Mary & George (2024)

Julianne Moore as Mary Villiers and Nicholas Galitzine as George Villiers are standing in front of a hedge and some topiary in a winter garden. Moore is wearing a historical navy gown with marching gloves and hat. Galitzine wears a navy historical suit and a brown belt with a gold buckle.

Mary & George (2024) © Sky

Creator: D.C. Moore
Starring:
Julianne Moore, Nicholas Galitzine, Tony Curran
Production Company:
Hera Pictures, SKY Studios
Kent Locations Used:
Cobham Hall, Knole Park

Mary and George (2024) is a 7-part historical drama series following the true story of Countess Mary Villiers, who moulded her son George to seduce King James I and become his all-powerful lover.

Created by D.C. Moore (Not Safe for Work) and based on Benjamin Woolley’s book ‘The King’s Assassin’, the series stars Julianne Moore (Children of Men (2006), Far from Heaven) as Mary Villiers, Nicholas Galitzine (Red, White & Royal Blue (2023), Purple Hearts) as George Villiers and Tony Curran (Calibre, Outlaw King) as King James I.

Production visited Kent to film at Cobham Hall and Knole Park.

Cobham Hall is a private school in a historic house which is located in 150 acres of Grade II listed parkland. Its features include a stunning ballroom, library, cobbled courtyards, formal gardens, water towers, modern classrooms and sports facilities, including a swimming pool. Recent productions to have filmed at Cobham Hall include The Crown Series 1-6 (2016-2023), Hetty Feather Series 1-6 (2015-2020) and High End Yaariyaan (2019).

Knole in Sevenoaks is the last medieval deer park in Kent surrounding a 600-year-old estate which has previously doubled for the Palace of Westminster during Tudor Times. It is managed by the National Trust and other productions to have filmed there include Pirates of the Caribbean – On Stranger Tides (2011), Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows (2011) and Burke and Hare (2010).

Mary & George (2024) will be available to stream on Sky Atlantic and NOW from Tuesday 5th March 2024.

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


The Crown Series 1 – 6 (2016-2023)

Actress Olivia Coleman as Queen Elizabeth II dressed in regimental uniform sitting on a black horse saluting. In the background is a crowd

Olivia Colman in The Crown (2020) © Netflix

Creator: Peter Morgan
Starring: Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, Imelda Staunton, Jonathan Pryce, Lesley Manville, Elizabeth Debicki, Dominic West
Production Company: Left Bank Pictures, Sony Pictures Television
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Brompton Barracks, Cobham Hall, Lydd, Discovery Park, Rochester

The Crown (2016-2023) is a Netflix Original historical drama series focusing on the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Based on real events, the series is a fictional dramatization of the political and personal events that shaped her reign.

Created by Peter Morgan (Rush (2013), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)), The Crown was reportedly the most expensive series to be produced by Netflix when it first aired, estimated at £100 million.

In Series 1 – 2, Queen Elizabeth II is portrayed by Claire Foy (The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2022), A Very British Scandal (2021)) followed by Olivia Colman in Series 3-4 (Landscapers (2021), The Favourite (2019)). Imelda Staunton (Flesh and Blood (2020), Vera Drake) took over the role in Series 5-6, supported by a host of stars including Jonathan Pryce (Wolf Hall (2015), The Two Popes) as Prince Philip, Lesley Manville (Harlots (2017), Mr Turner (2014)) as Princess Margaret, Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby, Widows) as Princess Diana and Dominic West (Genius (2016), Johnny English Reborn (2011)) as Prince Charles.

The Crown production team chose to visit Kent to film at The Historic Dockyard Chatham for Series 1 where they filmed a dockside scene on Anchor Wharf after building part of the side of a ship. The Historic Dockyard Chatham dates back to the 17th century and contains over 100 buildings from the Georgian and Victorian periods. It is a popular film location that has previously featured on screen in Suffragette (2015)Downton Abbey (2010-2013) and Les Miserables (2013).

