Bridgerton filming locations

Bridgerton cast members walking beside a lake

Based on the best-selling novels by Julia Quinn, Bridgerton follows the trials and tribulations of eight close-knit siblings navigating Regency-era London’s competitive high-society marriage market. With series two airing on Netflix from 25 March, find out which places were used as filming locations for the lavish drama.

From glittering ballrooms to extravagant palaces and sweeping parklands, the series explores a whole range of grand locations. ‘Bridgerton is a dialled-up version of the regency period,’ says Production Designer Will Hughes-Jones. ‘We’re not historically accurate because it’s a pastiche of the period, [but] we’re always looking at the historical references and seeing how we can use them to emphasise the grandeur and importance of all these characters… It’s a feast for the eyes.’ 

Series one

The first series focused on Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and her tempestuous romance with the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page). Although the pair got off to a bad start, their relationship shifted during a lavish outdoor ball scene filmed at Stowe in Buckinghamshire, which was used to represent Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens.

Stowe, Buckinghamshire

In the Regency era, Vauxhall Gardens were the heart of London’s nightlife, where visitors could enjoy all sorts of entertainment from concerts to acrobats and even take a ride in a hot-air balloon. Balls were also a common occurrence, like the one we see at the end of the first episode. 

At Stowe the crew built a full dance floor in the grounds, just in front of the Temple of Venus. They also constructed a two-storey bandstand with the musicians above and a banqueting area beneath, which was directly inspired by contemporary accounts of Vauxhall Gardens. The finishing touches included 2km of festoon lighting, fireworks and pyrotechnic pyramids, making for a spectacular backdrop to dance scene which was filmed at 4am. 

‘The ball scenes are essential to this show,’ says Showrunner Chris Van Dusen. ‘During the Regency era you couldn’t be in close contact with someone you were interested in romantically except on the dance floor.’ 

Choreographer Sean “Jack” Murphy uses a mix of modern and historically authentic choreography for the ball scenes. He usually only gets about three hours with the lead actors to choreograph their ball scenes. During the first series, Phoebe Dynevor learned four dances in one day.

Series two

The second series focuses on Anthony, the eldest of the siblings and the current Viscount Bridgerton, as he sets out to find a suitable wife. Driven by his duty to uphold the family name, Anthony begins to court Edwina Sharma, newly arrived back in London from India. However Edwina’s protective older sister Kate is not a fan of the match, and her prickly relationship with Anthony promises to complicate matters on both sides. 

Bridgerton cast members during a scene filmed in Petworth's North Gallery
Cast of Bridgerton during a scene filmed in Petworth's North Gallery
Bridgerton cast members during a scene filmed in Petworth's North Gallery

Petworth, West Sussex

Petworth is famous for its art collection, making it the ideal stand-in for an art gallery in Bridgerton. Filming took place in the North Gallery, with four of the other show rooms used for equipment storage and the ‘video village’. 

‘We had to move some collection items to make way for filming, including our incredible Molyneux Globe,’ said Sue Rhodes, Petworth’s Visitor Experience Manager. ‘We brought in specialist art handlers to support our collections team as some of the paintings needed to come down, including one of the biggest ones – a painting by Northcote. 

‘We also had filming conservators on site while the production company were with us and they were a huge support, we couldn’t have done it without them.’ 

The production team didn’t have to do a lot of set dressing, but they did bring in some prop sculptures to sit alongside the remaining artworks – including one called “the lovers”. 

‘It was wonderful to see the cast and the large number of supporting artists all in beautiful regency costume walking through the house,’ said Sue. ‘It was as though the people in the paintings had stepped out of their canvases – you got a real glimpse of what Petworth would have been like during its golden age when the 3rd Earl of Egremont was hosting and entertaining.' 

Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) on horseback
Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) on horseback
Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) on horseback

Ashridge, Hertfordshire

Ivinghoe Beacon offers plenty of wide-open countryside and some of the best views on the Ashridge Estate, so it was the ideal location to film some of the horse-riding scenes in series two.  

Ashridge’s close proximity to Pinewood studios means it’s been used for hundreds of productions over the years, including some which have required the production crew to fill the woods with snow or build a medieval village on site. Bridgerton was a comparatively simple shoot, only requiring the local team to lay some temporary track for the various production vehicles and equipment. Plus, as the site is an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest), someone was always on hand to supervise and make sure the landscape was protected.

Basildon Park, Berkshire

Basildon’s Garden Room and the parterre were both used to film an evening party scene. In total it took a week to prepare for filming, as the shoot took place in late October whereas Bridgerton’s action is set during the London ‘season’, which traditionally runs from April to the end of August. The production design team brought in around 5000 artificial flowers to fill the rose garden with ‘summer’ blooms, and also added more greenery and foliage around the back of the house as well.

As it was an evening scene the filming all took place during night shoots from 8pm – 5am. A team of staff and volunteers worked around the clock to get everything set up, and to be on hand during the filming. They were also supported by four specialist project conservators, who helped to make sure that the historic surroundings and collection items were all looked after throughout the filming. 

" Bridgerton is a dialled-up version of the regency period...a feast for the eyes"
- Will Hughes-Jones, Production Designer

Supporting special places

As well as showing off beautiful locations, the filming of Bridgerton directly benefits the places that star in the series. The location fees go straight back into conservation work to care for these historic houses and landscapes, so that we’ll all be able to see them both on screen and in real life for years to come.