Chatham Dockyard

Horrible Histories Series 8, 9 & 10 (2019-2023)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
James McNicholas, dressed as a medieval king, pinches the cheeks of Ethan Lawrence, who is dressed as a rich medieval aristocrat. Behind them is a stone castle.

James McNicholas and Ethan Lawrence in Daft Dads at Allington Castle © BBC

Starring: Jessica Ransom, Tom Stourton, James McNicholas, Emily Lloyd-Saini
Production Company: Lion Television
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Allington Castle, Ightham Mote

First premiering in 2009, the CBBC’s children’s TV programme Horrible Histories (2009-2023) is back for its tenth series. Based on the novels by Terry Deary, Horrible Histories is packed full of bloody battles and black humour; informing and entertaining young audiences with comedic historical sketches.

In 2015, the series returned with a revised format and a brand-new cast that includes Jessica Ransom (Doc Martin), Tom Stourton (About Time, All My Friends Hate Me), James McNicholas (This England) and Emily Lloyd-Saini (Code 404, The People We Hate at the Wedding). Each episode centres on the life of one prominent historical figure.

Production have visited Kent various times for Series 8, 9 and 10.

For Series 8, production visited The Historic Dockyard Chatham, where they filmed a Queen Victoria as well as  a Suffragettes sketch in the Ropery; Napoleonic and Georgian scenes at the Officer’s Terrace and the Commissioner’s House; various scenes for the Home Front episode at the Old Pay Office and HMS Ocelot, which doubled briefly as a Swedish submarine.

Allington Castle was also used in Series 8 for various medieval sketches, as well as in garden scenes featuring Madame Pomapadour and the English Romantic Poets.

For Series 9, production returned to The Historic Dockyard Chatham. The Tarred Yarn Store features as the interior of a factory, the Ropery and Anchor Wharf double as Victorian streets, and the Officer’s Terrace doubles as a Georgian street.

Allington Castle once again provide the setting for the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, plus the Royal Mint, an ancient Grecian market, the Palace of King Charles VI in France, a medieval hall, and a spooky castle.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham features in Series 10, with filming taking place on HMS Gannet, HMS Ocelot and on the Ropery streets. Production also filmed scenes for the new series at Allington Castle and Ightham Mote.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is one of Kent’s most popular filming locations. Set on the River Medway, the Dockyard spans over 80 acres, containing over 100 buildings dating from the Georgian and Victorian periods. The location has previously been home to several other historical productions, including Series 1 of Bridgerton (2020), Ammonite (2020), and Call the Midwife (2012-2024).

Built in the 12th Century and located on the River Medway, Allington Castle is now privately-owned and adorned with authentic Medieval tapestries and furniture. Once opening its doors to King Henry VIII, the Castle now plays host to film and TV crews, with productions such as The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood (1984), Covington Cross (1992) and The Royals (2016-2018).

Built nearly 700 years ago, Ightham Mote has seen many changes and been owned by medieval knights, courtiers to Henry VIII and high-society Victorians. Highlights include the picturesque courtyard, formal gardens, great hall, Grade I listed dog kennel and the library of the American businessman Charles Henry Robinson. Making Noise Quietly (2019) filmed on the grounds of Ightham Mote.

The eighth series of Horrible Histories aired on CBBC from 3rd June 2019. Episodes are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

The Christmas special of Series 9 aired on CBBC on Friday 10th December 2021, with the rest of the series following in 2022.

Series 10 will begin airing on CBBC with a Father’s Day special on Friday 16th June 2023, with the rest of the series to follow intermittently. All episodes will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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

Pennyworth Series 1 – 2 (2019 – 2021)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Alfred Pennyworth points a gun on this poster image with a montage of characters in the background. Red backdrop with faint image of castle in the background

Pennyworth (2019–2021 ) ©IMDb

Creator / Writer: Bruno Heller
Directors: Danny Cannon, Rob Bailey, Bill Eagles, Jon East, Clare Kilner, China Moo-Young
Starring: Jack Bannon, Ben Aldridge, Hainsley Lloyd Bennett, Paloma Faith
Production Company: Warner Bros
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Pennyworth (2019-2021) tells the origin story of Alfred Pennyworth a former special‑forces soldier living in London in the 1960s and how he came to work for Bruce Wayne’s father, Thomas Wayne.

This TV series for Starzplay was created by Bruno Heller and co-written by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Danny Cannon and Seth Sinclair. Pennyworth was directed by a collaboration of directors Danny Cannon, Rob Bailey, Bill Eagles, Jon East, Clare Kilner and China Moo-Young.