In Series 4, production visited Brompton Barracks in Chatham, where they used the Parade Square and The Mall for scenes re-enacting Trooping the Colour at the Horse Guards Parade. Brompton Barracks is ideally suited as a location to double for iconic London landmarks with a large parade ground, vaulted cellars under the Officer’s Mess, statues, stone bridges, a museum, and a large ornate arch.

For Series 5, production revisited The Historic Dockyard Chatham where they filmed the Queen boarding a ship at Anchor Wharf. Filming also took place in the village of Lydd, at Hardy Hall and The Green, which was used to recreate Tony Blair, played by Bertie Carvel (Dalgliesh, Doctor Foster), and his family casting their votes in the 1997 General Election – a scene which sadly did not make the final cut. Production also visited Cobham Hall, which doubled as Eton College.

Production returned to Kent for Series 6, with filming taking place at Cobham Hall, which once again doubles for Eton College. A jogging scene was also filmed in a nearby private woodland and in Episode 4 Discovery Park features as the hospital in France where Princess Diana passed away. The wedding of Prince Charles (Dominic West) and Camilla (Olivia Williams) in Windsor was filmed outside Rochester Guildhall in the City Centre doubling for the registry office at Windsor Guildhall and the wedding procession.

Cobham Hall is a private school in a historic house which is located in 150 acres of Grade II listed parkland. Its features include a stunning ballroom, library, cobbled courtyards, formal gardens, water towers, modern classrooms and sport facilities, including a swimming pool. Previous productions to have filmed at Cobham Hall include Hetty Feather (2015-2020), High End Yaariyaan (2019) and Tulip Fever (2018).

Formerly the HQ for Pfizer in the UK, Discovery Park is a large office complex with science labs and warehouses. Recent productions to have filmed there include The Old Guard (2020), The Complex: Lockdown (2020) and Baptiste (2019).

Rochester City has the feel of a medieval market town, with Cathedral, castle ruins and unspoilt high street by the River Medway. Recent productions to have filmed there include Whitstable Pearl (2021-2022), Series 4 of Unforgotten (2021) and Big Boys Don’t Cry (2020).

The first series of The Crown (2016-2023) was released on Netflix on Friday 4th November 2016. All seasons are currently available to view on Netflix.

Series 6 of The Crown (2016-2023) will be released on Netflix in two parts. Part 1 will be released on Thursday 16th November 2023, with Part 2 following on Thursday 14th December 2023.

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


Born a King (2019)

Film poster depicting Abdullah Ali as the young Faisal, Hermione Corfield as a young Princess Mary and Ed Skrein as Philby above a reflection of the Houses of Parliament in the Thames

Born a King poster © Celtic Films Entertainment

Writer: Henry Fitzherbert, Bader Al Samari, Ray Loriga
Director: Agusti Villaronga
Starring: Abdullah Ali, Ed Skrein, Hermione Corfield, Kenneth Cranham
Production Company: Arena Audiovisual, Celtic Films Entertainment
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Born a King (2019) is the real life, coming-of-age story of Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud who was sent to London in 1919 by his father to gather support for Saudi Arabia as a sovereign country. He was the first Saudi Prince to visit the UK and at 14 was entrusted to negotiate with some of the pre-eminent figures of the age; Lord Curzon (Kenneth Cranham) and Winston Churchill (Celyn Jones). He befriends Princess Mary (Hermione Corfield) who helps guide him through the corridors of power.

Born a King was directed by Agusti Villaronga (Black Bread, Uncertain Glory) and written by Henry Fitzherbert (Love & Friendship, Slaughterhouse Rulez), Bader Al Samari and Ray Loriga (Theresa: The Body of Christ, Ausentes). The film introduces Abdullah Ali as Faisal, and stars Ed Skrein (Deadpool, The Model) as Philby, Hermione Corfield (The Halcyon, Rust Creek) as Princess Mary and Kenneth Cranham (Maleficent, The White Princess) as Lord Curzon.

