton, with Castle Howard and the village of Coneysthorpe featuring as Duke of Hastings’ family estate: Clyvedon Castle and Clyvedon Village.  

In the wider region, Screen Yorkshire support Yorkshire’s screen industries; including production support, content funding and skills and talent. 

Congratulations to the Locations Department for their work on Bridgerton series one, two and three.  

Across the English regions, the Filming in England team are on hand to facilitate high-end TV and feature film productions, working with local and regional partners. To find out more, explore our website or get in touch today at production@creativeengland.co.uk.