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Bridgerton on Netflix is back for its second season! The filming locations for Bridgerton take us across England to many stunning and historic estates and cities that may be familiar to connoisseurs of the period drama genre. But Bridgerton takes a more modern approach, not surprising given that the show comes from Shondaland, the production company of Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal).
In the first season, the main protagonist, the Duke of Hastings aka Simon Basset (played by Regé-Jean Page) is Black, as is Queen Charlotte (played by Golda Rosheuvel). There are some thematic echoes of Sanditon, the PBS Masterpiece series based on Jane Austen’s unfinished novel of the same name, which features a Black heiress from the West Indies, but Bridgerton takes it to the next level. Yet, it is rooted in possible historic fact: there are historians that believe Queen Charlotte (who was married to King George III) was the daughter of Portuguese King Alphonso III and a concubine, a Black Moor named Ouruana. In the re-imagined part of history, Bridgerton offers an alternate scenario in which some Blacks in England were given dukedoms and other landed titles. In Bridgerton, people like the Duke of Hastings and Lady Danbury (played by Adjoa Andoh) know that their standing in society could be taken away at any time. This version of England is not colorblind, as equality may be as ephemeral as the suitors in the story.
Bridgerton also adds a lot more sex than the standard period drama fare, but the essential tenets of the genre are present: many ladies of the upper crust (the “ton”) who must marry (or want to marry), the battle between the haves and have-nots, and the drama that ensues. The show gets its name from a fictional prominent family, the Bridgertons, of which the first season’s main focus was on the eldest daughter, Daphne Bridgerton (played by Phoebe Dynevor). She comes out into society and is presented to Queen Charlotte to much acclaim in the first episode of Bridgerton, setting off the plot of suitors and non suitors who come her way. In the second season, the narrative follows Lord Anthony Bridgerton as he seeks to find a wife. A new family, the Sharmas from Bombay, become central to the matchmaking efforts of Lady Danbury and the queen.
And now, here are the filming locations in Bridgerton!
While Bridgerton is set mostly in London, the city of Bath, England in Somerset (a setting for many Jane Austen novels) was used to recreate Regency-era London. Bath is named for the Roman Baths located in the city, which were often touted as a cure for a variety of ailments in the era before modern medicine.
One of the most visible locations in Bath found in Bridgerton is the Royal Crescent, a 500-foot long arched series of Georgian houses. The shop of the Modiste, which is actually the cafe Pickled Greens, is also located in Bath.
A new location in the second season of Bridgerton is Aubrey Hall, the ancestral home of the Bridgerton family. This is where the Sharma family — Lady Mary Sharma, Miss Kate Sharma and Miss Edwina Sharma, are invited early before the “ton” arrive. A memorial scene involving a game called “Pall Mall” unfolds in the show. It is also where Anthony’s flashbacks about his father are set.
Aubrey Hall is filmed on location at Wrotham Park in South Mimms, Hertfordshire not far from London. One of its early owners, Admiral John Byng, was a source of inspiration for Voltaire’s novel Candide. Byng’s descendants still own the property. According to Bridgerton’s production designer, Will Hughes-Jones, “we couldn’t really build [Aubrey Hall] on a stage — and when it comes to filming on locations we generally only film in them for two or three
days. But because of it being the Bridgerton family seat, and because there’s so much interior to exterior, we were there for a long time. We’ve pushed the space toward a more homely, country feel, so there are a lot more tapestries, more wild flowers rather than the roses that we use in the town home. For the Pall Mall scene, one of our team members went to the Museum of London to research the game, and the actual rules are pretty
vague. So we decided that the Bridgertons play their own version of it.”
The Holburne Museum in Bath stands in for the home of Lady Danbury. The museum was seen in The Dutchess with Keira Knightley as the Devonshire Vill and in the Vanity Fair adaptation starring Reese Witherspoon. Another ball scene is filmed at the Guildhall‘s Banqueting Room.
As it is with most productions, the locations where a lot of filming takes place is usually recreated on a set for flexibility. The interior of the Bridgerton and Featherington houses in London were all built on sets in the first season. As production designer Will Hughes-Jones said, “These are some of the biggest single rooms that I’ve ever built… Each Bridgerton and Featherington room had an individuality to it.” But in the second season Halton House and Hatfield House were used as the interior of the Bridgerton home in London.
