Our town and the local area around it have been used in many films and TV shows. It’s the perfect location for traditional period dramas or mysterious mythical tales as well as gothic horror films featuring Hollywood stars.
Devizes:: Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)
Devizes became Casterbridge in Hardy’s famous film which starred Julie Christie, Peter Finch, Alan Bates and Terence Stamp. The producers used the Market Place, St John’s Church and Alley, St. Mary’s Church, the Corn Exchange and the Shambles Market.
The ‘Hiring Market’ was filmed in the Market Place (The Bear being prominent!) and St John’s Alley. Fanny’s ‘wrong church’ was St. John’s Church and the Corn Exchange and Shambles also feature.
Devizes:: Roundway Down
The hills around Devizes were used in the film of George Orwell’s 1984 featuring John Hurt and Richard Burton, where it is used as the idyllic ‘Golden Country’ as seen by Winston in his dreams.
Discover Roundway Hill: ///spelling.acted.dusters
Avebury stone circle:: Children of the Stones TV series
A short hop away from Devizes, Avebury is the setting for this series which was filmed during the hot summer of 1976. Astrophysicist Adam Brake and his teenage son Matthew arrive in the small village of Milbury, which is built in the midst of a megalithic stone circle. Through complex astronomical calculations, Brake determined exactly when he could form an energy beam and began brainwashing the villagers into becoming what he called “Happy Ones”.
Don’t be concerned – Avebury is a very friendly place and not populated by brainwashed folk!
Watch the BBC series Children of the Stones
Discover Children of the Stones location: ///notch.petted.tulip
You can take the No. 49 bus from Devizes to Avebury Stone Circle.
Film & TV locations nearby
Harry Potter at Lacock
Some sequences in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) were filmed at Lacock village and Lacock Abbey, including the cloister walk where Harry discovers the Mirror of Erised.
The scene where he comes out from Professor Lockhart’s room after serving detention and hears the basilisk was filmed in the Abbey, along with sequences from Half-Blood Prince (2009) and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018).
Lacock village, with its cottages and inns dating back to the 15th century, has also featured as the backdrop to many a period drama, including the last series and film version of Downton Abbey and to the BBC production of Cranford. This National Trust village and Abbey has played host to a variety of classic films and costume dramas including Pride and Prejudice and The Other Boleyn Girl. In 2015 it featured in the BBC’s Wolf Hall – the Abbey exteriors represent Wolf Hall, the Seymour family seat. In 2016, Lacock featured in Dr Thorne and was used as a location for The White Princess. Most recently, Lacock features in the mini-series The Pursuit of Love, based on the novel by Nancy Mitford.
Other locations to visit
Bowood House and Gardens – Bowood Estate near Calne has starred in a number of period dramas; it was a filming location for ITV’s 2019 series Sanditon and the parkland stood in for Hyde Park in Poldark. One of the cottages on the Estate also featured as the home of Mr Carson in the 2019 Downton Abbey film.
Biddestone – Sky 1’s Agatha Raisin & the Quiche of Death was mostly filmed in the Wiltshire village of Biddestone.
Bradford on Avon – Bradford on Avon’s Tithe Barn and surrounding areas were used in the filming of BBC’s Wolf Hall and for Robin Hood of Sherwood. The town was also used in the filming of the 2009 film Creation and more recently for the filming of The White Princess and the film version of Downton Abbey in 2019, as well as the Netflix series Cursed.
Castle Combe – Castle Combe is a favourite with film makers. This lovely village is located at the southern tip of the Wiltshire Cotswolds and it has played host to many filming productions, the most famous of these being Doctor Dolittle filmed in and around the village in 1966. More recently the village had a major role in Stardust, The Wolf Man and War Horse. In 2016, Castle Combe featured in Doctor Thorne.
Corsham – Corsham High Street doubles up as Truro in the first series of the BBC’s most recent production of Poldark starring Aidan Turner. The Ross’s family for Poldark was also filmed at Chavenage House, over the border in Gloucestershire. Corsham and the surrounding area also featured in Lark Rise to Candelford, Tess of the d’Urbervilles and the more recent show on Disney+, Rivals!
Fonthill Bishop – The lake at Fonthill Bishop, near Tisbury was used for river scenes in the film Chocolat starring Johnny Depp.
Iford Manor Gardens – Iford’s romantic, award-winning gardens featured in the latest film adaptation of The Secret Garden (2020) starring Colin Firth and Julie Walters. It has also featured in The Razor’s Edge (1984), the BBC’s Robin of Sherwood (1984-1986) and ITV’s Element of Doubt (1996).
Longleat – Longleat has been used for a number of film productions including a Bollywood production and is the location for the BBC’s long running series Animal Park. The House also featured in The Four Seasons, based on Rosamunde Pilcher’s best selling novels The Shell Seekers and Coming Home.
Mompesson House – The National Trust’s Mompesson House in Salisbury’s Cathedral Close achieved celebrity status as the London home of Mrs Jennings in the 1995 Oscar-winning version of Sense and Sensibility, which feature Hollywood stars Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman.
Old Wardour Castle – Old Wardour Castle experienced some modern-day drama when it was used for the filming of Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves.
Salisbury Cathedral – Salisbury Cathedral was the inspiration behind the 2010 TV mini-series Pillars of the Earth, based on the novel by Ken Follett. The famous cloisters at Salisbury Cathedral also feature in the Spanish Princess, the TV drama based on novels by Philippa Gregory.
Salisbury Plain – The wide expanses of Salisbury Plain have been used as a filming location in Sam Mendes’ blockbuster war film 1917, released in 2019, and more recently as the setting for an epic motorbike chase in the 2021 James Bond film No Time To Die starring Daniel Craig.
Stonehenge – This iconic location was used in the BBC production of Tess of the D’Urbervilles and more recently for Doctor Who and films Thor:The Dark World and Transformers:The Last Knight.
Stourhead – The magnificent gardens of Stourhead were used for the filming of Pride and Prejudice where Lizzie initially rejects Darcy’s proposal of marriage.
Tisbury – Feature film 5 Greedy Bankers starring Ramon Tikaram and Pippa Haywood was shot entirely in Wiltshire, mostly in Tisbury.
Various locations – The Moonraker begins in Wiltshire, as dashing Cavalier Earl of Dawlish (George Baker) meets his fellow conspirators at Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain. Now managed by English Heritage, the world-famous Paleolithic stone circle is near the town of Amesbury, a short bus ride north of Salisbury. You can no longer clamber over the ancient stones (as you once could), but view them from a safe distance at the site.
West Kennett – The scene in which the heartbreaking news is delivered to the Ryan household in Saving Private Ryan was filmed in this village. The farmhouse was constructed on Gunsite Road and was removed after the filming.
Wilton Windmill – Wilton Windmill was used for for the BBC series The Victorian Farm.
You can take a bus from Devizes to Stonehenge Visitor Centre.