Jack Bannon (The Imitation Game, Fury, Endeavour) stars as Alfred Pennyworth with co-star Ben Aldridge (Our Girl, Fleabag, Toast) playing Thomas Wayne. Pennyworth also stars Hainsley Lloyd Bennett (King of Crime, Catastrophe), Ryan Fletcher (Beats, Outlander) and singer songwriter Paloma Faith (Peter & Wendy, Doctor Parnassus).

During Series One production visited The Historic Chatham Dockyard for filming where exterior scenes were shot around the Ropery, including a chase scene on the roof, Old Pay Office, Admiral’s Office and Anchor Wharf to stand in as 1960s London.

During Series Two production visited former MOD site Lodge Hill in Rochester, Medway to shoot some scenes.

Chatham is home to one of Kent’s most popular film locations The Historic Dockyard Chatham. The Medway area has previously been seen on screen in The Third Day (2020), Great British Railway Journeys Series 11 (2020) and Call the Midwife Series 1 – 13 (2012 – 2024).

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 productions set in the 1950s and 1960s including Call the Midwife (2012-2024) and The Crown (2016-2023). Lodge Hill in Rochester is a huge former MOD site of around 350 hectares offering numerous large warehouses, hard standing for set builds, two lakes, a helicopter landing area and miles of country roads and dirt tracks for driving sequences.

Pennyworth Series One was released on Starzplay on 25th October 2019.

Series Two was released on Sunday 28th February 2021.

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

Bridgerton (2020)

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The Bridgerton family stand in a group on the steps outside their Regency home

Bridgerton (L to R) Florence Hunt as Hyacinth Bridgerton, Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton, Ruth Gemmell as Lady Violet Bridgerton, Jonathan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton, Will Tilston as Gregory Bridgerton and Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton © LIAM DANIEL / NETFLIX 2020

Writers: Chris Van Dusen, Sarah Dollard, Janet Lin, Abby McDonald, Julia Quinn
Directors: Sheree Folkson, Alrick Riley, Julie Anne Robinson, Tom Verica
Starring: Phoebe Dynevor, Regé-Jean Page, Golda Rosheuvel, Jonathan Bailey, Adjoa Andoh, Julie Andrews
Production Company: Shondaland
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Bridgerton (2020-) is a period drama inspired by Julia Quinn’s historic romance novels about a large powerful family, the Bridgeton’s and their closest acquaintances. Set against the backdrop of Regency England, this eight-part series is a saga of lust, greed and betrayal. The plot will be centred around the Bridgerton family as they navigate the “marriage mart” in high society London.

Bridgerton was adapted by Chris Van Dusen (Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy) and written with Sarah Dollard (Love Me, Neighbours), Janet Lin (The Orville, The Night Shift), Joy C. Mitchell (The Letter for the King, Deutschland 86), Abby McDonald and Julia Quinn.

The large ensemble cast include Regé-Jean Page (Mortal Engines, Waterloo Road) as the Duke of Hastings Phoebe Dynevor (Dickensian, Snatch) , Adjoa Andoh (Liar (2017-2020), Fractured), Julie Andrews (The Sound of Music, The Princess Diaries) and Jonathan Bailey (Broadchurch, W1A).

The production visited The Historic Dockyard Chatham during filming. The exterior of the Ropery and Officer’s Terrace were used as stand ins for various London streets and the Tarred Yarn Store was transformed into a boxing club. No 3 Mezzanine stands in as a venue for a public Boxing match.  Meanwhile, Commissioner’s House Garden stands in as the Bridgerton family garden for several scenes.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is located on the River Medway and has become a popular filming location in Kent. Features include Georgian and Victorian buildings with cobbled streets, a maritime environment and a dry dock. Previous productions that have filmed there include: Call The Midwife (2012-2020), Pennyworth (2019) and Belgravia (2020).

Series 1 of Bridgerton will be released on Netflix on Friday 25th December 2020.

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

Suffragettes – How Women Won the Vote (2018)

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Portrait of three suffragettes characters in formal clothing at Commissioner's House with stairs in the background. The centre characters is looking at the camera whilst the two on the outside are looking in the distance.

Image of Suffragettes ©BBC

 

Director: Emma Frank

Starring: Lucy Worsley

Production Company: Brook Lapping Productions

Kent Locations Used: Chatham Dockyard, Commissioner’s House, Tarred Yarn Store, Captains House and the ropey foot tunnel, as well as the Assistant Queens Harbourmaster’s House.

