Amazing Grace (2007)

Posted on February 4, 2007 by Kent Film Office

Wooden court room with cast members sat on wooden benches, a man is reading from a long scroll that rolls along the floor

Amazing Grace © Roadside Attractions

Director: Michael Apted

Writer: Steven Knight

Starring: Ioan Gruffudd, Benedict Cumberbatch, Albert Finney, Michael Gambon, Romola Garai and Rufus Sewell.

Production Company: Walden Media, Ingenious Film Partners, Bristol Bay Productions,Ingenious Film Partners

Kent Filming Locations: Historic Dockyard Chatham

Amazing Grace follows the journey of idealist William Wilberforce as he manoeuvres his way through Parliament, endeavouring to end the British transatlantic slave trade.

Directed by Michael Apted (Chasing Mavericks, The World is Not Enough) from an original screenplay written by Academy Award nominee Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, Dirty Pretty Things). Ioan Gruffudd (Titanic, Fantastic Four) leads a cast including Michael Gambon (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Good Shepherd), Albert Finney (Ocean’s Twelve, Big Fish) and Rufus Sewell (Hercules, The Illusionist).

The film portrays how Wilberforce, supported by his confidant John Newton (Albert Finney) and William Pitt the Younger (Benedict Cumberbatch), England’s youngest ever Prime Minister, spoke out against slavery and fought for the freedom of others.

Dockyard Church transformed into House of Commons set- wooden courtroom with stall either side of judges table

Dockyard Church transformed into House of Commons set © Chatham Dockyard

Amazing Grace House of Commons- wooden courtroom full with politicians.

The church at the Historic Dockyard Chatham was transformed for the film to recreate the 18th century House of Commons.

The Historic Dockyard in Chatham is set over 80 acres and contains over 100 Georgian and Victorian buildings. It has previously been used as a film location for productions such as Call the Midwife (2012-2014), Amazing Grace (2007) and Sherlock Holmes – Game of Shadows (2011).

Amazing Grace was released on 23rd March 2007 to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery and is now available on DVD.

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

The Gathering (2003)

Posted on March 17, 2003 by Kent Film Office

The Barons Hall large room with a meeting table in. Church officials are sat around the edge.

Church Officials meeting in The Barons Hall, Penshurst Place © Granada Films

Written by: Anthony Horowitz

Directed by: Brian Gilbert

Starring: Christina Ricci, Harry Forrester, Stephen Dillane, Peter McNamara, Robert Hardy, Ioan Gruffudd, Simon Russell Beale

Production Company: Granada Film Productions, Isle of Man Film Commission, Samuelson Productions, Isle of Man Film

Kent Locations: Penshurst Place

The Gathering is a supernatural thriller about Cassie, a young woman who forgets her identity after a car accident. As a mysterious, buried First Century church is uncovered, a dark history regarding some of the townspeople is revealed. Cassie begins to have premonitions of people whose lives are in danger and as events unfold, she realises who she really is.

The film stars Christina Ricci (The Ice Storm, Sleepy Hollow), Stephen Dillane (Spy Game, King Arthur), Robert Hardy (Frankenstein, Sense and Sensibility), Ioan Gruffudd (Black Hawk Down, Fantastic 4 Franchise), Harry Forrester (The Bill) and Kerry Fox (Shallow Grave, Bright Stair).

The Barons Hall at Penshurst Place provided the location for the scenes where the Bishop held meetings with the clergy.

Penshurst Place is a beautiful medieval estate with a history spanning nearly 700 years. It is popular with the visiting public due to the dedicated conservation of the rooms and its beautifully maintained gardens. The vast home and grounds have previously welcomed productions such as Henry V (2012), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) and BBC’s Merlin (2008).

The Gathering was released in January 2003 and is now available to buy on DVD.

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

Great Expectations (1999)

Posted on April 12, 1999 by Kent Film Office

Joe Gargery (Clive Russell ) with Young Pip (Gabriel Thomson) in his shoulders walking through a field, soldiers are walking either side of them

Directed By: Julian Jarrold

Written By: Charles Dickens (Novel) & Tony Marchant (Adaptation)

Starring: Ioan Gruffudd, Charlotte Rampling, Justine Waddell, Clive Russell

Production Company: BBC, WGBH

Kent Locations Used: Sheerness Docks, Kingswear Castle Paddlesteamer, Chatham Docks & River Medway

Surrounded by memorabilia from her ill-fated wedding, Ms Havisham invites local orphan Pip to her home to amuse her as she encourages her spiteful daughter Estella to break his heart. Pip’s future as a blacksmith is forever changed when an unknown sponsor pays for him to become a gentleman.

Starring Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four) as Pip, Charlotte Rampling (The Duchess) as Miss Havisham and Justine Waddell (Killing Bono) as Estella, this is the first BBC adaptation of the classic Dickens tale and was originally aired in 1999.

Young Pip (Gabriel Thompson) and Young Biddy (Laura Aikman) sat on the grass talking to each other, wicker baskets are behind them

Filmed in a variety of Kent Locations, the BBC brought Great Expectations back to the county where it was originally conceived by Dickens. Herbert Pocket’s bride to be, Clara, provides a refuge for reformed convict Abel Magwitch at Sheerness Docks where exterior shots of her house were filmed. Pip and Herbert Pocket arrange to meet Magwitch and help his escape at Chatham Docks, where slip 8 was used for the scene and exterior shots of the prison hulk ships.

The dramatic scene where Magwitch attempts to escape is well known to fans of the Dickens classic. The local Paddle steamer, “Kingswear Castle”, was used for the scenes and the production company used Stangate Creek on the River Medway for shots of the ship on the Thames Estuary. The Kingswear Castle also features in the 1998 BBC adaptation of Dickens last novel, Our Mutual Friend, starring Anna Friel and Paul McGann.

Dickens’ features Kent locations in many of his novels. The city of Rochester, which holds annual Dickens celebrations each year, can be recognised in many of the author’s novels such as The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Pickwick Papers and David Copperfield. The Kent Film Office celebrates Dickens history with the county including Tv and film adaptions in The Dickens Trail.

Great Expectations was shown on BBC in 1999 and is now available to buy on DVD.

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

Kent's Premier Film Commission