Dungeness

Grand Designs: House of the Year (2016)

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North Vat at Dungeness- Long shot of grey house with stones and shrubbery in front

Grand Designs House of The Year North Vat at Dungeness © Channel 4

Production Company: TalkBack Productions

Kent Locations used: North Vat House at Dungeness

Grand Designs: House of the Year is a Channel 4 property where presenter Kevin McCloud explores homes in the running for the RIBA House of the Year Award, focusing on properties that create space from the smallest of sites.

In episode three of the new series, the team visit North Vat House at Dungeness which blends beach living and high architecture. Although the exterior looks compact, the interior is open planned with a modern design and breath-taking views of the shingle beaches and ocean at Dungeness.

Dungeness is an expanse of shingle beach with many ramshackle huts as well as extremely modern residences, two lighthouses, a historic train station, two pubs and artist galleries along with a nuclear power station. Projects previously filmed here include Great British Railway Journeys – Series 7 (2016), The Poison Tree (2012) and EastEnders (2007).

This episode of Grand Designs: House of the Year featuring Dungeness will air on Thursday 8th December at 21:00 on Channel 4.

 

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

 

 

Great British Railway Journeys – Series 7 (2016)

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Michael Portillo standing on a steam train in front of the control panel

Michael Portillo, Great British Railway Journeys © BBC/Boundless, part of FremantleMedia UK

 

Production company: Talkback Thames

Kent Locations used: Dover, Romney Marsh, Dungeness, Ashford, Sevenoaks, Knole Park

Series seven of Great British Railway returns to BBC Two, as presenter Michael Portillo travels on the great train routes of Europe and retraces the journeys featured in George Bradshaw’s 1913 Continental Railway Guide.

In episode six of the new series, Portillo embarks on a new railway journey along the south coast of England which starts at the port of Dover where he is inspired by a brave Victorian sea captain to plunge into the English Channel. Next he takes the spectacular Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch miniature steam railway through the Romney Marsh to Dungeness before heading to Eastbourne.

Episode 16 sees Michael Portillo journey from Ashford to Sevenoaks starting by lending a hand at a state-of-the-art train maintenance plant which is home to the High Speed 1 trains. Next he tracks east to Marden and is moved by music played on Queen Victoria’s personal piano before ending his journey in Sevenoaks where he ends the journey at Knole Park, seat of the Sackville-West family.

Dover is home to Europe’s busiest ferry port as well as the iconic White Cliffs of Dover and Dover Castle. Productions which have previously filmed in the Dover area include Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Mr Selfridge Series 3 (2015) and Poirot – The Clocks (2009).

Romney Marsh is renowned for its unique natural beauty, diverse wild life and extensive coastline. The Romney Marshes have been used as a film location for The Honourable Woman (2014), Parade’s End (2012) and Dr Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (1964).

The desolate landscape of Dungeness is largely made up of shingle with wooden houses, power station, lighthouses and extensive gravel pits. The Dungeness area has previously been seen on screen on Homes By The Sea (2014) and Eastenders (2007).

The market town of Ashford has shops, eateries, a designer outlet shopping centre and has great links with London and Europe which are just a train ride away through Ashford International train station. Ashford and surrounding areas has been used as a film location from visiting productions including The Apprentice (2015), The Monuments Men (2014) and Emma (2009).

Sevenoaks is a town in West Kent with vibrant shopping streets, architectural treats and historic buildings including Knole Park which is nestled in a medieval deer-park and full of hidden treasures.  The area has welcomed filming from productions such as Rush (2013) and Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides (2011)

The Dover to Lewes episode of Great British Railway aired on Monday 11th January 2016 at 18.30 on BBC Two and the Ashford to Sevenoaks episode is on Monday 25th January 2016 at 18.30 on BBC Two .

 

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

 

Homes By The Sea (2014)

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Homes by the Sea presenter Charlie Luxton with sea and houses in the background

Homes By The Sea presenter Charlie Luxton © Channel 4

Production Company: True North

Kent locations: Dymchurch, Dungeness

More 4 series, Homes By The Sea, follows architect and designer Charlie Luxton as he seeks out the finest, quirkiest, most spectacular and unusual homes that can be found on Britain’s beautiful coastline.

In episode 4, the Homes By The Sea team visits a home made from a railway carriage in Dungeness and a converted Martello Tower in Dymchurch.

Dymchurch is a village on the east Kent coast and boasts a sandy beach and sea wall, amusements, cafes and ice cream parlours.

