19th century

Hetty Feather Series 1 – 6 (2015 – 2020)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Close up of Hetty (Isabel Clifton) wearing a checkered dress pictured smiling at something in the distance.

Isabel Clifton as Hetty in the Hetty Feather series ©BBC

Producer: David Collier
Starring: Isobel Clifton, Tabitha Byron, Rhianna Merralls, Eva Pope, Dasharn Anderson, Polly Allen, Gus Barry, Matthew Ashforde, Aaron Niles, Eleanor Worthington Cox, Isabelle Allen
Production Company: BBC
Kent Locations Used: Belmont House and Gardens – Faversham, The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Maidstone TV Studios, Cobham Hall

Nineteenth century hit children’s drama, based on the characters in Jacqueline Wilson’s novel, Hetty Feather, is portrayed on screen over six series. The children’s period drama focuses on the life of Hetty Feather (Isabel Clifton), an orphan, who begins her story at a Victorian Foundling Hospital and later goes into service with Lady Grenfell at Calendar Hall along with her fellow foundlings Gideon and Sheila. Aided by friends and thwarted by enemies, Hetty battles to win her independence and find her real mother.

The series stars Isabel Clifton (The Dumping Ground) as Hetty Feather, with support from Eva Pope (Coronation Street, Waterloo Road), Dasharn Anderson (Doctor Who, Truckers), Polly Allen (The Dumping Ground), Gus Barry (Black Sea, Deadly Intent), Ava Merson O’Brien, Ann Mitchell (EastEnders, Widows), Matthew Ashforde (Oblivious, The Last Englishman), Susan McArdle (Sightseers, Emmerdale), Rosalyn Wright (Star Stories, Doctors) and many more including Tabitha Byron (Femi), and Rhianna Merralls (Carters Get Rich).

Hetty Feather was entirely filmed in Kent, where production visited Cobham Hall as the main orphanage location in Series 1 – 3 and 6 as well as The Maidstone Studios to build various orphanage sets, including classrooms, the kitchen and a library. The Historic Dockyard Chatham doubles as the streets of London throughout all six series with scenes featuring a workhouse, London docks, a railway station, prison, church and market to name but a few. From Series 4 onwards the elegant 18th century Belmont House and Gardens in Faversham features as Calendar Hall and gardens.

In Series 6: The Final Chapter Hetty finds herself in the firing line when tragedy strikes Calendar Hall. The concluding series is told over three parts and features Cobham Hall, Belmont House and Gardens and The Historic Dockyard Chatham.

Isabel Clifton is dressed in a victorian maid's costume as character Hetty Feather stood near a brick wall

Isabel Clifton as Hetty in Hetty Feather Series 6 ©BBC

Cobham Hall is a private boarding school near to Gravesend located in 150 acres of Grade II listed parkland. The interiors boast a stunning ball room, library, cobbled courtyards, formal gardens, classrooms as well as sports facilities, including a swimming pool. Cobham Hall has been used as a film location by The Great Fire (2014), Wild Child (2008) and Bleak House (2005).

Belmont House and Gardens in Faversham is set in gardens and parkland with stunning views over the Estate. The estate also includes 700 acres of woodlands.

The Maidstone Studios  is the UK’s largest independent HD TV studio facility with 5 studios, a sound stage, post production facilities, storage, viewing rooms and parking. The Maidstone Studios has been the film studio for many popular entertainment shows including Take Me Out (2011-2016) and Later…With Jools Holland (2013-2018).

The Historic Dockyard Chatham lies on the River Medway and boasts a variety of Georgian and Victorian architecture, maritime environment, dry dock, cobbled streets, and industrial buildings. The Historic Dockyard Chatham continues to be a popular film location for Hetty Feather, as well as other previous productions such as Junk Rescue (2019) and Call the Midwife (2012-2022).

Hetty Feather Series 1 first aired on 11th May 2015 on CBBC and series one to five are available to view on Amazon Prime.

Series 6 airs on CBBC from Monday 13th April 2020 and all six series are currently available to stream on BBCiPlayer. 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.

Belgravia (2020)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
The cast of Belgravia standing in a row wearing period costumes in front of a brown backdrop.

