Lights, camera, country house, action: The gorgeous estates where The Gentlemen and Bridgerton were filmed

The power of the big screen has played a big part in firing visitors’ imaginations. Badminton House in Gloucestershire, seat of the Dukes of Beaufort, is rarely open to the public, although millions are familiar with its exterior from the well-attended Horse Trials. Now, however, there are tantalising peeks at its family treasures — the Canalettos and Woottons, the Georgian furniture and wallpaper — through the camera lens; the house has been the setting for Netflix series The Gentlemen and Bridgerton and for Vogue shoots.

Highclere Castle in north Hampshire already had the Egyptian treasures discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb by the 5th Earl of Carnarvon in 1922, but then, in 2010, came the hit television series Downton Abbey; it’s hard not to hear the theme tune or expect the all-seeing butler Mr Carson to open the door as you approach the proudstanding house.

The recent BBC drama Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light featured, among other places, Haddon Hall, Derbyshire; Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire; Barrington Court, Somerset; and Chastleton House, Oxfordshire.

Chavenage House, Gloucestershire, home of the Lowsley-Williams family, was recently seen in the Disney+ series Rivals, as the O’Hara family home. The Fuller family’s Neston Park, Wiltshire, doubled up as television mogul Tony Baddingham’s house in the same series and the McTaggarts’ Ardross Castle, near Inverness, is the compelling setting for The Traitors – the compulsive Claudia Winkleman-hosted game show that sees contestants betray one another in the battle for a cash prize.

Drayton House, Northamptonshire, home of the Stopford Sackvilles, was the glorious setting for Emerald Fennell’s lavish 2023 film Saltburn, famed for Barry Keoghan's nude dancing, inappropriate graveside antics and malignant intentions.

In Derbyshire, Chatsworth’s many credits include Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley as the Elizabeth Bennet to Matthew Macfadyen Mr Darcy, a devout fan of long walks in the countryside, who's flowing, unbuttoned white shirt also received plenty of screen time. It was also used as a filming location in Peaky Blinders.

Scenes from Gentleman Jack and All Creatures Great and Small were filmed at Broughton Hall, North Yorkshire. Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, home of the Cecil family, has been in numerous films since a Tarzan epic in 1984, most recently Bridgerton and Enola Holmes, Netflix's take on the famous sleuth's younger, wittier sister. Rebecca and The Favourite were also filmed there.