Suffragettes with Lucy Worsley is part of a group of BBC programmes marking the 100s anniversary of women gaining the vote in the UK.

In this drama documentary, Lucy Worsley explores, a group of less well known, but equally astonishing, young working-class suffragettes who decided to go against the rules and expectations of Edwardian society.

Worsley reveals what life was like for young women, what drove them to break the law and how they used their own PR to counteract the negative portrayals they received from the press of the day.

Lucy Worsley has been a writer and presenter for Our Food (2012), A Very British Romance (2015) and If Walls Could Talk: The History of the Home (2011).

Scenes from Suffragettes with Lucy Worsley was filmed in various locations at The Historic Dockyard Chatham, such as the Commissioner’s House, the Tarred Yarn Store, the Captains House and Ropery foot tunnel, as well as the Assistant Queens Harbourmaster’s House.

Suffragettes by Lucy Worsley airs on BBC1, Monday 4th June at 20.30.

To see the official trailer visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_Y2e79lBTw

 

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

The World is Not Enough (1999)

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The World Is Not Enough Movie Poster- montage of movie images between flames, james bond stands in the middle with a gun, with women either side of him. The World Is Not Enough 007 written in gold

The World Is Not Enough © movieposterDB

Director: Michael Apted 

Writers:  Ian Fleming (Novel), Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (Screenplay)

Starring:  Pierce Brosnan, John Cleese, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Judi Dench, Denise Richards

Production Company: Danjaq, Eon Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, United Artists

Kent locations used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

The World is Not Enough is the nineteenth film in the James Bond series and sees Bond, played by Pierce Brosnan, return to protect the world from a nuclear bomb threat whilst protecting the heiress and daughter of an oil tycoon murdered at MI6.

Directed by Michael Apted (The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader) and starring screen favourites as Pierce Brosnan (Tomorrow Never Dies, Die Another Day), Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty, Trainspotting), Sophie Marceau (Braveheart, Beyond The Clouds), John Cleese (Fawlty Towers, A Fish Called Wanda) and Judi Dench (Die Another Day, Ladies in Lavender).

The World is Not Enough was a smash hit at the box office and became the highest earning James Bond film until Die Another Day was released in 2002. The film also won several awards for best film of its genre and best actor, Pierce Brosnan.

The Historic Dockyard in Chatham was used as the location for a section of the action packed boat chase at the start of the film where the boat goes across a road, through a boat house and down an arched alleyway. If you look closely you can see Chatham High Street just before Bond sails past the O2.

A popular filming location for the big and small screen The Historic Dockyard has also featured in productions such as Les Miserables (2013), The Golden Compass (2007) and the BBC adaptation of Oliver Twist (2007).

The film was released in November 1999 and is now available to buy on DVD.

 

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

The Mummy (1999)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
The Mummy Movie Poster- montage of images from the film, the main characters stands with a gun against an ancient wooden box.The Mummy written in gold

The Mummy Movie Poster © Universal Pictures

Directed by: Stephen Sommers

Starring: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz and John Hannah.

Production Company: Universal Pictures, Alphaville Films

Kent Filming Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

The Mummy is an action-adventure film which is about a team serving in the French Foreign Legion on an archaeological dig at the ancient city of Hamunaptra who accidentally awakens a mummy. As it calls up the ten plagues in revenge for the desecration of his tomb, the team face a race against time to stop the and put an end to the centuries-long curse.

The film is directed by Stephen Sommers (Van Helsing,  The Jungle Book) and stars Brendan Fraser (Inkheart, The Affair), Rachel Weisz (The Bourne Legacy, About a Boy) and John Hannah (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Sliding Doors).

Viewers may be surprised to learn that our very own The Historic Dockyard Chatham made a cameo appearance in the film. Hollywood transformed the popular location into Giza Port using CGI and an impressive 600 ft long set. Complete with steam ship and hundreds of extras, it truly looks authentic as the 1920’s Egyptian port.

One of the most popular filming locations in Kent, The Historic Dockyard Chatham has been used in various productions Features to TV programmes. With its cobbled streets, Georgian and Victorian architecture and period features spread across 80 acres, it has been the perfect location for films such as Les Miserables (2013) Sherlock

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is set over 80 acres and contains over 100 Georgian and Victorian buildings as well as cobbled streets and dock spaces. Projects that have previously filmed at The Historic Dockyard Chatham include  Downton Abbey (2013) and The Golden Compass (2007) among others.

The Mummy was released in cinemas in June 1999 and is now available on DVD.

 

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