Anchor Wharf at The Historic Dockyard Chatham doubles as Plymouth Docks in the film, in a scene where Prince Faisal arrives in England and is greeted by the press and government officials.

Set over 80 acres on the River Medway and with more than 100 Victorian and Georgian buildings, The Historic Dockyard Chatham is one of Kent’s most popular film locations. The site has previously featured in Mr Turner (2014), Victoria and Abdul (2017) and The Mercy (2018).

Born a King (2019) was released in Saudi Arabia on Thursday 26th September 2019 and is available to watch on Amazon in the UK.

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


Summer of Rockets (2019)

Close up of actress from Summer of Rockets pictured inside a building, looking deep in thought off camera, wearing a blue coat and green scarf.

Summer of Rockets ©BBC Pictures

Writer: Stephen Poliakoff
Director: Stephen Poliakoff
Starring: Toby Woolf, Suanne Braun, Keeley Hawes, Linus Roache, Timothy Spall, Toby Stephens
Production Company: Little Island Productions
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyards, Chatham

Set in London during the height of the Cold War, Summer of Rockets (2019) is a drama based on true events amid with growing tensions across Europe. At the time, the UK tested its first hydrogen bomb, the Soviets launched their first ballistic missile, and the space race between America and the Soviet Union had begun.

Written and directed by multi-award winning writer Stephen Poliakoff (Dancing on the Edge, Close to the Enemy), the series stars Toby Woolf (The Last Post), Suanne Braun (No Signal, Starhyke), Keeley Hawes (Line of Duty, Bodyguard) Linus Roache (Non-Stop, Vikings), Timothy Spall (Finding Your Feet, Hatton Gardens), Toby Stephens (And Then There Were None, Lost in Space).

The streets outside the Ropery in The Historic Dockyard Chatham were used to film the 1950s civil defence exercise in the series and the upper floors of the Ropery itself featured as civil defence training rooms.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham, with its Victorian and Georgian architecture continues to be a popular filming location. Previous productions which featured this location have been The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015), Our World War (2014) and Foyle’s War – A War of Nerves (2004).

Summer of Rockets can be seen on BBC Two on Wednesday 22nd May 2019 at 9pm. After this, episodes will then be shown every Wednesday for the next six weeks.

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


Mary Queen of Scots (2018)

Margot Robbie in Mary Queen of Scots seen standing in the dark in a long grey dress, with a maid at each side dressed in the same grey colour.

Margot Robbie in Mary Queen of Scots ©Universal Pictures

Writer: Beau Willimon
Director: Josie Rourke
Starring: Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie
Production Company: Universal Pictures International
Kent Locations Used: Penshurst Place

Historical drama Mary Queen of Scots is based on John Guy’s book ‘Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart’ and tells the story of Mary Stuart (Saoirse Ronan), Queen of France, who becomes widowed at 18, defies pressures to remarry and instead, returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her throne. However, when Mary’s attempt to overthrow her cousin Elizabeth I, Queen of England (Margot Robbie), fails, she is condemned to years of imprisonment before finally facing execution.

The film was directed by Josie Rourke and written by Beau Willimon and  stars Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones, Brooklyn) and Margot Robbie (Wolf of Wall Street, The Legend of Tarzan).

Filming took place at Penshurst Place in Sevenoaks, with lead actress Saoirse Ronan featuring in scenes set in the Baron’s Hall and the Inner Courtyard. The medieval Baron’s Hall also features at the start of the official trailer as a backdrop for Mary’s execution. The solemn procession of spectators waiting to witness Queen Mary’s execution was staged in the Inner Courtyard.

Penshurst Place is a 14th Century Manor House with preserved interiors, including the unique medieval Baron’s Hall as well as eleven acres of Elizabethan walled gardens. Previous productions using this location were The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses (2016), Wolf Hall (2015), and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008).

Mary Queen of Scots will be released in UK Cinemas on Friday 18th January 2019.

