Popular TV dramas such as Bridgerton are helping many of England’s stately homes survive by providing much needed income, attracting visitors and funding conservation work, heritage groups say.
With new episodes of Bridgerton released on Netflix, historic houses across England are again in focus. Filming has become a key source of revenue for many estates that struggle with high maintenance costs.
The charity English Heritage, which manages about 400 historic properties, says many of its sites are used regularly for film and TV productions. One example is Ranger’s House in Greenwich, which appears as the Bridgerton family home.
Christina Pascoe, commercial development lead at English Heritage, said money from TV productions helps pay for basic but costly work. This includes replacing curtains and carpets, repairing stonework and cleaning windows, all of which require specialist skills.
English Heritage said its most popular filming location is Wrest Park near Silsoe in Bedfordshire. The site has appeared in The Crown and Downton Abbey and was recently closed to visitors for a film shoot. Pascoe said its rooms look similar to those in Buckingham Palace and are mostly unfurnished, making filming easier.
Tony Wood, a supervising location manager who has worked on Bridgerton, said filming at historic homes is far from glamorous. He said large crews, trucks and cables are hidden from view. Wood added that properties within 30 miles of London are most attractive as they reduce hotel costs.
He said studios cannot fully replace real stately homes. Building several connected and highly detailed rooms would cost far more than filming on location, and studios cannot recreate views of open countryside.
The National Trust, which looks after more than 500 properties in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said filming fees usually start at around £6,000 a day. Senior filming officer Harvey Edgington said costs rise if a property must close to the public, especially during peak summer months.
Edgington said estates farther from London are becoming more popular as new studios open across the UK. He said filming the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie at Calke Abbey helped pay for improvements such as a new visitor car park.
Appearing in major productions can also boost visitor numbers. Edgington said Antony House in Cornwall saw visitor numbers quadruple after featuring in the 2010 film Alice in Wonderland.
Stowe House near Buckingham, a Grade I listed estate, has appeared in Bridgerton and older films such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Because it is also a school, filming is limited to holidays. Even when a planned shoot for director Ridley Scott’s Napoleon was cancelled, producers still paid the agreed fee.
Susy Pullen, who manages commercial activity at Stowe House, said income from filming is essential as all work in historic buildings is expensive. In some cases, film crews have even paid to restore damaged features they noticed.
Ashridge House near Tring in Hertfordshire has also benefited from filming. Parts of the Harry Potter films used moulds taken from the house to create Hogwarts sets. Managing director David Evans said filming provides a significant share of the estate’s income and helped fund repairs such as replacing 200 year old gutters.
Evans said appearing on screen also helps attract younger visitors. He said films and TV shows introduce historic houses to people who might not otherwise visit them, helping to secure their future for generations to come.
With inputs from BBC