Belgravia (2020) Episode One © ITV

Creator / Writer: Julian Fellowes
Directors: John Alexander
Starring: Tamsin Greig, Alice Eve, Philip Glenister
Production Company: Carnival Film and Television
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Chatham Dockyard

New ITV drama Belgravia (2020), based on a book by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey, Gosford Park), is a story of the secrets and scandals amongst the upper echelon of London society in the 19th Century.

The six part series stars Tamsin Greig (Elementary, Harriet Walter (The Spanish Princess)), Alice Eve (Iron Fist) and Philip Glenister (Living the Dream) and the story begins at a legendary ball hosted by the Duchess of Richmond on the fateful evening of the Battle of Waterloo. This sets in motion a series of events that will have consequences for decades to come as secrets unravel behind the porticoed doors of London’s grandest postcode.

The Executive Producer is Gareth Neame (Downton Abbey) and Director is John Alexander (Jamestown).

Production visited The Historic Chatham Dockyard and filmed on Anchor Wharf quayside, the Tarred Yarn Store as a Pimm’s Chop House and the streets around the Ropery to stand in for both a London market and the streets around Girton’s Mill.

The Historic Chatham Dockyard is a historic tourist attraction on the site of a former Royal Naval Dockyard and has been the location for several recent period dramas including Pennyworth (2019) and World On Fire Series 1 (2019).

Belgravia begins on ITV on Sunday 15th March 2020 at 9pm.

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.

Vanity Fair (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Poster for Vanity Fair series- women in long red dress sat on a gold chair with her feet up on a globe model.

Poster for Vanity Fair series ©ITV Studio

 

Writer:  Gwyneth Hughes

Director: James Strong

Starring: Olivia Cooke, Suranne Jones, Martin Clunes

Production Company: Mammoth Screen

Kent Locations Used: Deal, Dover, Sevenoaks and Medway

This new ITV series is an adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s classic Victorian novel Vanity Fair. Set in the time of the Napoleonic wars, it follows the life of a beautiful and determined woman named Becky Sharp (Olivia Cooke) as she attempts to claw her way out of poverty and climb straight to the top of 19th century English Society.

Starring Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One, Bates Motel) as the antihero Becky Sharp, Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster, Scott and Bailey) as Miss Pinkerton, Martin Clunes (Doc Martin, Men Behaving Badly) as Sir Pitt Crawley, Michael Palin (Monty Python, Remember Me) as Thackeray, Tom Bateman (Snatched, Into The Dark) as Captain Rawdon Crawley.

A cottage on Chevening House Estate was used for filming and featured as Rawdons’ (Tom Bateman) Cottage. This location is situated at the foot of the North Downs in Sevenoaks with extensive parkland surrounding it. It is set aside for official Government business.

A scene on the promenade, featuring soldiers and horses was filmed outside the Royal Hotel in Deal. The town is situated on the South Coast of Kent and has a longstanding naval history as one of the major Cinque Ports and many period features remain.

Squerryes Court in Sevenoaks was also used for filming Miss Pinkertons’ (Suranne Jones) school interiors. This location is a beautiful 17th century manor house which has been in the residence of the Warde family since 1731. It is surrounded with 20 acres of attractive and historic gardens which includes a lake and 18th century dovecote. Previous films that have used this location are The Hollow Crown: Henry V (2012) and The Boat that Rocked (2009).

The Historic Chatham Dockyard was also used. Production filmed various London street scenes outside the Ropery, as well as Anchor Wharf for an embarkation to France and the interior of Commissioners House. The Historic Chatham Dockyard built many ships for the Royal Navy over the last 400 years, including HMS Victory, and it is the home of the Royal Rope Makers, having produced ropes since 1618. It is a popular filming location which offers many period locations, authentic cobbled streets and three historic warships. The Dockyard has previously been featured in films such as Suffragette (2015) and Mr Turner (2014).

Vanity Fair begins on 2nd September 2018 at 9pm on ITV, with episode two airing the next day, on Monday (3rd September 2018). It will then continue for 5 Sunday nights at 9pm.

 

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.