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


Peterloo (2018)

Various actors in film 'Peterloo' standing on a stage, surrounded by a cheering crowd

Peterloo 2018 ©IMDb

Writer / Director: Mike Leigh
Starring: Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake, Pearce Quigley
Production Company: BFI Film Fund
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham and St Mary’s Marshes

Oscar nominated filmmaker Mike Leigh (Mr Turner) portrays one of England’s bloodiest episodes, the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Government guards charged and attacked a peaceful protest held by 80,000 people in Manchester demanding democratic reform.

Peterloo (2018) stars Rory Kinnear (Spectre, The Imitation Game) as Henry Hunt, Maxine Peake (The Theory of Everything, The Village) as Nellie, Pearce Quigley (The Rovers) as Joshua.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a well-known film location in Kent and has been used on many projects. Production used the Tarred Yarn Store and the exterior of the Ropery to double as a Cotton Mill in Manchester.

With its Victorian and Georgian architecture, the Dockyards provides many varied locations and has also appeared in Victoria and Abdul (2017), Mr Turner (2014) and Downton Abbey (2013) among others.

St Mary’s Marshes on the Isle of Grain appears in a short scene at the beginning of the film, a lonely figure walking along the marshes. The marshes are on the Isle of Grain, between the River Thames and the River Medway. The Medway area has been used in various TV Series and films such as Black Sea (2014).

The film will be released in the UK on 2nd November 2018.

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


Vanity Fair (2018)

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. 

 

 

 


Victoria and Abdul (2017)

Queen Victoria sitting at table writing with Abdul standing next to hear looking down

Victoria and Abdul © Focus Features

Writer:  Lee Hall, based on the book Victoria & Abdul by Shrabani Basu

Director: Stephen Frears

Starring: Dame Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Olivia Williams, Michael Gambon and Eddie Izzard

Production Company: BBC Films, Working Title Films

Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Queen Victoria and Abdul walking on tree lined pathway

Victoria and Abdul © Focus Features

 

The BBC’s newest biopic feature, Victoria and Abdul, tells the story of the unlikely friendship between Queen Victoria (Dame Judi Dench) and her servant Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal). The film is based on the book Victoria &Abdul: The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant, by Shrabani Basu.

Dame Judi Dench stars as Queen Victoria and Ali Fazal as Abdul Karim (Fast and Furious 7 and 3 Idiots). The supporting cast include Olivia Williams

(The Sixth Sense and An Education), Michael Gambon (The Harry Potter Series and Sleepy Hollow), Eddie Izzard (Valkyrie and Ocean’s Thirteen) and Adeel Akhtar (The Dictator and Pan).

The production filmed at The Historic Dockyard Chatham on The HMS Gannet and the quayside adjacent to the ship.

With over 100 Georgian and Victorian buildings, spread over 80 acres, The Historic Dockyard Chatham is one of Kent’s most popular filming locations. Some of the productions that have filmed at The Historic Dockyard Chatham include, Call the Midwife (2012-present), Downton Abbey (2013) and Les Misérables (2013)

Victoria and Abdul will be released in cinemas on Friday 15th September 2017.

 

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


Harlots (2017)

Charlotte Wells [Jessica Brown Findlay] and Daniel Marney [Rory Fleck-Byrne] © Monumental Television

Creators: Alison Newman, Moira Buffini
Writers: Moira Buffini, Jane English, Cat Jones, Debbie O’Malley
Starring: Samantha Morton, Jessica Brown Findlay, Lesley Manville, Eloise Smyth, Holli Dempsey, Kate Fleetwood
Production Company: Monumental Pictures, Independent Television (ITV)
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Already hotly debated in the press, ITV’s risqué eight part series, Harlots (2017-2019), takes us back to London 1763 when one in five women sold their body. The story follows brothel owner Margaret Wells (Samantha Morton), her daughters Charlotte (Jessica Brown Findlay) and Lucy (Eloise Smyth) and their rival, Madam Lydia Quigley (Lesley Manville).

