Stars of the screen
Find out which historic houses and dramatic landscapes you can see on-screen, from popular TV dramas to brand new films.
Jane Austen film and TV locations
If you're a Jane Austen fan, you'll recognise the settings in her stories as much as her characters. Many places we care for have featured in TV and film adaptations of her novels. Find out which ones have been filming locations, from Basildon Park in Berkshire as Pride and Prejudice’s Netherfield; to Leith Hill in Surrey as the picnic spot for Emma.
- Assembly Rooms, Bath
- The Assembly Rooms have been in three Jane Austen screen adaptations and were at the heart of the city's social scene while Austen lived in Bath between 1801 and 1806. In the 1987 version of Northanger Abbey, they provided the backdrop of the ball where Catherine Morland first meets Henry Tilney. The Rooms also feature in the 1995 film and 2007 mini-series of Persuasion, when Anne Elliot attends a concert and encounters a jealous Captain Wentworth – a pivotal moment in the plot.Visit Bath Assembly Rooms
- Basildon Park, Berkshire
- Basildon Park took a central role in the 2005 production of Pride and Prejudice, which starred Keira Knightley as Lizzie and Matthew MacFadyen as Mr Darcy. The 18th-century Palladian mansion became Netherfield, Mr Bingley's house: a suitably grand residence for a 'young man of four or five thousand a year'.Visit Basildon Park
- Belton House, Lincolnshire
- In the 1995 BBC TV version of Pride and Prejudice, it was the good fortune of Jennifer Ehle’s Lizzie to dine in the splendour of Belton House, which played Lady Catherine De Bourgh’s residence. Belton House also featured in the scenes leading up to Mr Darcy's first excruciating proposal to Lizzie. The Blue Bedroom, used as Darcy’s room at Rosings, is where he writes the letter responding to Elizabeth's accusations following the first, unsuccessful proposal.Visit Belton House
- Claydon House, Buckinghamshire
- The ballroom scene in the 1996 film of Emma was filmed at this Georgian country house. The film stars Gwyneth Paltrow as the self-elected matchmaker, Emma, who inevitably gets a taste of her own medicine.Visit Claydon House
- Dyrham Park, Gloucestershire
- Jane Austen's final novel, Sanditon, was unfinished at the time of her death. In 2019 ITV adapted it for a TV series, using Dyrham Park as the setting for Sanditon House, Lady Denham's home. Dyrham Park also appears in the 2008 mini-series of Sense and Sensibility, providing the interiors and exterior of Allenham – the house that Willoughby is set to inherit – in episode two.Visit Dyrham Park
- Ham House, Surrey
- Episode three of the 2008 Sense and Sensibility TV adaptation was filmed at Ham House, where it plays the Palmer's home, Cleveland. In the episode, Marianne goes for a walk in the rain – only to fall ill and be rescued by Colonel Brandon.Visit Ham House
- Lacock Village, Wiltshire
- Lacock dates from the 13th century and played the village of Meryton in the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice (1995). It was here that the Bennet girls, in particular Lydia and Kitty, ‘whose minds were more vacant than their sisters’, shopped for bonnets, sought the latest tittle-tattle from their Aunt Philips, and hoped to attract the attentions of the officers – in particular a certain Mr Wickham.Visit Lacock Village
- Leith Hill, Surrey
- The famous picnic scene in the novel, Emma, is set at Box Hill, which was a popular picnic spot during Jane Austen’s time – just as it is today. It’s a little-known fact that in both the 2009 mini-series and the 2020 film adaptation, the picnic scene was filmed at nearby Leith Hill instead.Visit Leith Hill
- Lyme Park, Cheshire
- Lyme Park is famous for playing the exterior and grounds of Pemberley, Mr Darcy’s home, in the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice (1995). Jennifer Ehle’s Lizzie was shocked by the approach of the soaking wet figure of Mr Darcy, played by Colin Firth, after his dip in the lake. The scene cemented Firth's sex symbol status and turned Lyme Park into one of TV's most iconic backdrops.Visit Lyme Park
- Montacute House, Somerset
- The Oscar-winning 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility starred Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet as sisters Elinor and Marianne. Montacute stood in as the country home of the Palmers, where Marianne got caught in the rain while trying to escape the heartbreak of Willoughby's rejection. You can spot the famous ‘wibbly wobbly’ yew hedges as she walks through the garden, and later on Colonel Brandon (played by Alan Rickman) pokes his head into the Orangery looking for her.More about Montacute House
- Saltram, Devon
- The classical Georgian mansion at Saltram stands in for Norland Park in the 1995 film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. During a scene in the Library, Margaret, the youngest Dashwood sister, takes refuge under a table while Edward and Elinor pretend not to notice. Her character also liked hiding in a treehouse, so a rather elaborate one was constructed in the grounds during filming.Visit Saltram
- Sudbury Hall, Derbyshire
- Sudbury Hall was used for the interiors of Pemberley in the 1995 TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. In it, the housekeeper takes Lizzie on a tour where she is shown the Library and Saloon. The Long Gallery is also part of the tour, where she stands and contemplates an oil painting of Mr Darcy. Its interior also appears in later scenes, where Darcy and his guests are entertained by his sister Georgiana playing the piano.Visit Sudbury Hall
- Stourhead, Wiltshire
- The 18th-century landscaped garden at Stourhead was used as a backdrop in the 2005 production of Pride and Prejudice, along with one of its enchanting temples. The Temple of Apollo, set above the tranquil lake, was the location for Mr Darcy’s first awkward proposal to Lizzie.Visit Stourhead
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