Knole Park

Mary & George (2024)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
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 First Team (2020)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Actors Theo Barklem-Biggs, Shaquille Ali-Yebuah, Jake Short, Jack McMullen, Will Arnett sitting on a bench in front of a set of lockers wearing red football shirts

Theo Barklem-Biggs, Shaquille Ali-Yebuah, Jake Short, Jack McMullen and Will Arnett in The First Team (2020) © Fudgepark

Writers: Damon Beesley and Iain Morris
Director: Iain Morris, Damon Beesley
Starring: Jack McMullen, Jake Short, and Shaquille Ali-Yebuah
Production Company: BBC Studios, Fudge Park Productions
Kent Locations Used: Sevenoaks

The First Team (2020) is a six-part British sitcom following the friendship of three young footballers at a fictional Premier League Club. The series follows the mostly off-pitch antics of the boys played by Shaquille Ali-Yebuah (The Feed, Save Me), Jack McMullen (Little Boy Blue, Brotherhood) and Jake Short (All Night, Man of the House) who are far less talented where money and women are concerned than scoring goals. The series also stars Paolo Sassanelli as the mercurial Italian manager Cesare, Will Arnett (The Lego Movie, Arrested Development) as the team’s eccentric American Chairman, Theo Barklem-Biggs (Sliced, White Gold) as resident hard-man Petey Brooks and Chris Geere (Single Parents, Modern Family) as their ineffectual coach Chris Booth.

This sitcom was written and directed by The Inbetweeners creators Iain Morris (Ill Behaviour, Drifters) and Damon Beesley (The Festival, Siblings). Both writers received the British Comedy Award for Best Sitcom in 2008 for The Inbetweeners, and have also won awards for their comedy series White Gold.

Production visited a private residence in Sevenoaks to double as Petey’s (Theo Barklem-Biggs) house and gardens. Sevenoaks is a Kentish town which is home to landmarks such as Knole Park and Riverhill Gardens, both of which have stunning natural and historic significance. Previous productions to film at Knole Park include The Favourite (2019) and Judwaa 2 (2017).

The First Team will air on BBC Two on Thursday 28th May 2020 at 9:30pm.

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

Great British Railway Journeys – Series 7 (2016)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
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. 

 

Magical Mystery Tour – The Beatles In Kent

Posted on by Kent Film Office
The four Beatles standing in front of a tree, next to their piano in a large field in Knole Park, Sevenoaks

The Beatles Strawberry Fields ForeverForever © The Beatles

Kent Locations: Knole Park, Sevenoaks, West Malling Airfield now Kings Hill.

Legendary English band ‘The Beatles’ who were formed in 1960, became world favourites with their huge catalogue of catchy rock and pop songs. The band, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr filmed several music videos in Kent in 1967 including Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane and I Am The Walrus. They also starred in 52-minute British television film named Magical Mystery Tour in 1967 which documented the band tour in a themed bus with their fans. For the film they arrived in West Malling where they filmed various interior and exterior shots at the old airfield, including the Mystery Marathon. The film was released on 26 December 1967 and is available to buy on DVD.

The Strawberry Fields Forever video filmed at Knole, where the band members walk across the park and climb on and off a tree which is attached to their piano.

The video for Penny Lane includes the band riding their horses through an archway at Knole Park and down towards the ponds. The group then dismount and sit at a picnic table where they are served with their instruments by liveried footmen.

The I Am The Walrus video was entirely filmed at West Malling Airfield, now Kings Hill, where the band perform the song on the airfield as part of their Magical Mystery Tour film.

Historic house Knole is set in a medieval deer-park in Sevenoaks. The National Trust location is over 500 years old and was once the palace of archbishops and royal property of the Tudor dynasty. Knole has previously featured in productions such as Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows (2011), Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides (2011) and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008).

Kings Hill is a housing and business development built on an airfield site which  has been featured as a film location on Couples Come Dine With Me (2014) and Channel 4’s Cape Wrath (2008).

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