Marie-Louise D’Aubigne (Poppy Corby-Teuch) and three friends sitting in a row of chairs with curtains behind

Marie-Louise D’Aubigne (Poppy Corby-Teuch) and other Harlots © Monumental Television

The series was inspired by Jack Harris’ stories collected in Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies, a directory that contained a list of prostitutes, with their age, price and ‘specialities’.

The new drama stars Samantha Morton (The Walking Dead, Minority Report) as Margaret Wells, Jessica Brown Findlay (Victor Frankenstein (2015), Brave New World (2020)) as Charlotte Wells, Lesley Manville (Mr Turner (2014), All or Nothing (2002)) as Lydia Quigley, Eloise Smyth (The Frankenstein Chronicles, Fortitude) as Lucy Wells, Holli Dempsey (Derek (2013), The Aliens) as Emily Lacey and Kate Fleetwood (Victoria, The Wheel of Time) as Nancy Birch.

The Tarred Yarn Store at Chatham Dockyard was used as the interior and exterior of a riverside tavern in Series One.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a popular filming location with variety of Georgian and Victorian architecture, maritime environment, dry dock, cobbled streets and industrial buildings. Call the Midwife (2012-2022), SS-GB (2017) and The Crown (2016-2020) are just a few of the productions that were filmed at The Historic Dockyard Chatham.

Harlots premieres on ITV Encore on Monday 27th March at 10:00PM and on Hulu on Wednesday 29th March.

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


SS-GB (2017)

Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer staring at the camera with barbed wire behind him on a red background

Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer (SAM RILEY) © Sid Gentle Films

Writers: Robert Wade and Neal Purvis

Starring: Sam Riley, Kate Bosworth, Aneurin Barnard, Rainer Bock, Jonathan Cass, James Cosmo, Maeve Dermody, Lars Eidinger, Kit Connor and James Northcote

Production Company: Sid Gentle Films, BBC

Kent locations used: The Historic Dockyards Chatham

Set in the 1940s, in an alternate world where the Germans won the Battle of Britain, BBC’s new five part series SS-GB follows Scotland Yard detective Douglas Archer (Sam Riley), who is investigating a murder in German-occupied England. The gripping new drama is an adaptation of Len Deighton’s 1978 novel and will be split into five parts.

Writers Robert Wade and Neal Purvis both studied Film and Photographic Arts at the University of Kent. Since then they have forged a successful career writing screenplays together, with their first success being the controversial drama Let Him Have It (1991). Both writers have also co-written five James Bond films, including Quantum of Solace (2008) and Skyfall (2012), which was the UK’s highest grossing movie!

Archer (Sam Riley) and Harry Woods (James Cosmo) standing in an office room

Episode 1 Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer (SAM RILEY), Harry Woods (JAMES COSMO) © Sid Gentle Films

SS-GB brings together a fantastic cast including, Sam Riley (Maleficent, Control), Kate Bosworth (Still Alice, Superman Returns), Aneurin Barnard (Citadel, The Truth About Emanuel), Rainer Bock (War Horse, Inglorious Basterds and Unknown), Jonathan Cass (Transformers: The Last Knight, Kingsman: The Golden Circle), James Cosmo (Braveheart and Troy), Maeve Dermody (Black Water, Marcella), Lars Eidinger (Clouds of Sils Maria, Everyone Else), Kit Connor (Get Santa, Mr Holmes) and James Northcote (The Imitation Game).

Exterior street scenes were shot at The Ropery and Anchor Wharf and also around the church and South Stables. The Tarred Yarn store was featured as a mortuary and there was also a small scene in The Commissioners House garden.

Set over 80 acres with more than 100 Victorian and Georgian buildings, The Historic Dockyard Chatham is one of Kent’s most popular film locations and has previously been used for the BBC TV series Call The Midwife (2012-present), The Crown (2016) and most recently The Halcyon (2017).

SS-GB premiers on Sunday 19th February 2017 at 21:00pm on BBC One

 

 

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