Which Filming Locations Were Used For ITV Drama Grantchester

Back to top

Six-part series Grantchester starts tonight on ITV at 9pm and stars Robson Green and Happy Valley villain James Norton. Set in 1953 in the real Hamlet of Grantchester in Cambridgeshire, the story follows the life of Sidney Chambers, a charming vicar who turns investigator when one of his parishioners dies in suspicious circumstances.

The series was written by Daisy Coulam, who has previously scripted EastEnders and Casualty and is adapted from the novel, ‘Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death’ by James Runcie. It was brought to the screen by Lovely Day Productions, who contacted our Production Services team to secure information on locations and regional crew.

Where was ITV drama Grantchester filmed?

The production shot extensively in Grantchester itself with the Church of St Andrew & St Mary taking centre stage for much of the church interior & churchyard scenes. A private home in Lemsford, Hertfordshire was used to double for the vicarage.

King’s Parade in Cambridge was also used and impressively transformed into a 1950s street scene with a restaurant given an authentic makeover complete with tables, chairs and menus that reflect the time in which the show is set. Q Local Shop offered boiled sweets and sugar free favourites to passers-by, while period cars and buses added to the overall authenticity of the exterior set.

Horstead Keynes Train Station in West Sussex was used to double for the the exterior of Cambridge station. Some of the country road scenes were shot on the Ayot Estate in Herts and the production also utilised the Trumpington Fens for additional outdoor scenes.

Many local spots were featured in Grantchester, including the Windmill Pub in Chipperfield which was used for the Red Lion Pub and various private houses in Herts which became the interiors of character’s houses. These included properties in Watford, Rickmansworth, Sarratt, Ware and the historic village of Kings Langley.

For Grantchester, we supported the production team when they were looking for crew and advertised roles via our national crew database and the @CEnglandprodn Twitter feed. We also helped source some amazing filming locations in England and connected the production to our Film Friendly Partners to gain filming approvals and also to our network of local contacts, including traffic management, to facilitate road closures and ensure a smooth shoot.

“The help Creative England offered our production was invaluable,” says Diederick Santer of Lovely Day Productions. “They were the first point of contact for all the locations and were particularly instrumental in assisting us close down the iconic King’s Parade in Cambridge for key scenes in our opening episode.”

For more information on the crew & facilities database, filming in Hertfordshire, filming West Sussex or filming in Cambridge, contact our Production Services team

Related stories