Just along the coast is Dungeness which is a vast and unique nature reserve, featuring a shingle beach, two lighthouses and power station. The area has featured in a variety of productions such as The Honourable Woman (2014), The Poison Tree (2012) and Dr Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (1964).

The Kent episode of Homes By The Sea will be shown on More 4 on Thursday 13th November 2014 at 21:00.

 

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

The Poison Tree (2012)

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The Poison Tree lead characters relaxing around a dinner table with fairy lights.

The Poison Tree © ITV

ITV Mini-Series

Production Company: GroupM Entertainment, ITV,  STV

Kent Locations Used: Dungeness Estate, The Pilot Inn pub

‘The Poison Tree’ is an atmospheric and psychological TV drama based on the popular book of the same name by Erin Kelly. The two 60 minute episodes tell the tale of Karen Clarke (MyAnna Buring), who has been waiting twelve long years for the release of her partner Rex (Matthew Goode), from prison.

With her partner now free, Karen is looking forward to settling down as a normal family with their daughter, Alice (Hebe Johnson). However, Karen starts to receive phone calls and anonymous text messages and she realises that her family are being watched. Despite her best efforts to keep their past a secret, someone knows the truth about what she and Rex did twelve years ago. How far will Karen go to protect her family?

‘The Poison Tree’ was written by Emilia di Girolamo, lead writer/Co-producer of Law & Order UK seasons 5 and 6 and directed by Marek Losey who previously made his debut feature film ‘The Hide’, which was also filmed in Kent.

Filming took place on the Dungeness Estate, which has a rich and diversified history with film and television. The BBC filmed episodes of Dr Who during the 1970’s and the 1998 film ‘I Want You’ staring Rachel Weisz and Alessandro Nivola, which was set in and around Dungeness.

In an interview with Broadcast magazine in December 2012, writer of the TV adaption Emilia di Girolamo  said: “First we decided to change the setting.  Relocating the story to Dungeness gave us an immensely powerful and evocative landscape to work with. Abandoning the traditional dimly lit world of the thriller for the bleached out, desert-like exteriors, the power station. Brooding in the distance, gave a real sense of there being nowhere to hide for Karen, upping the dramatic tension.”

The Poison Tree was shown in December 2012 on ITV 1 and is now available to buy on DVD.

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

Parade’s End (2012)

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Parade's End L-R Valentine Wannop (Adelaide Clemens), Christopher Tietjens (Benedict Cumberbatch) Sylvia Tietjens (Rebecca Hall) stood in a row looking into the camera

Parades End L-R Valentine Wannop (Adelaide Clemens), Christopher Tietjens (Benedict Cumberbatch), Sylvia Tietjens (Rebecca Hall) © BBC/Mammoth Screen

Directed By: Susanna White

Written By: Ford Madox Ford (Novel) & Sir Tom Stoppard (Adaptation)

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Rebecca Hall, Adelaide Clemens, Roger Allam, Rupert Everett, Miranda Richardson

Production company: Mammoth Screen in association with HBO miniseries

Kent Locations Used: St Thomas A Beckett Church, Fairfield in Romney Marsh, Dungeness, St Mary’s Bay and Dorton House in Sevenoaks.

Parade’s End is based on Ford Madox Ford’s novels written between 1924 and 1928, with the screenplay adapted by renowned English playwright and screenwriter Sir Tom Stoppard. The costume drama features a stellar cast and is set in the midst of the First World War with a love triangle threatening to question everything lead character Christopher Tietjens stands for.

Christopher Tietjens with wife Syliva leaning against his shoulder. A house can be seen in the background.

Christopher Tietjens with wife Syliva © BBC/Mammoth Screen

Shown in five parts, at the centre is English aristocrat Christopher Tietjens played by Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Warhorse, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) who enters a turbulent relationship with socialite Sylvia played by Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Town, The Awakening). After Sylvia falls pregnant, Christopher decides to follow his morals and marry her, even though he is uncertain if the child is his.

The couple have a rocky relationship but Christopher vows to stay faithful to his wife, however when he meets strong willed suffragette Valentine Wannop (Adelaide Clemens – X-Men Origins: Wolverine) he finds himself falling in love with her. With his morals questioned, will he follow his heart, or stay with his wife?

The Parade’s End crew came to Kent last year to film scenes for the drama at the isolated and historic St Thomas A Becket Church in Fairfield, Romney Marsh, which also featured in the 2011 BBC adaptation Great Expectations (2011) starring Gillian Anderson and David Suchet.

