Where was Wolf Hall filmed?

The late author released a third book in 2020, titled The Mirror and the Light.

It's this final part of Mantel’s Tudor trilogy that Wolf Hall season 2 is based upon, tracing the final four years of Cromwell’s (Rylance) life as he attempts to climb to power and wealth under the reign of King Henry VIII (Lewis).

It's not just Wolf Hall's tense plot that has gripped viewers, but also its lavish production design, which recreates the Tudor era with stunning realism and attention to detail.

Wolf Hall is regarded one of the greatest period dramas ever made by many critics, with every aspect of the show oozing quality, including the real-world locations – some of which were actually used by King Henry VIII hundreds of years ago.

Here you'll find our conversation with series producer Mark Pybus, which gives fascinating insight into where Wolf Hall was filmed.

Where was Wolf Hall filmed? A guide to the drama's filming locations

Mark Pybus tells us about his favourites…

Chastleton House, Oxfordshire

Chastleton’s small stone courtyard doubles for Putney, where we see Cromwell as a young man being viciously attacked by his father. The interiors stand in for the Seymour family home, Wolf Hall, where Henry first falls for Jane Seymour. "The Seymours are on the up when we first meet them, before Jane becomes queen," says Pybus. "It’s one of the only properties in the drama that has a shabby feel. We wanted to get across that they’re not as rich as other people in the show." It’s possible to visit this ancient house, first built by a rich wool merchant, and now managed by the National Trust.

Dover Castle, Kent

This medieval castle doubles for the Tower of London, where we see Anne Boleyn being executed. "We were looking for a tower, but the problem with the one in central London is that you can end up looking at so much modern stuff [in the background] and have a lot of tourists watching you as you work," says Pybus, "but Dover has a very similar tower to the White Tower". The English Heritage site was also used for scenes in Meryl Streep’s movie Into the Woods. Visitors can also see the fort that’s guarded Britain's shores from invasion for hundreds of years.

Wells, Somerset

Used for many of the street scenes in Wolf Hall, this atmospheric medieval city is the smallest in England. Pybus and his team were given unparalleled access to the cathedral. "We used the cathedral library, which has never been filmed in before," he says. "It had books in it that were 400-500 years old. People can also explore the high street and enjoy the teashops and the Bishop's Palace next to the cathedral."

Great Chalfield Manor, Wiltshire

Used for the Cromwell’s happy family home in the series, this moated manor was built between 1465 and 1480 by a wealthy clothing trader. It also features in The Other Boleyn Girl and Tess of the D’Urbervilles. "Cromwell is a successful merchant by the time we meet him, and it felt like a house that a merchant in Tudor times might live in." Visitors can walk around the entire house, including the garden, courtyard, bedrooms upstairs and Cromwell’s study in the series.

Montacute House, Somerset

"It one of the jewels in the National Trust’s portfolio, Montacute House represents Greenwich Palace in the series," explains Pybus, "we were looking for stairs and a sense of scale that you don’t often get in period dramas. It felt like the kind of palaces that Henry would have had. Henry the VII was the last king that wasn’t London-based, he would travel around the country. The civil war had ended and Henry VIII actively started building these much grander palaces, with large windows and designs to impress, getting that scale was something we spent a lot of time looking for and we found it a Montacute".

Penshurst Place, Kent

Once owned by King Henry VIII, the structure of this beautiful fortified house has almost remained the same for 600 years. "There were these huge long rooms that characters could walk through," explained Pybus, who used the Long Gallery to film shoot the Whitehall scenes. When the weather was abhorrent, Henry would have used the Long Gallery to take exercise, while today, family portraits and furniture from the period are displayed in the room.

Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire and Broughton Castle in Oxfordshire

Both of these magnificent castles were used on screen and have had the same families living in them for hundreds of years. "The people currently running these locations are doing a wonderful job of it and they are carrying on a family tradition," says Pybus, "It feels really nice, as opposed to other locations that may have been bought by an American 20 years ago, and that sense of history has been lost slightly." Open to the public on certain dates, visitors can wander the estates and experience what it was like living hundreds of years ago.

Hampton Court Palace, London

For the first time, the cast and crew also pitched up at Hampton Court Palace.

"Many of the locations where Henry and his Court lived their lives no longer exist," said Kosminsky.

"The challenge for us was to create spaces in buildings that were authentic in look and feel, that could help us evoke the sense of what life must have been like. We did have one big advantage this time – the wonderful reception of the historians and curators at Hampton Court Palace who welcomed us for the first time.

"The highlight for me, without a doubt, was the fact that we were permitted to film in the Great Hall at Hampton Court. As far as I know, we are the first drama ever to be allowed to film in that room.

"Just to be able to walk our cast across that space which we knew Henry, Jane Seymour, and Thomas Cromwell had walked through in their time 500 years before was an extraordinary experience. The tapestries on the walls are said to be, after the Crown Jewels, the most valuable thing that England owns."

Where else was Wolf Hall filmed?

Additional locations include:

• Barrington Court, Somerset
• Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire
• Horton Court, Gloucestershire

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light is available on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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