Exterior wise, the Bridgerton house was filmed at the Ranger’s House in London, a museum that contains The Wernher Collection, a superb collection of art that includes the Madonna of the Pomegranate (Madonna della Melagrana) from Sandro Botticelli’s workshop.
Some of the scenes with Queen Charlotte in her royal household are filmed in Wilton House, an extremely popular filming location in Wiltshire. Wilton House is the seat of the Earls of Pembroke, who received the land in the 1540s from Henry VIII. The estate was formerly part of the Wilton Abbey, a Benedictine monastery that was dissolved by Henry VIII when he split from the Catholic Church. You will recognize Wilton House as a filming location in The Crown, Pride and Prejudice (2005 version with Keira Knightley), the recent film version of Emma with Anya Taylor-Joy (from The Queen’s Gambit), The Madness of King George, and Mrs. Brown with Dame Judi Dench.
The ornate architectural design of the state rooms of Wilton House makes it a perfect filming location to represent the homes and palaces of the Royal Family. In particular, the Single Cube Room and Double Cube Room at Wilton House are the most popular. The scenes shot in Wilton House in Bridgerton include the first episode of the first season, when Daphne Bridgerton and other young ladies are presented to the Queen. The grounds are also popular, and as you see in the photo above, the Palladian Bridge at Wilton House can be seen behind Anthony Bridgerton. The exterior of the Duke of Hasting’s London residence where you see a fountain and garden is filmed at one of the facades of Wilton House as well, which faces the French gardens.
Other scenes with Queen Charlotte are filmed in Lancaster House in London, which is used extensively as Buckingham Palace in The Crown as well as in The Young Victoria, The King’s Speech, and an episode of Downton Abbey.
Lancaster House was originally built for the Duke of York and Albany, a son of of King George III. It was later owned by the Duke of Stafford and lastly by Sir William Lever, 1st Baronet, a soap maker from Lancashire, who renamed the house in honor of his home county. He donated the house to the the United Kingdom just a year after purchasing it, and it has been used as the London Museum, is home to the Government Wine Cellar, and is used for important government events. The G7 summit was held there twice.
The scandalous Trowbridge Ball, hosted by the widowed Lady Trowbridge in Bridgerton was filmed at the Marble Hall of Hatfield House. If this location looks familiar, it’s because it was just seen in Rebecca, the film on Netflix starring Lily James, Armie Hammer, Kristin Scott Thomas, Keeley Hawes, Ann Dowd, and Sam Riley. It’s the main hall at Maxim de Winter’s estate, with its recognizable black and white checkered floor and ornate wooden balcony and coffered ceilings.
Hatfield House was also a filming location for The Great on Hulu and The Favourite (for which Olivia Colman won her Academy Award), and Enola Holmes.
The scene above is shot at Painshill Park, an 18th century landscaped park in Surrey. It is meant to represent a park in London where all of the ton spend their afternoons promenading, picnicking, drinking, boating, and gossiping. It is the perfect place for Simon and Daphne to be seen out together.
The park is influenced by the European travels of its founder the Honorable Charles Hamilton, the son of the sixth Earl of Abercorn. In Bridgerton, some of the most prominent architectural elements in the park that are shown include the Five Arch Bridge, the stone bridge Simon and Daphne stop to speak on, and the Chinese Bridge, made of metal.
A few scenes of Bridgerton are shot at Somerley House and on its grounds in Hampshire, England. Somerley House was used in the most recent season of The Crown as Highgrove House, the country estate of Charles and Diana.
The Reform Club in London is used as a filming location for the gentlemen’s club of which Simon Basset (aka the Duke of Hastings) and Anthony Bridgerton are members. According to the social club’s website, “It was founded in 1836 for the benefit of those Radicals and Whigs pledging support for the Great Reform Act of 1832 who subsequently developed the Club as the political headquarters of the Liberal Party.”
The location has been used in many films, including the James Bond movies Die Another Day (with Pierce Brosnan) and Quantum of Solace (with Daniel Craig).
The scenes at Vauxhall Gardens were filmed on the grounds of both Stowe Park (in front of the Temple of Venus) and at Castle Howard, most famous for being the estate used in both versions of Brideshead Revisited. Stowe Park and its Georgian gardens were created by Viscount Cobham in the early 1700s. In 1845, it was visited by Queen Victoria, who was reported to be jealous of the property.
Next, check out the filming locations for The Gilded Age and the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
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