Christopher Tietjens with lover Valentine Wannop on a hill

Christopher Tietjens with lover Valentine Wannop © BBC/Mammoth Screen

Dorton House is a school in Sevenoaks run by The Royal London Institute for the Blind and caters for pupils with visual impairments. The Grade-II listed building saw its dining room transformed into a gentleman’s club, with the library serving as the Cabinet War Office and the Wedgewood Room as the bedroom of Valentine Wannop.

Dungeness and St Mary’s Bay also briefly feature in the programme, in scenes with a girl cycling past. Dungeness is a unique expanse of shingle beach with cottages and lighthouses and is a popular filming location having previously welcomed Doctor Who, Countrywise Kitchen and photo shoots for Vogue and Harrods Magazine. St Mary’s Bay is a delightful coastal village between Dymchurch and south to Littlestone and this is its big screen debut.

Parade’s End was shown from Friday 24th August 2012 at 21:00 on BBC Two and is now available to buy on DVD.

 

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

DEREK (2008)

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Tilda Swinton and Issac Julien behind a grey gravestone in a graveyard

Tilda Swinton and Issac Julien © JN Films

Director: Issac Julien

Production Company: Normal Films

Kent Locations: Dungeness, Prospect Cottage, St Clements Church, Old Romney

Drawing of Derek Jarman in black and white

Derek Jarman © Steve Pike & JN Films

Starring Tilda Swinton (The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, Michael Clayton) and directed by Issac Julien, DEREK explores the many faces of Derek Jarman and looks at his life as an artist and filmmaker. The film is based around previously unseen footage of an interview which was conducted with Jarman in 1991, which is interwoven with clips of his work including pop promos and feature films, as well as rare home movies depicting his family life.

In 2007, Tilda Swinton and Issac Julien visited Kent to film at Derek Jarman’s home ‘Prospect Cottage’ on the Dungeness estate. His garden, made from shingle, driftwood and other material salvaged from the beach, is much treasured and continues to attract both visitors and film crews alike.

Derek Jarman died in 1994 after a long battle with AIDS and he is now buried at St Clements Church in Old Romney.

DEREK was originally shown on More 4 as part of the Jarman Season and has garnered critical acclaim across the globe. This summer the documentary was shown at the Sundance Festival and at The Berlin Film Festival.

Dungeness is a unique coastal landscape with a shingle beach, two lighthouses and a power station. The area is a popular film location having previously been used for productions including Homes By The Sea (2014) and Parades End (2012).

Recently the documentary also received a nomination for Best Documentary at the British Independent Film Awards.

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

The Inspector Lynley Mysteries – Natural Causes (2006)

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Thomas Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Haves standing next to each other facing the camera

The Inspector Lynley Mysteries © BBC

Starring: Sharon Small, Nathaniel Parker, Mary Stockley, Ben Lannoy, Liza Tarbuck, Nicholas Gleaves, Adrian Rawlins. 

Production Company:  BBC, WGBH 

Kent Location: Dungeness

The Inspector Lynley Mysteries is a BBC One drama series about Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley of Scotland Yard and Detective Sergeant Barbara Haves who work together to solve unusual murder cases. 

In ‘Natural Causes’, Detective Barbara Havers has been left without a partner after Detective Lynley’s  suspension for threatening a suspect and is called in to solve the murder  of a young woman, whose  body was found after her car was shunted into a lake. Detective Lynley can’t help getting involved in the investigation, but will his participation help or hinder the case?

The series stars Sharon Small (About a Boy, Dear Frankie), Nathaniel Parker (Far From the Madding Crowd, Haunted Mansion), Mary Stockley (V for Vendetta, The Woman in Black), Ben Lannoy (Judge John Deed), Liza Tarbuck (Mount Pleasant Bonkers), Nicholas Gleaves  (Scott & Bailey, Waterloo Road) and Adrian Rawlins (Dickensian, Harry Potter series).  

Dungeness was used in Natural Causes as the area where the victim lived and Detective Barbara Havers (Sharon Small) and Detective Inspector Fiona Knight (Liza Tarbuck) interviewed the victim’s family and questioned suspects. The end of the episode culminates in a dramatic scene at the top of the Old Lighthouse in Dungeness.

Dungeness is a vast, natural space on the Kent coast and has a shingle beach, two lighthouses and power station. Dungeness is a popular film location having been used for ITV drama The Poison Tree (2012) and BBC drama series Parades End (2012) as well as various photo shoots.

The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Natural Causes was shown on BBC One in July 2006 and is now available to buy on DVD.

