The Lady in the Van (2015)

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Kent Film Office

The Lady In The Van - Dame Maggie Smith as Miss Shepherd being pushed in a wheelchair by Alex Jennings as Alan Bennett in

The Lady In The Van – Dame Maggie Smith as Miss Shepherd and Alex Jennings as Alan Bennett © Sony

Writer: Alan Bennett

Director: Nicholas Hytner

Starring: Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Dominic Cooper, James Corden, Jim Broadbent, Frances de la Tour

Production company: BBC Films, TriStar Productions

Kent Locations: Broadstairs – High Street, Esplanade, Harbour Street, Viking Bay Beach, Morellis Gelato, Buckmaster House

The Lady in the Van is British film based on the true story about a homeless woman, Miss Shepherd (Maggie Smith), who temporarily parked her old yellow van on the driveway of writer Alan Bennett (Alex Jennings) in the 1970’s. As fifteen years went by, the pair developed an endearing but sometimes turbulent relationship, which translates into a funny, poignant and life-affirming story.

Adapted by Alan Bennett (The History Boys, A Private Function, Prick Up Your Ears) from his memoir of the same name, the film is directed by Nicholas Hytner (The Crucible, The Object of My Affection, Center Stage).

Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Gosford Park) stars as Miss Shepherd with Alex Jennings (The Queen, Babel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason) playing Alan Bennett.

: Behind the scenes © Thanet District Council

: Behind the scenes © Thanet District Council

: Behind the scenes © Thanet District Council

: Behind the scenes © Thanet District Council

: Behind the scenes © Thanet District Council

Also starring is Dominic Cooper (Mamma Mia!, Need for Speed, Captain America: The First Avenger), James Corden (Begin Again, Into the Woods, The History Boys), Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge!, Cloud Atlas, Gangs of New York) and Frances de la Tour (Hugo, The Book of Eli, Alice in Wonderland).

In November 2014, The Lady in the Van production team came to Kent to film in Broadstairs including the High Street, Esplanade, Harbour Street, Viking Bay Beach and http://www.morellisgelato.com/ for the scenes where Miss Shepherd (Maggie Smith) visits the coast. Buckmaster House in Broadstairs also doubled as Weston-Super-Mare for the scenes where Alan Bennett visits his mother.

Broadstairs is a traditional British seaside town offering sandy beaches with rides, beach huts, surfing, a harbour and cliff-top promenade. The High Street has historic red-brick buildings occupied by cafes, restaurants, bars and shops. Broadstairs has also been used as a film location in Eastenders (2015), Edge of Heaven (2014) and Hancock and Joan (2008).

Don’t miss The Lady in the Van which is released in cinemas on Friday 13^th November 2015.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA8tMziteZM

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

Downton Abbey (2010 & 2013)

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Kent Film Office

Joanne Froggatt as Anna Bates, Baby George and Di Botcher as Nanny West © ITV

Creator: Julian Fellowes
Starring: Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Brendan Coyle, Elizabeth McGovern
Production Company: ITV Studios, Carnival Films, Masterpiece, NBC Universal, WGBH Boston
Kent Locations Used: Kent & East Sussex Railway, The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Downton Abbey (2010-2015) was an ITV period drama charting the lives of the Crawley family and their servants in early 20^th Century Britain.

Created by Julian Fellowes (Belgravia (2020), Vanity Fair (2005)), the series hosts a star of acting talent including Maggie Smith (The Lady in the Van (2015), A Room With a View (1986)) as Violet Crawley, Hugh Bonneville (The Gold (2023), The Monuments Men (2014)) as Robert Crawley, Michelle Dockery (The Gentlemen, Good Behaviour) as Lady Mary Crawley, Brendan Coyle (Me Before You, Lark Rise to Candleford) as John Bates and Elizabeth McGovern (Ordinary People, Once Upon a Time in America) as Cora Crawley.

The opening shot of Series 1 Episode 1 is a steam train going through the countryside and was filmed at Kent & East Sussex Railway.

In February 2013, the Downton Abbey team visited The Historic Dockyard Chatham where they used the Tarred Yarn Store to double as the workhouse where Mr Grigg (Nicky Henson) works in Series 4 Episode 1. Later, in Episode 2, the Ropery streets were used for the scenes where Lady Rose MacClare (Lily James) is at the market with James Kent (Ed Speleers) watching her.

Downton Abbey Screenshot - train going through the countryside

Downton Abbey Screenshot © ITV Studios, Carnival Films, Masterpiece, NBC Universal, WGBH Boston

Kent & East Sussex Railway is a ten-and-a-half-mile rural light railway from Tenterden to East Sussex. Kent & East Sussex Railway has previously featured in film and TV productions including Richard E. Grant on Ealing Comedies (2016), Mapp and Lucia (2014) and Last Passenger (2013).

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a popular film location due to its varied and interesting areas such as the cobbled streets, church and over 100 buildings dating from the Georgian and Victorian periods. Previous productions that have shot here include Les Misérables (2013), Call the Midwife (2012-2024), and The Golden Compass (2007).

Series 1 of Downton Abbey originally aired on ITV from Sunday 26^th September.

Series 4 of Downton Abbey aired on ITV from Sunday 22^nd September 2013 and is now available to stream on Amazon Prime.

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

A Room With A View (1986)

Posted on April 5, 1986 by Kent Film Office

A Room with a View Movie Poster- Two characters on a balcony facing each other with rooftops behind them

Directed by: James Ivory

Produced by: Ismail Merchant

Starring: Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Judi Dench, Julian Sands, Daniel Day Lewis

Production Company: Goldcrest Films International, National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC), Curzon Film Distributors, Film Four International, Merchant Ivory Productions

Kent Filming Locations Used: Emmett’s Garden in Sevenoaks, Chiddingstone, Brasted.

Set in the early 1900’s, Lucy Honeychurch (Bonham Carter) embarks on her first trip to Florence chaperoned by her elderly spinster cousin Charlotte Bartlett (Maggie Smith). When Lucy meets eccentric George Emerson (Julian Sands), Charlotte fears that the two young people are becoming a little too familiar and beats a hasty return to England.

Once home, Lucy begins a courtship with the stoic Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day Lewis), a far cry from the free spirited George. However Lucy soon finds herself torn between duty to her fiancé and her love for George, who miraculously appears in her life once more.

A beautiful and romantic social comedy, this Merchant Ivory film showed audiences the beauty of the Kent Countryside, as they filmed at a private residence in Brasted to double as the Honeychurch’s family home.

Owned by the National Trust, Emmett’s Garden in Sevenoaks became the venue for Lucy and Cecil’s engagement party in the film. A beautiful location, Emmett’s Garden was created in the late 19^th Century and contains many exotic and rare trees and shrubs from around the world.

Also in Sevenoaks, the village of Chiddingstone featured in the film as the setting for Lucy and Cecil’s post engagement-party walk. Owned entirely by the National Trust, it is the perfect example of a Tudor one-street village where approximately over 70% of the buildings are at least 200 years old. In the scene you can also see St Mary’s Church in Chiddingstone which was built in the 13^th Century.

Sevenoaks is also home to the historic Hever Castle, childhood home to Anne Boleyn. The castle has featured in a number of productions, namely Inkheart (2008), Lady Jane (1986) and Anne of a Thousand Days (1969).

A Room With A View was released in cinemas in April 1986 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