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

All Or Nothing (2002)

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Car driving through a isolated background with lighthouse

All or Nothing Screenshot © Thin Man Films/StudioCanal

Director: Mike Leigh

Starring: Timothy Spall, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen, James Corden

Production Company: Les Films Alain Sarde, Thin Man Films

Kent location used: Dungeness

All Or Nothing is a film set on a London housing estate and centres around three working-class families and the struggles they face; including unemployment, violence unplanned pregnancy and alcoholism.

The film was nominated for many awards and won two at the London Critics Circle Film Awards – British Film of the Year and British Actress of the Year for Lesley Manville.

The film is directed by the acclaimed Mike Leigh (Secrets & Lies, Happy-Go-Lucky, Vera Drake) and stars Timothy Spall (Mr Turner, The King’s Speech, Enchanted), Lesley Manville (Maleficent, Another Year, Secrets & Lies) Ruth Sheen (Run Fatboy Run, Misfits, Vanity Fair) and James Corden (Begin Again, Into the Woods, The History Boys).

driving through fields looking out onto the beach

All or Nothing Screenshot © Thin Man Films/StudioCanal

Dungeness features in the film when Phil drives to the beach to contemplate his problems.

Set in the Shepway district of Kent, Dungeness is a unique location with a shingle beach, old and modern homes, two lighthouses, a historic railway station and a Power Station. Dungeness has been used as a film location by productions such as Ginger and Rosa (2012), Derek (2008) and I Want You (1998).

All Or Nothing was released in cinemas on 18th October 2002 and is now available to buy on DVD.

 

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

I Want You (1998)

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Dungeness estate houses with fields in front

I Want You Screenshot © Polygram Filmed Entertainment/Revolution Films

Director: Michael Winterbottom

Starring: Rachel Weisz, Alessandro Nivola, Luka Petrusic

Production Company: Polygram Filmed Entertainment, Revolution Films

Kent location used: Dungeness, Folkestone Harbour arm

I Want You is a film noir about a young boy, Honda (Luka Petrusic) and his sister Smokey (Labina Mitevska) who get drawn into the relentless pursuit of Helen (Rachel Weisz) by her former lover, Martin (Alessandro Nivola) after he is released from prison.

Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People, A Mighty Heart, The Killer Inside Me) directs and Oscar winning actress Rachel Weisz (The Mummy, About A Boy, Enemy at the Gates) stars alongside Alessandro Nivola (Face/Off, American Hustle, Jurassic Park III) and Luka Petrusic (Bumerang, Sorry for Kung Fu).

The production chose Dungeness as the coastal town in the film.  The Folkestone Harbour arm is the location for Martin’s (Alessandro Nivola) argument with his colleague. Nearby Hastings was also used as a film location.

Folkestone Harbour Arm at night

I Want You Screenshot © Polygram Filmed Entertainment/Revolution Films

Dungeness is a large nature reserve in the Shepway district of Kent with a beautiful shingle beach, a mixture of old and modern homes, two lighthouses, a historic railway station and a Power Station. Dungeness is a popular film location previously been used by productions such as Ginger and Rosa (2012), The Inspector Lynley Mysteries – Natural Causes (2006) and The Garden (1990).

The town of Folkestone is in the Shepway district of Kent and has a harbour, beach, quaint streets and the Creative Quarter boasts many studios and galleries. The area has previously been used as a location for filming by productions such as The Tunnel (2013) and Is Anybody There? (2009).

I Want You was released in cinemas on 30th October 1998 and is now available to buy on DVD.

 

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

 

The Garden (1990)

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The Garden screenshot - a boy putting washing out in Dungeness estate

The Garden screenshot © Artificial Eye

Directed by: Derek Jarman

Starring: Tilda Swinton, Pete Lee-Wilson, Michael Gough

Production Company: Basilisk Communications, Channel 4, British Screen Productions, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, Uplink, Sohbi Kikaku, Space Shower TV

Kent locations: Dungeness

The Garden is one of avant-garde director Derek Jarman’s final films, and intertwines an almost wordless story about two gay lovers who are arrested, severely humiliated, tortured and killed with religious imagery.

Tilda Swinton (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) stars with narration by Michael Gough (Batman Returns, Sleepy Hollow).

The Garden screenshot - Dungeness beach and sea

The Garden screenshot © Artificial Eye

The film is set against the backdrop of Dungeness, which had been Jarman’s home since the late 1980s.

Dungeness in the Shepway district of Kent is one of the largest shingle landscapes in the world. It boasts sound mirrors, two lighthouses and power station and is a popular film location having previously been seen on screen in The Poison Tree (2012), Parade’s End (2012) and The Inspector Lynley Mysteries – Natural Causes (2006).

The Garden was released in 1990 and is now available to buy on DVD.

 

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